Bound Brook is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

in Somerset County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, United States, located along the

Raritan River Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. History Geologists assert that the lower Raritan provided t ...

. At the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, the borough's population was 10,402,2010 Census Interactive Population Search for NJ – Bound Brook borough

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

. Accessed March 28, 2015.Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2010 for Bound Brook borough
,

New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north ...

. Accessed February 10, 2013. reflecting an increase of 247 (+2.4%) from the 10,155 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 668 (+7.0%) from the 9,487 counted in the 1990 Census. Bound Brook was originally incorporated as a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 24, 1869, within portions of Bridgewater Township. On February 11, 1891, it was reincorporated as a borough, based on the results of a referendum held on the previous day.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 222. Accessed October 25, 2012.

History

The area was first settled in 1681 and a community was established near the Bound Brook stream of the same name, which flows into the Raritan River via the Green Brook on the eastern side of the borough. The brook, which was mentioned as a boundary in a Native American deed, provides the source of the borough's name. A wooden bridge over the Raritan River was erected as early as 1761 and named Queen's Bridge in 1767. Later, it became a covered bridge. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, the bridge was used repeatedly by both sides including during the

Battle of Bound Brook The Battle of Bound Brook (April 13, 1777) was a surprise attack conducted by British and Hessian forces against a Continental Army outpost at Bound Brook, New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War. The British objective of capturing the ...

in 1777. In 1875, the wooden bridge was replaced by a steel pipe truss bridge. More than 100 years later, that bridge was itself replaced by a steel girder bridge in 1984, still using the old pillars. The bridge was renovated and repaved in 2007. The Battle of Bound Brook, one of the battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign during the American Revolutionary War, occurred on April 13, 1777, and resulted in a defeat for the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

, who were routed by about 4,000 troops under British command. On April 22, 1921, over 100 people were injured in Bound Brook, and one died, when a cloud of

phosgene Phosgene is the organic chemical compound with the formula COCl2. It is a toxic, colorless gas; in low concentrations, its musty odor resembles that of freshly cut hay or grass. Phosgene is a valued and important industrial building block, esp ...

gas began spreading over the city in the early morning hours, the result of a faulty valve of a storage tank at a paint factory in town. The intervention of four people stopped further escape of the phosgene, which had been used in concentrated form as a chemical weapon during World War One.

Geography

According to the

, the borough had a total area of 1.70 square miles (4.39 km²), including 1.66 square miles (4.30 km²) of land and 0.03 square miles (0.09 km²) of water (2.00%). The borough borders the municipalities of Bridgewater Township and

South Bound Brook South Bound Brook is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,563,Middlesex Borough in Middlesex County. Since the southern portion of the borough (including the downtown area) is a low-lying natural flood plain of the Raritan River, Bound Brook has suffered occasional severe flooding after heavy rain. Extensive flood control measures were put into place during 1999–2015 to provide protection from 150-year floods.

Demographics

Census 2010

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars)

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways ...

was $67,056 (with a margin of error of +/− $6,450) and the median family income was $68,315 (+/− $7,489). Males had a median income of $33,462 (+/− $4,681) versus $35,261 (+/− $7,245) for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the borough was $25,015 (+/− $2,011). About 3.4% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 6.0% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over. The borough had one of the highest

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

n percentages of any municipality in the United States and third-highest in New Jersey (population 500+), with 3.4% of residents in the 2010 Census reporting that they were of Costa Rican birth.

Census 2000

At the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 c ...

there were 10,155 people, 3,615 households and 2,461 families residing in the borough. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 5,953.7 per square mile (2,292.9/km²). There were 3,802 housing units at an average density of 2,229.0 per square mile (858.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 82.57%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 2.52%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.31% Native American, 2.88% Asian, 0.07%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 8.67% from other races, and 2.99% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 34.87% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Bound Brook borough, New Jersey
,

. Accessed February 10, 2013.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 – Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Bound Brook borough, Somerset County, New Jersey

. Accessed February 10, 2013. There were 3,615 households, of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.21. 21.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 36.2% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.7 males. The

was $46,858 and the median family income was $51,346. Males had a median income of $32,226 versus $28,192 for females. The

for the borough was $22,395. About 6.9% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the

, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over. The borough had the highest

n percentage of any municipality in the United States (population 500+), with 14.7% of residents in the 2000 Census reporting that they were of Costa Rican birth.

Parks and recreation

The borough has developed a series of trails for bicyclists and pedestrians that runs along the Raritan River, with a mix of paved and dirt trails providing access to residents.

Government

Local government

Bound Brook is governed under the

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities (of the 564) statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey. The governing body is comprised of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six members, with all positions elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council is comprised of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle.''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'',

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, March 2013, pg. 77. The Borough form of government used by Bound Brook is a "

weak mayor Weak may refer to: Songs * "Weak" (AJR song), 2016 * "Weak" (Melanie C song), 2011 * "Weak" (SWV song), 1993 * "Weak" (Skunk Anansie song), 1995 * "Weak", a song by Seether from '' Seether: 2002-2013'' Television episodes * "Weak" (''Fear t ...

/ strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council. , the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Bound Brook is Republican David Morris, who was appointed to serve an unexpired term of office ending December 31, 2023. Members of the Borough Council are Abel Gomez ( D, 2023), Jake Hardin (R, 2022), Richard Jannuzzi (R, 2022), Dominic Longo (R, 2024), Vinnie Petti (D, 2024) and Anthony Pranzatelli (D, 2023).Mayor – Borough Council Members
Borough of Bound Brook. Accessed April 13, 2022.2021 General Election Winning Candidates
Somerset County, New Jersey. Accessed January 1, 2022.Somerset County General Election November 3, 2020 Final Certified Results
Somerset County, New Jersey, dated December 3, 2020. Accessed January 19, 2021.General Election November 5, 2019 Final Results
Somerset County, New Jersey, updated November 15, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020. In September 2022, the Borough Council selected David Morris from a list of three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the mayoral seat expiring in December 2023 that became vacant after the resignation of Robert P. Fazen, who was moving out of the borough.

Federal, state and county representation

Bound Brook is located in the 12th Congressional DistrictPlan Components Report
New Jersey Redistricting Commission, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020. and is part of New Jersey's 23rd state legislative district.Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District
New Jersey Department of State. Accessed February 1, 2020.''2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
New Jersey League of Women Voters. Accessed October 30, 2019. Prior to the 2011 reapportionment following the 2010 Census, Bound Brook had been in the 16th state legislative district.''2011 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
, pg. 55, New Jersey League of Women Voters. Accessed May 22, 2015. Prior to the 2010 Census, Bound Brook had been part of the , a change made by the New Jersey Redistricting Commission that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections. Somerset County is governed by a five-member

Board of County Commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...

, whose members are elected

to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year. At an annual reorganization meeting held on the first Friday of January, the board selects a Director and Deputy Director from among its members. , Somerset County's County Commissioners are Director Shanel Robinson ( D, Franklin Township, term as commissioner ends December 31, 2024; term as director ends 2022), Deputy Director Melonie Marano (D, Green Brook Township, term as commissioner and as deputy director ends 2022), Paul Drake (D, Hillsborough Township, 2023), Douglas Singleterry (D, North Plainfield, 2023) and Sara Sooy (D, Basking Ridge in Bernards Township, 2024).''2021 Directory of County & Municipal Offices''
Somerset County, New Jersey. Accessed May 1, 2022.2021 General Election Winning Candidates
Somerset County, New Jersey. Accessed January 1, 2022.Somerset County General Election November 3, 2020 Final Certified Results
Somerset County, New Jersey, dated December 3, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.General Election November 5, 2019 Final Results
Somerset County, New Jersey, updated November 15, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020. Pursuant to Article VII Section II of the New Jersey State Constitution, each county in New Jersey is required to have three elected administrative officials known as constitutional officers. These officers are the County Clerk and County Surrogate (both elected for five-year terms of office) and the County Sheriff (elected for a three-year term). Constitutional officers, elected on a countywide basis are County Clerk Steve Peter ( D, Somerville, 2022), Sheriff Darrin Russo (D, Franklin Township, 2022) and Surrogate Bernice "Tina" Jalloh (D, Franklin Township, 2025)

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 4,162 registered voters in Bound Brook, of which 1,149 (27.6% vs. 26.0% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 955 (22.9% vs. 25.7%) were registered as Republicans and 2,050 (49.3% vs. 48.2%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 8 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.Voter Registration Summary – Somerset
New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed February 10, 2013. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 40.0% (vs. 60.4% in Somerset County) of the total population were registered to vote, including 51.7% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 80.4% countywide). In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

received 57.9% of the vote (1,598 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 40.6% (1,120 votes), and other candidates with 1.6% (44 votes), among the 2,785 ballots cast by the borough's 4,399 registered voters (23 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 63.3%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 1,593 votes (53.5% vs. 52.1% countywide), ahead of Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

with 1,312 votes (44.0% vs. 46.1%) and other candidates with 45 votes (1.5% vs. 1.1%), among the 2,979 ballots cast by the borough's 3,990 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.7% (vs. 78.7% in Somerset County). In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

received 1,474 votes (49.6% vs. 47.2% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 1,440 votes (48.5% vs. 51.5%) and other candidates with 25 votes (0.8% vs. 0.9%), among the 2,970 ballots cast by the borough's 3,882 registered voters, for a turnout of 76.5% (vs. 81.7% in the whole county). In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 64.5% of the vote (1,092 cast), ahead of Democrat

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

with 33.7% (570 votes), and other candidates with 1.8% (30 votes), among the 1,723 ballots cast by the borough's 4,485 registered voters (31 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 38.4%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 1,074 votes (52.2% vs. 55.8% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 749 votes (36.4% vs. 34.1%), Independent Chris Daggett with 172 votes (8.4% vs. 8.7%) and other candidates with 32 votes (1.6% vs. 0.7%), among the 2,056 ballots cast by the borough's 4,138 registered voters, yielding a 49.7% turnout (vs. 52.5% in the county).

Education

The Bound Brook School District serves students in

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of five schools, had an enrollment of 1,975 students and 172.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.5:1.District information for Bound Brook School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district financ ...

. Accessed February 15, 2022. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the

) are LaMonte-Annex Elementary SchoolBound Brook Elementary Schools
Bound Brook School District. Accessed July 27, 2022. with 195 students in grades PreK-Kindergarten Lafayette Elementary School with 266 students in grades 1-2, Smalley Elementary School with 545 students in grades 3-6, Community Middle School with 283 students in grades 7-8 and

Bound Brook High School Bound Brook High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Bound Brook, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Bound ...

with 652 students in grades 9-12. Students from South Bound Brook, New Jersey, attend the district's high school as part of a

sending/receiving relationship A sending/receiving relationship is one in which a public school district sends some or all of its students to attend the schools of another district. This is often done to achieve costs savings in smaller districts or continues after districts hav ...

with the South Bound Brook School District. At the start of the 2011–12 school year, the school joined the

Interdistrict Public School Choice Program The Interdistrict Public School Choice Program is a program designed to expand educational choices for New Jersey students by providing them with the option of attending a school district outside their district of residence without cost to their pa ...

, which allows students from other area communities to attend the Bound Brook schools. In the 2011–2012 school year, the high school started a biomedical program from Project Lead the Way in addition to the existing engineering academy program. There was an Interparochial Catholic School in the borough, Holy Family Academy (for Pre-K to grade 8) serving the local and surrounding communities with an estimated enrollment of 150 prior to closure. The school was one of three in the area closed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen at the end of the 2010–2011 school year, with plans to feed remaining students to a school facility in South Plainfield. In 2018,

Stephen Kovacs Stephen Matias Kovacs (January 4, 1972 – January 15, 2022) was an American saber fencer and fencing coach.

founded and thereafter owned Kaprica United Fencing Academy in Bound Brook, where he was head coach. Kovacs was accused in 2021 by detectives of allegedly

sexually assaulting Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

two teenage fencing students multiple times in 2020 and 2021; he died in Somerset County Jail in January 2022.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the borough had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Somerset County and by the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...

Route 28 Highway 28 may refer to: Australia * Cumberland Highway * Mountain Highway (Victoria) * - NT Canada * Alberta Highway 28 * British Columbia Highway 28 * Nova Scotia Trunk 28 * Ontario Highway 28 * Saskatchewan Highway 28 China Taiwan * Prov ...

travels east–west through the center of Bound Brook, while U.S. Route 22 clips the northern portion of the borough. County Routes 525, 527,

533 __NOTOC__ Year 533 ( DXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinianus without colleague (or, less frequently, ye ...

also pass through. Interstate 287 is accessible to the west via Route 28 in bordering Bridgewater Township.

Public transportation

The borough is served by the Bound Brook train station, which offers NJ Transit service on the Raritan Valley Line to Newark Penn Station. The historic station building on the north side of the tracks is located at 350 E. Main Street and was constructed in 1913. It is now a restaurant; the other station building on the south side is now privately owned. A pedestrian tunnel connects the south and north sides of the tracks. There are also

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do bus ...

tracks going past the station, used for freight trains to and from Newark. NJ Transit offers bus service to and from the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 bus ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...

on the

114 114 may refer to: *114 (number) *AD 114 *114 BC *114 (1st London) Army Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, an English military unit *114 (Antrim Artillery) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers, a Northern Irish military unit *114 (MBTA bus) *114 (New Je ...

and

117 117 may refer to: *117 (number) *AD 117 *117 BC *117 (emergency telephone number) *117 (MBTA bus) * 117 (TFL bus) *117 (New Jersey bus) *''117°'', a 1998 album by Izzy Stradlin *No. 117 (SPARTAN-II soldier ID), personal name John, the Master Chief ...

routes, along with local service to Newark on the 65 and 66 routes. Somerset County offers DASH, CAT, and SCOOT routes, providing service to destinations including Franklin Township,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Raritan, Manville and Hillsborough Township, as well as Bridgewater Commons and

Raritan Valley Community College Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) is a public community college in North Branch, New Jersey. RVCC offers Associate degree programs leading to an Associate of Arts (A.A.), Associate of Science (A.S.), Associate of Fine Art (A.F.A), or a ...

Bound Brook Cycling Classic

Every year, the Borough of Bound Brook hosts a nationally competitive bicycle race, the Bound Brook Cycling Classic, that on the same weekend, precedes the neighboring final purse contest, as part of the 3-day Tour of Somerville, held annually on Memorial Day Weekend. The contest in Somerville, founded in 1940 by Fred “Pop” Kugler, is the oldest professionally competitive race in the United States.

Flooding & Fires

The lower downtown area of Bound Brook has been infamous for

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing of the Raritan River. In September 1999, many structures near the commercial zone were damaged or destroyed by record Raritan floods resulting from Hurricane Floyd. This disaster reinvigorated a long-planned effort called the Green Brook Flood Control Project that would protect Bound Brook from up to a 150-year flooding event from the Raritan River and its tributaries, the Middle Brook and Green Brook that form the western and eastern boundaries of the town. During 1999–2015, the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

implemented extensive flood control measures to provide protection from future floods. The highest flooding level since 1800 in Bound Brook was reached during Hurricane Floyd in September 1999 – , according to the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

—nearly matched by Tropical Storm Doria in August 1971, the April 2007 nor'easter and Hurricane Irene in August 2011. Main Street was also flooded in July 1938, September 1938, August 1955, August 1973, October 1996, and March 2010. Bound Brook's downtown flooding led to several out-of-control fires over its history, including the fires of 1881 and 1887, which led to the formation of the Bound Brook Fire Department. In 1896, flooding likely caused the lime in the L.D. Cook lumberyard to ignite and the resulting fire spread to and destroyed the

Presbyterian church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. During Hurricane Floyd in 1999, a fire began in Otto Williams Harley Davidson on Main Street. With the building cut off by flood water, the fire spread quickly to two other structures before the Bound Brook Fire Department could contain it, then under the command of Chief Richard S. Colombaroni. Using fire boats from the New York City Fire Department as well as extensive help from mutual aid companies, the fire was stopped before two other buildings on Main Street and others nearby on Mountain Avenue, could be affected. During the April 2007 Nor'easter, the Bound Brook Fire Department stopped another fire from spreading through an area of close residential construction. Under the command of Chief James Knight, and again with the assistance of mutual aid companies including the Finderne Fire Department, fire loss was restricted to three residential buildings. On January 12, 2020, a non flood-related, seven-alarm fire set by an arsonist ripped through commercial buildings in the downtown area, causing $52 million in damages.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Bound Brook include: *

Isaac Blackford Isaac Newton Blackford (November 6, 1786 – December 31, 1859) was the second Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, the court's longest serving Justice, and among the longest serving jurists in the history of the United States. He wrote ...

(1786–1859), Indiana Supreme Court Justice * Margaret Bourke-White (1904–1971), photographer * Jeffrey Chiesa (born 1965), 59th Attorney General of New Jersey and interim

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

from New Jersey * John G. Demaray (1930–2015), medievalist * Margit Feldman (1929–2020), public speaker, educator, activist, and Holocaust survivor *

Patrick X. Gallagher Patrick Ximenes Gallagher (January 2, 1935 – March 30, 2019) was an American mathematician who pioneered large sieve theory and invented the larger sieve. Biography Early life Patrick Ximenes Gallagher was born on January 2, 1935, in Elizab ...

(1935–2019), mathematician and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

professor *

William P. Gottlieb William Paul Gottlieb (January 28, 1917 – April 23, 2006) was an American photographer and newspaper columnist who is best known for his classic photographs of the leading performers of the Golden Age of American jazz in the 1930s and 1940s. G ...

(1917–2006), jazz musician and photographer *

Sylvester Graham Sylvester Graham (July 5, 1794 – September 11, 1851) was an American Presbyterian minister and dietary reformer known for his emphasis on vegetarianism, the temperance movement, and eating whole-grain bread. His preaching inspired the grah ...

(1794–1851), Presbyterian minister and inventor of the Graham cracker * William Griffith (1766–1826), judge who served on the

United States circuit court The United States circuit courts were the original intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789. They had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversity jurisdi ...

* William H. Johnson (stage name ''Zip the Pinhead''; 1857–1926), freak show and circus performer * George M. La Monte (1863–1927), businessman, politician, and philanthropist * Dick Lynch (1936–2008), NFL defensive back who played for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

and the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

* James Augustine McFaul (1850–1917), Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton from 1894 to 1917 *

Ronald Naldi Ronald Naldi is an American lyric tenor who has sung on the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Arena di Verona, Salzburger Landestheater, L'Opéra Français, and New Jersey State Opera, under the baton of maestri James Le ...

, singer at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

* William E. Ozzard (1915–2002), President of the New Jersey Senate and the

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) is a regulatory authority in New Jersey "with authority to oversee the regulated utilities, which in turn provide critical services such as natural gas, electricity, water, telecommunications and c ...

. *

George Pfister George Edward Pfister (September 4, 1918 – August 14, 1997) was an American catcher, coach and executive in Major League Baseball. Pfister threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed during his playing career (1939–1941; 1946– ...

(1918–1997), Major League Baseball executive * Jason Ryan (born 1976), MLB pitcher who played for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

* Upton Sinclair (1878–1968),

muckraker The muckrakers were reform-minded journalists, writers, and photographers in the Progressive Era in the United States (1890s–1920s) who claimed to expose corruption and wrongdoing in established institutions, often through sensationalist pub ...

-writer *

Samuel Swan Samuel Swan (1771, near Scotch Plains, New Jersey – August 24, 1844, Bound Brook, New Jersey), was a five-term U.S. Congressman and medical doctor. After studying medicine, Swan began to practice in Bound Brook, from 1800 to 1806 and then mo ...

(1771–1844), physician and U.S. Congressman *

Henry Trefflich Henry Trefflich (January 9, 1908 – July 7, 1978) was an animal importer and dealer. He procured animals of many different types and sizes from Africa, Asia and South America and imported them to the United States via ship and airplane. He s ...

(1908–1978), wild animal importer and dealer * Perry Wilson (1916–2009), actress who appeared in the film '' Fear Strikes Out''Staff
"Obituary of Perry Wilson Anthony"
''The Cape Codder'', January 13, 2010. Accessed September 26, 2016. "Born Mary Elizabeth Wilson in Bound Brook, N.J., in 1916, she changed her name to Perry at age 13."

References

External links

Official Bound Brook Website

Somerset County directory for Bound Brook

Bound Brook School District
*
School Data for the Bound Brook School District

Unofficial Bound Brook Message Board

Bound Brook portal

– Observation gauge approximately 1.2 miles southwest (upstream) of Bound Brook, NJ, just below Calco Dam. Main Street in Bound Brook floods when the river reaches a 30-foot stage.
Unofficial Bound Brook News site

Bound Brook Office of Emergency Management website

Bound Brook High School Alumni Association and Hall of Fame
{{authority control 1891 establishments in New Jersey Borough form of New Jersey government Boroughs in Somerset County, New Jersey Costa Rican-American culture Populated places established in 1891