Phillipsburg is 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 ...

located along the Delaware River in Warren County, in 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 and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. It is located across the river directly east from

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river that joins the Delaware Ri ...

. Phillipsburg is the most populous municipality in Warren County with a population of 15,249 as of the 2020 census. The Norfolk Southern Railway's Lehigh Line, formerly the mainline of the

Lehigh Valley Railroad The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846 for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, ...

with a mix of mainline trackage combined long leased to the Central Railroad of New Jersey by its builder Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, runs through Phillipsburg on its way cross river to Easton, Pennsylvania. The Belvidere Delaware Railroad was leased in 1871 and later acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad, connecting the lower Poconos to

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. Phillipsburg is located northeast of Allentown, north of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, and west of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

History

The town grew from a sleepy agricultural village (in 1824), and was transformed into a transportation hub and shipping center as the Delaware River terminus of the Morris Canal (1829–1924), with operations commencing in 1831. the first transportation infrastructure project (of several, each eventually) giving the community a direct connection to

. The Central Railroad of New Jersey would soon follow with a connection, but the community's growth (and for a long while, its importance) was that it reached the canal terminals of both the Delaware Canal and the Lehigh Canal by its cross-river cable ferry system to

. In 1853, the

connected across the river with the CNJ and a passenger short line railroad, the Belvidere Delaware Railroad, as well as the Morris Canal, all within Phillipsburg. Rapid growth followed quickly. Phillipsburg was incorporated as a town by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 8, 1861, from portions of Phillipsburg Township (now Lopatcong Township).Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 248. Accessed June 14, 2012. The town was named for William Phillips, an early settler of the area.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 the ...

, the town had a total area of 3.31 square miles (8.58 km²), including 3.19 square miles (8.26 km²) of land and 0.12 square miles (0.31 km²) of water (3.66%). Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the town include Andover Furnace, Delaware Park, Lopatcong Heights, Shirmers and Warren Heights.

Pohatcong Mountain Pohatcong Mountain is a ridge, approximately 6 mi (10 km) long, in the Appalachian Mountains of northwestern New Jersey in the United States. It extends from west Phillipsburg northeast approximately to Allamuchy Township, New Jersey. Th ...

is a ridge, approximately long, in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

that extends from Phillipsburg northeast approximately to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Phillipsburg borders the municipalities of Lopatcong Township and Pohatcong Township in Warren County; and both

and Williams Township across the Delaware River in Northampton County.

Climate

Demographics

The Town's economic data (as is all of Warren County) is calculated by the United States Census Bureau as part of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area.

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 $42,825 (with a margin of error of +/− $3,386) and the median family income was $51,334 (+/− $3,243). Males had a median income of $44,311 (+/− $2,090) versus $37,673 (+/− $6,847) 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 $21,291 (+/− $1,061). About 16.5% of families and 18.5% 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 31.1% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000

As of the

2000 U.S. 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 cen ...

, there were 15,166 people, 6,044 households, and 3,946 families residing in the town. 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 . There were 6,651 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 91.84%

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 ...

, 3.47%

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 ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.83% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 2.02% from other races, and 1.71% 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 5.38% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Phillipsburg town, New Jersey
,

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 June 13, 2013.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 – Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Phillipsburg town, Warren County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed June 13, 2013. There were 6,044 households, out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% 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, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.08. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,368, and the median income for a family was $46,925. Males had a median income of $37,446 versus $25,228 for females. The

for the town was $18,452. About 9.9% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the

, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Industrial history

Phillipsburg had historically benefited from being a major transportation hub, then manufacturing with the investments by Ingersoll Rand in 1903 by opening the first Ingersoll-Sergeant factory in Phillipsburg. Within a year it employed 1,000 people, reaching a peak of 5,000. Phillipsburg is being reinvented once again as a tourist attraction based on Eco-Tourism. The town is situated at the confluence of the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

and Lehigh rivers. Phillipsburg served as the western terminus of the Morris Canal for approximately 100 years from the 1830s to 1920s, which connected the city by water to the industrial and consumer centers of the New York City area, with connections westward via the Lehigh Canal and Delaware Canal across the Delaware. Long gone is the era of canal shipping and many of the important freight railways that served the area have gone bankrupt or bypass the city on long-distance routes. Phillipsburg was served by five major railroads:
* Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ)
*

Lehigh & Hudson River Railroad The Lehigh and Hudson River Railway (L&HR) was the smallest of the six railroads that were merged into Conrail in 1976. It was a bridge line running northeast–southwest across northwestern New Jersey, connecting the line to the Poughkeepsie B ...

(L&HR)
*

(LVRR)
* Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Phillipsburg Branch (DL&W)
* Pennsylvania Railroad Belvidere Division (PRR)

Economic revival

A majority of the manufacturing jobs left Warren County's largest city once Ingersoll Rand closed operations in 2000.Novak, Steve
"TIMELINE: The rise and fall of Ingersoll Rand in Phillipsburg, and a glimpse at what the future may hold"
'' The Express-Times'', October 29, 2018, updated September 24, 2019. Accessed November 23, 2021. "For a century, Ingersoll Rand was Phillipsburg. From 1903 to 2000, the company was the town's biggest employer and the biggest taxpayer. It wasn't unusual for multiple generations of a family to work there. They made rock drills that helped develop the interstate highway system. They made pumps, steam condensers, and rock compressors... But the company slowly declined from its mid-century peak of about 5,000 employees." Portions of the town are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ), one of 32 zones covering 37 municipalities statewide. The city was selected in 1994 as one of a group of 10 zones added to participate in the program. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the UEZ, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3.3125%

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a gove ...

rate (half of the % rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in November 1994, the town's Urban Enterprise Zone status expires in October 2025. Businesses have begun to move on to South Main Street, including the opening of the Apothecarium Dispensary – Phillipsburg in November 2019 selling marijuana, the Town Council voted in June 2021 to adopt an ordinance preventing the opening of any other cannabis retailers.

Railway

A tourist railroad known as the Belvidere & Delaware River Railroad operates on the former

Belvidere-Delaware Railroad The Belvidere-Delaware Railroad (Bel-Del, 1851–1871) was a railroad running along the eastern shore of the Delaware River from Trenton, New Jersey north via Phillipsburg, New Jersey to the small village of Manunka Chunk, New Jersey. It became ...

Pennsylvania Railroad Branch serving excursions from Lehigh Junction Station south to Carpentersville. Norfolk Southern serves the industrial manufacturing purposes in Phillipsburg using former LVRR tracks and the L&HR bridge to connect with the Bel-Del PRR tracks. Since 2007, NJ Transit has been conducting a study to determine if re-establishing a commuter rail extension of the Raritan Valley Line to Phillipsburg is economically feasible. Phillipsburg also is home to the Phillipsburg Railroad Historians museum. They display railroad memorabilia inside the museum, an "N" scale diorama, two Lehigh & Hudson River cabooses (one of which is currently being restored), and a Jersey Central caboose. There is an L&HR snow flanger, Tidewater tank car, a CNJ box car owned by the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society, a 1922 Chestnut Ridge Mack railbus owned by the Lehigh Valley NRHS, a Public Service trolley owned by the North Jersey Electric Railway Historical Society, a 44-ton GE locomotive and a 25-ton GE locomotive. They operate a miniature railroad, the Centerville & Southwestern, that formerly ran in Roseland, New Jersey.

Government

Local government

Phillipsburg is governed under the Mayor-Council system of municipal government within the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law. The town is one of 71 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government. The governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the five-member Town Council. Councilmembers are 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 ...

in partisan elections to four-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either three seats or two seats and the mayoral seat up for election in odd-numbered years as part of the November general election.''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, p. 103. , 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 Phillipsburg is Republican Todd M. Tersigni, whose term of office ends December 31, 2023.Mayor
Town of Phillipsburg. Accessed May 16, 2022. Members of the Town Council are Council President Harry L. Wyant (R, 2023), Council Vice President Lee M. Clark ( D, 2025), Keith A. Kennedy (D, 2025), Peter Marino (R, 2025) and Randy S. Piazza Jr. (R, 2023).Summary Results Report 2021 General Election November 2, 2021 Official Results
Warren County, New Jersey, updated November 18, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.General Election November 5, 2019, Warren County Official Tally
Warren County, New Jersey, updated November 12, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020. In 2018, the town had an average property tax bill of $4,387, the lowest in the county, compared to an average bill of $6,982 in Warren County and $8,767 statewide.

Mayors of Phillipsburg

Federal, state and county representation

Phillipsburg is located in the 7th 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 2010 census, Phillipsburg had been part of the , a change made by the New Jersey Redistricting Commission that took effect in January 2013 based on results of the November 2012 general elections.''2011 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
, p. 63, New Jersey League of Women Voters. Accessed May 22, 2015.

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 7,681 registered voters in Phillipsburg, of which 2,496 (32.5% vs. 21.5% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 1,510 (19.7% vs. 35.3%) were registered as Republicans and 3,665 (47.7% vs. 43.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 10 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.Voter Registration Summary – Warren
New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed June 13, 2013. Among the town's 2010 Census population, 51.4% (vs. 62.3% in Warren County) were registered to vote, including 69.2% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 81.5% 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 2,487 votes (56.6% vs. 40.8% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 1,751 votes (39.8% vs. 56.0%) and other candidates with 88 votes (2.0% vs. 1.7%), among the 4,394 ballots cast by the town's 7,730 registered voters, for a turnout of 56.8% (vs. 66.7% in Warren County). In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 2,673 votes (54.8% vs. 41.4% 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 1,983 votes (40.6% vs. 55.2%) and other candidates with 116 votes (2.4% vs. 1.6%), among the 4,879 ballots cast by the town's 7,636 registered voters, for a turnout of 63.9% (vs. 73.4% in Warren 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 2,412 votes (49.8% vs. 37.2% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 2,324 votes (48.0% vs. 61.0%) and other candidates with 66 votes (1.4% vs. 1.3%), among the 4,842 ballots cast by the town's 7,176 registered voters, for a turnout of 67.5% (vs. 76.3% in the whole county). In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 63.8% of the vote (1,667 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 33.6% (879 votes), and other candidates with 2.6% (68 votes), among the 2,694 ballots cast by the town's 7,909 registered voters (80 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 34.1%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 1,321 votes (44.1% vs. 61.3% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 1,159 votes (38.7% vs. 25.7%), Independent Chris Daggett with 365 votes (12.2% vs. 9.8%) and other candidates with 77 votes (2.6% vs. 1.5%), among the 2,994 ballots cast by the town's 7,437 registered voters, yielding a 40.3% turnout (vs. 49.6% in the county).

Education

The Phillipsburg School District serves public school students from

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 ...

The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in ''Abbott v. Burke'' which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of five schools, had an enrollment of 3,877 students and 329.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.8:1.District information for Phillipsburg 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 Early Childhood Learning Center with 354 students in grades Pre-K–K, Phillipsburg Primary School with 391 students in grades 1–2, Phillipsburg Elementary School with 609 students in grades 3–5, Phillipsburg Middle School with 704 students in grades 6–8 and Phillipsburg High School with 1,730 students in grades 9–12.''Warren County 2022-2023 Public School Directory''
Warren County, New Jersey. Accessed December 27, 2022. The Phillipsburg High School Stateliners have a longstanding athletic rivalry with neighboring Easton,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Easton Area High School } Easton Area High School is a four-year public high school located in Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley area of eastern Pennsylvania. It is part of the Easton Area School District. As of the 2020-21 school year, Easton Area High School ...

, which celebrated its 100th anniversary game on Thanksgiving Day 2006. In 2009, the 1993 teams from the Easton P-Burg Game met again for the Gatorade REPLAY Game to resolve the game, which ended in a 7–7 tie, with more than 13,000 fans watching as Phillipsburg won by a score of 27–12. The district's high school serves students from the Town of Phillipsburg and five sending communities at the secondary level:

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whi ...

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest ...

(in

Hunterdon County Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,Greenwich Township, Lopatcong Township and Pohatcong Township, as part of

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 ...

s with the respective school districts.About PSD
Phillipsburg School District. Accessed May 6, 2020. "The district serves students from the Town of Phillipsburg and five sending communities at the secondary level: Alpha, Bloomsbury, Greenwich, Lopatcong and Pohatcong Townships." Students from the town and all of Warren County are eligible to attend Ridge and Valley Charter School in Frelinghuysen Township (for grades K–8) or

Warren County Technical School Warren County Technical School (WCTS) is a technical and vocational public high school located in Washington, which serves students in ninth through twelfth grades as well as adult learners from across Warren County, United States, as part ...

in Washington borough (for 9–12), with special education services provided by local districts supplemented throughout the county by the

Warren County Special Services School District The Warren County Special Services School District is a special education public school district based in Oxford Township, serving the educational needs of classified students ages 3 to 21 from Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the ...

in Oxford Township (for PreK–12). Private schools include Saints Philip & James School, which was established in 1875 and serves students in

through

eighth grade Eighth grade (or grade eight in some regions) is the eighth post-kindergarten year of formal education in the US. The eighth grade is the ninth school year, the second, third, fourth, or final year of middle school, or the second and/or final ye ...

, operating under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen.

Transportation

Union Station, Phillipsburg, NJ - trackside

History

Situated at the confluence of the Delaware River and the Lehigh River, Phillipsburg has historically been a major transportation hub. From the 1830s to 1920s, was the western terminus of the Morris Canal, which connected it by water eastward to the

Port of New York and New Jersey The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It includes the system of navigable wate ...

and westward via the Lehigh Canal across the Delaware River. Five major railroads converged in Phillipsburg, the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), the DL&W's Morris and Essex Railroad, the

(L&HR),

(LVRR), and the Pennsylvania Railroad's (PRR) Belvidere Delaware Railroad. The CNJ first ran in 1852. Phillipsburg Union Station served CNJ and DL&W. The CNJ tracks and bridge in Phillipsburg which was part of the CNJ mainline became part of the former Lehigh Valley Railroad mainline, the Lehigh Line now owned by Norfolk Southern Railway, while the PRR line in Phillipsburg is now the

Belvidere and Delaware River Railway The Belvidere & Delaware River Railway Company also known as Delaware River Railroad is a class III railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1995 when the Conrail Delaware Secondary line was purchased by the Black River Railroad System, wh ...

Roads and highways

, the town had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Warren County, 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 ...

and by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. Major highways that pass through Phillipsburg include U.S. Route 22 and Route 122.

Interstate 78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States, running from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and northern New Jersey and terminating at the Holland T ...

passes through for less than a without any exits. The closest interchange is in neighboring Pohatcong. The town is connected to Pennsylvania across the Delaware River by three bridges: the Easton–Phillipsburg Toll Bridge – (toll bridge carrying U.S. Route 22), the

Northampton Street Bridge The Northampton Street Bridge is a bridge that crosses the Delaware River, connecting Easton, Pennsylvania, and Phillipsburg, New Jersey, United States. It is maintained by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission despite not being a tol ...

(the "Free Bridge") and the

Interstate 78 Toll Bridge The Interstate 78 Toll Bridge (I-78 Toll Bridge) carries Interstate 78 across the Delaware River between Williams Township, Pennsylvania and Phillipsburg, New Jersey in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey i ...

(carrying Interstate 78), all of which are operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.

Public transportation

NJ Transit bus service is provided on the

890 __NOTOC__ Year 890 ( DCCCXC) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The Frankish nobles, who have ruled Provence in anarchy (since 887), declare Lo ...

and

891 Year 891 ( DCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * February 21 – Guy III, duke of Spoleto, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Ste ...

routes. It is also served by a bus line down Route 57 to Washington Township.

Air transportation

By air, Phillipsburg is closest to Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, which is roughly west of Phillipsburg. The larger Newark Liberty International Airport, one of three international airports serving the

New York City metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan are ...

, is roughly to the east-northeast.

Notable people

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

Walter E. Bachman Walter Ellsworth "Scrapper" Bachman Sr. (March 19, 1879 – November 11, 1958) was an American college football player and coach. A player at Lafayette College from 1899 until 1901, Bachman developed the " roving center" position for college foot ...

(1880–1958), college football player and coach *

Charlie Berry Charles Francis Berry (October 18, 1902 – September 6, 1972) was an American athlete and sports official who enjoyed careers as a catcher and umpire in Major League Baseball and as an end and official in the National Football League. His ...

(1860–1940), former professional baseball player, Union Association, and father of

(1902–1972), former professional baseball player and

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per' ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

* William F. Birch (1870–1946), former Member of Congress * Ned Bolcar (born 1967), former linebacker who played for the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

and

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

* Tom Brennan (born 1949),

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

sportscaster and former men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

, most notably at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the Unite ...

* Tim Brewster (born 1960), former coach of the

Minnesota Golden Gophers football The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its ince ...

team * Harold Curry (1932–2022), lawyer and politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly * Ted Dailey (1908–1992), NFL player who played for a single season with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

football team *

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(born 1957 as Don Drake), former professional wrestler who was National Wrestling Federation World Champion and Heavyweight Champion for Tri-State Wrestling Alliance, later known as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) * Wayne Dumont (1914–1992), former New Jersey Senate Majority Leader and Senate President *

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(born 1961), rock music singer-songwriter and actress * James Cullen Ganey (1899–1972), federal judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit * Dan Gray (born 1956), former NFL

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who played for the

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in 1978 * John R. Guthrie (1921–2009),

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

four-star general *

David Hajdu David Hajdu (; born March 1955) is an American columnist, author and professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He was the music critic for ''The New Republic'' for 12 years and is music editor at ''The Nation''. Biography ...

(born 1955), music critic and author * Terry Kitchen, folk singer * Frederick Kroesen (1923–2020), United States Army officer *

J. Robert Lennon John Robert Lennon (born 1970) is an American novelist, short story writer, musician and composer. Early life Lennon was raised in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. He earned a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania (1992) and an M.F.A. (19 ...

(born 1970), novelist * Hilda Madsen (1910–1981), British-American artist and dog breeder * Jayne Mansfield (1933–1967), 1950s-era actress * Martin O. May (1922–1945),

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...

recipient in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

for his actions on

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* Olivia Miles (born 2003),

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

player for the

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team. *

Helen Stevenson Meyner Helen Day Stevenson Meyner (March 5, 1928 — November 2, 1997), also known as Helen S. Meyner, was an American politician from New Jersey. A Democrat, Meyner served as a U.S. Representative from New Jersey from 1975 to 1979. As the wife of New ...

(1929–1997), politician who served in Congress from 1975 to 1979 *

Robert B. Meyner Robert Baumle Meyner (July 3, 1908 – May 27, 1990) was an American Democratic Party politician and attorney who served as the 44th governor of New Jersey from 1954 to 1962. Before being elected governor, Meyner represented Warren County in t ...

(1908–1990), Governor of New Jersey from 1954 to 1962 * Charles E. Myers (1925–2016), Director for Air Warfare in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (1973–1978), Aviation Pioneer and an early member of the " Fighter Mafia" inside the Pentagon * Lou Reda (born –2017), documentary filmmaker * Jim Ringo (1931–2007), professional football player who played in the NFL for the

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and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

* Sheetal Sheth (born 1976), actress * Charles Sitgreaves (1803–1878), politician who was a Member of Congress and mayor of Phillipsburg *

Matthew Tirrell Matthew V. Tirrell (born 5 September 1950) is an American chemical engineer. In 2011 he became the Founding Pritzker Director and Dean of the Institute for Molecular Engineering (IME) at the University of Chicago, in addition to serving as seni ...

(born 1950), chemical engineer * Bill Walsh (1927–2012), center who played in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers * Christina Wilson (born 1979), chef and reality television personality who was the winner of season 10 of the FOX Network's

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, re ...

cooking show '' Hell's Kitchen'' *

Yvonne Zima Yvonne Zima (born January 16, 1989) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Daisy Carter on ''The Young and the Restless''. Early life Zima was born in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, the daughter of Dennis and Marie. Her surname means ...

(born 1989),

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

who appeared on NBC's '' ER''Longsdorf, Amy
"Valley actors have a hand in new DVDs"
'' The Morning Call'', April 11, 2012. Accessed June 14, 2012. "As a three-course meal is served, Chappell meets a struggling actor ("Friday Night Lights" star Jesse Plemons), entertains financial backers and flirts with the hat check girl (Phillipsburg native Yvonne Zima). Zima, 23, has no more than a dozen lines but she works wonders with them, managing to create a sparky, indelible character."

References

External links

Phillipsburg official Web Site

* {{authority control 1861 establishments in New Jersey Faulkner Act (mayor–council) New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zones Populated places established in 1861 Towns in Warren County, New Jersey New Jersey populated places on the Delaware River