Roselle (, ) 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 ...

located in Union County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 Delaware ...

, United States. As of 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 servin ...

, the borough's population was 21,085,DP-1 - Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 for Roselle borough, Union County, 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 the ...

. Accessed July 29, 2012.Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2010 for Roselle 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. The New Jersey Civil Service Commission is an independent body within the New Jersey state government under the auspices of the ...

. Accessed July 29, 2012. reflecting a decline of 189 (−0.9%) from the 21,274 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 960 (+4.7%) from the 20,314 counted in the 1990 Census. On January 19, 1883, the world's first electric lighting system employing overhead wires began service in Roselle. It had been built by

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

to demonstrate that an entire community could be lit by electricity. This success encouraged the installation of electric lighting in numerous other villages and cities. The First Presbyterian Church, located on the corner of West 5th Avenue and Chestnut Street, was the first church in the United States to be lit by electricity, and the second in the world after the City Temple church in London. Roselle was incorporated on December 20, 1894, at the height of the ''

Boroughitis Boroughitis (also borough fever or borough mania) was the creation in the 1890s, usually by referendum, of large numbers of small boroughs in the U.S. state of New Jersey, particularly in Bergen County. Attempts by the New Jersey Legislature t ...

'' phenomenon sweeping through New Jersey at the time, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier, from portions of Linden.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 240. Accessed July 29, 2012. Roselle's name is derived from the Roselle Land Improvement Company, which was created in 1866 to lay out a community around the Mulford Station on the

Central Railroad of New Jersey The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...

. The name "Roselle" is said to have been based on the company's founder, John Conklin Rose or from John Pierre Roselle, a friend of the railroad's president.

Geography

According to the

, the borough had a total area of 2.65 square miles (6.86 km²), including 2.64 square miles (6.82 km²) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km²) of water (0.49%).

Unincorporated communities An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include Aldene. The borough is bordered by the Union County municipalities of

Roselle Park Roselle may refer to: * Roselle (plant), a species of hibiscus (''Hibiscus sabdariffa'') **A drink made from that plant, also called "Hibiscus tea" Roselle is the/a name of: ; People * Mike Roselle - American environmental activist and author ; ...

to the north, Linden to the south and Cranford to the west and

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, along the edges of

Warinanco Park Warinanco Park (pronounced by locals as War-Rah-NINK-co) is a county park in Union County, New Jersey. It is located in Roselle at the border with the neighboring cities of Elizabeth and Linden. History In 1921, a group of local citizens ala ...

, to the east.

Morses Creek The Morses Creek, is a perennial stream of the North-East Murray catchment of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the alpine region of Victoria, Australia. It flows from the northern slopes of the Mount Buffalo National Park in the Australi ...

runs through the borough.

Demographics

Census 2010

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...

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 of ...

was $58,041 (with a margin of error of +/− $3,948) and the median family income was $64,038 (+/− $4,495). Males had a median income of $40,163 (+/− $3,874) versus $36,210 (+/− $1,612) 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 $25,678 (+/− $1,130). About 7.5% of families and 8.2% 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 t ...

, including 13.9% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000

As of 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 ce ...

there were 21,274 people, 7,520 households, and 5,226 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 RosenberPopul ...

was 8,048.8 people per square mile (3,111.3/km²). There were 7,870 housing units at an average density of 2,977.5 per square mile (1,151.0/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 51.32%

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 ...

, 35.58%

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 on ...

, 0.31% Native American, 2.71%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.07%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 6.07% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 3.93% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 17.11% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Roselle borough, New Jersey
,

. Accessed July 29, 2012.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Roselle borough, Union County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed July 29, 2012. 8.0% of the population of Roselle ( Creole: ''Wozel'') was of Haitian ancestry. This was the third-highest such percentage in New Jersey and the 16th-highest of any municipality in the nation. There were 7,520 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% 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 t ...

living together, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.41. In the borough the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $51,254, and the median income for a family was $58,841. Males had a median income of $37,604 versus $32,535 for females. The

for the borough was $21,269. About 5.8% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the

, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Portions of the borough are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ), one of 32 zones covering 37 municipalities statewide. Roselle was selected in 2002 as one of a group of three zones added to participate in the program. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment and investment within the Zone, 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 govern ...

rate (half of the % rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in July 2002, the borough's Urban Enterprise Zone status expires in December 2023.

Arts and culture

The Roselle House Music Festival is held each July in

, sponsored by the borough council as well as the Union County Board of County Commissioners and commercial brand sponsors.

Parks and recreation

is a Union County park created in 1920 that covers in Roselle and

Government

Local government

Roselle 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 the Mayor and the Borough Council, with all positions elected on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. The 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 university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy of Rutgers University (The Bloustein School) serves as a center for the theory and practice of urban planning, public policy and public health/health administration scholarship. The sc ...

, March 2013, p. 90. Roselle is divided into five election districts, referred to as wards. One councilperson is elected from each of the five wards, and one councilperson is elected from the borough

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 ...

. Roselle is one of only two boroughs statewide that use wards (the other is

). The borough form of government used by Roselle 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 Override may refer to: * Dr. Gregory Herd, a Marvel Comics character formerly named Override * Manual override, a function where an automated system is placed under manual control * Method overriding, a subclassing feature in Object Oriented progr ...

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. A borough administrator, appointed by the Borough Council, oversees the day-to-day operations of the municipal government. , 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 a ...

of the Borough of Roselle is

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Donald Shaw, elected to serve the unexpired term of office that expires on December 31, 2023, that had been held by Christine Danserau until she resigned from office.Mayor Donald A. Shaw
Borough of Roselle. Accessed April 10, 2022. Members of the Roselle Borough Council are Council President Denise Wilkerson (Council-at-Large; D, 2022), Brandon Bernier (Ward 2; D, 2024), John Fortuna (Ward 5; D, 2024), Cynthia Johnson (Ward 3; D, 2023), Cindy Thomas (Ward 4; D, 2022) and Richard Villeda (Ward 1; D, 2023).Elected Officials
Borough of Roselle. Accessed June 30, 2022.''Union County Elected Officials''

Union County, New Jersey Union County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 575,345, making it the seventh-most populous of New Jersey's 21 counties. Its county seat is Elizabeth.

Clerk. Accessed April 30, 2022.General Election November 2, 2021 Official Results

, updated November 15, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.General Election November 3, 2020 Official Results

, updated December 14, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.General Election November 5, 2019 Official Results

, updated December 5, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020. In January 2020, the Borough Council appointed Isabel Sousa to fill the First Ward seat expiring in December 2020 that had been held by Denise Wilkerson until she resigned from office to take a seat as the at-large councilmember. Council President Kim Shaw was named to serve as acting mayor in March 2015, after

Jamel Holley Jamel Curtis Holley (born September 13, 1979) is an American Democratic Party politician from the state of New Jersey, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 20th Legislative District from 2015 to 2022. He is the first A ...

was named to fill a vacant seat in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

. She served until Dansereau was sworn in on March 11, 2015, making her the first woman to serve as mayor in borough history.Staff
"Christine Dansereau sworn in as first female mayor of Roselle"
''Suburban News'', March 12, 2015. Accessed October 12, 2015. "Christine Dansereau was sworn in to Roselle's highest office Wednesday night, becoming the first female mayor in the Borough's 132-year history. Dansereau, who had served as 5th Ward Councilwoman for eight years and the last three years as Councilwoman-at-Large, succeeds former Mayor Jamel C. Holley, who resigned his post on Feb. 23 to represent the 20th District in the Assembly." In April 2015, the Borough Council, based on nominations submitted by the Democratic municipal committee, chose Samuel Bishop to fill the vacant seat in the 5th Ward of Roy Locke, while Reginald W. Atkins was chosen to fill the at-large seat vacated by Christine Dansereau when she was sworn in as mayor. Locke had resigned from office in February 2015, under pressure from then-mayor Jamal Holley who cited Locke's frequent absences from council meetings, which Locke attributed to conflicting work and personal responsibilities.

Federal, state and county representation

Roselle is located in the 10th Congressional DistrictPlan Components Report

New Jersey Redistricting Commission The New Jersey Redistricting Commission is a constitutional body of the government of New Jersey tasked with redrawing the state's Congressional election districts after each decade's census. Like Arizona, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, and Washington; t ...

, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020. and is part of New Jersey's 20th state legislative district.Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District

New Jersey Department of State The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as we ...

. Accessed February 1, 2020.''2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
New Jersey

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

. Accessed October 30, 2019. Union County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners, whose nine members are elected

to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis with three seats coming up for election each year, with an appointed County Manager overseeing the day-to-day operations of the county. At an annual reorganization meeting held in the beginning of January, the board selects a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. , Union County's County Commissioners are Chair Rebecca Williams ( D, Plainfield, term as commissioner and as chair ends December 31, 2022), Vice Chair Christopher Hudak (D, Linden, term as commissioner ends 2023; term as vice chair ends 2022), James E. Baker Jr. (D,

Rahway Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...

, 2024), Angela R. Garretson (D, Hillside, 2023), Sergio Granados (D,

, 2022), Bette Jane Kowalski (D, Cranford, 2022), Lourdes M. Leon (D, Elizabeth, 2023), Alexander Mirabella (D, Fanwood, 2024) and Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded (D, Westfield, 2024). Constitutional officers elected on a countywide basis are County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi (D, Union Township, 2025), Sheriff Peter Corvelli (D,

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a ...

, 2023) and Surrogate Susan Dinardo (acting). The County Manager is Edward Oatman.

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 11,743 registered voters in Roselle, of which 7,127 (60.7% vs. 41.8% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 526 (4.5% vs. 15.3%) were registered as Republicans and 4,087 (34.8% vs. 42.9%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 3 voters registered as

Libertarians Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's enc ...

or Greens.Voter Registration Summary - Union

Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed May 22, 2013. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 55.7% (vs. 53.3% in Union County) were registered to vote, including 72.8% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 70.6% 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, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

received 8,034 votes (88.8% vs. 66.0% countywide), ahead of Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

with 875 votes (9.7% vs. 32.3%) and other candidates with 53 votes (0.6% vs. 0.8%), among the 9,043 ballots cast by the borough's 12,694 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.2% (vs. 68.8% in Union County). In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 8,055 votes (85.4% vs. 63.1% 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 terms ...

with 1,262 votes (13.4% vs. 35.2%) and other candidates with 52 votes (0.6% vs. 0.9%), among the 9,428 ballots cast by the borough's 12,533 registered voters, for a turnout of 75.2% (vs. 74.7% in Union 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 (Unite ...

received 6,325 votes (79.4% vs. 58.3% countywide), ahead of Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

with 1,564 votes (19.6% vs. 40.3%) and other candidates with 40 votes (0.5% vs. 0.7%), among the 7,971 ballots cast by the borough's 11,609 registered voters, for a turnout of 68.7% (vs. 72.3% in the whole county). In the 2013 gubernatorial election, 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 ...

received 71.3% of the vote (2,882 cast), ahead of Republican

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in Ne ...

with 27.6% (1,115 votes), and other candidates with 1.1% (44 votes), among the 4,283 ballots cast by the borough's 12,460 registered voters (242 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 34.4%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

received 3,816 ballots cast (77.3% vs. 50.6% countywide), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 866 votes (17.5% vs. 41.7%), Independent

Chris Daggett Christopher Jarvis Daggett (born March 7, 1950) is an American businessman who is the president and CEO of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, one of the largest foundations in New Jersey. A former regional administrator of the United States En ...

with 170 votes (3.4% vs. 5.9%) and other candidates with 35 votes (0.7% vs. 0.8%), among the 4,939 ballots cast by the borough's 12,148 registered voters, yielding a 40.7% turnout (vs. 46.5% in the county).

Education

Students are educated by the Roselle Public Schools, which 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 eight schools, had an enrollment of 2,897 students and 289.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 10.0:1.District information for Roselle Public Schools

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 finance ...

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

) are Kindergarten Success Academy with 184 students in Kindergarten, Harrison Elementary School with 268 students in grades 1–4, Dr. Charles C. Polk Elementary School with 295 students in grades 1–4, Washington Elementary School with 317 students in grades 1–4, Leonard V. Moore Middle School with 460 students in grades 5–6, Grace Wilday Junior High School with 503 students in grades 7–8 and

Abraham Clark High School Abraham Clark High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from the borough of Roselle, in Union County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Roselle Public ...

with 781 students in grades 9–12.

Roselle Catholic High School Roselle may refer to: * Roselle (plant), a species of hibiscus (''Hibiscus sabdariffa'') **A drink made from that plant, also called "Hibiscus tea" Roselle is the/a name of: ; People * Mike Roselle - American environmental activist and author ; ...

, a parochial high school run by the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brother ...

, serves grades 9–12 under the supervision of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark The Archdiocese of Newark is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northeastern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of the Catholic parishes and schools in the New Jerse ...

. St. Joseph the Carpenter School, which was founded in 1913, serves students in preschool through eighth grade, operating under the supervision of the Newark Archdiocese.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the borough had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Union 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 ...

New Jersey Route 27 Route 27 is a state highway in New Jersey, United States. It runs from U.S. Route 206 (US 206) in Princeton, Mercer County northeast to an interchange with Route 21 (McCarter Highway) and Broad Street in Newark, Essex County. The route p ...

is the most significant highway in Roselle. It forms the borough's southeastern border with Linden.

Public transportation

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

provides bus service to the

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

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 ...

on the

112 112 may refer to: *112 (number), the natural number following 111 and preceding 113 *112 (band), an American R&B quartet from Atlanta, Georgia **112 (album), ''112'' (album), album from the band of the same name *112 (emergency telephone number), t ...

and 115 routes, to

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

on the 59, 62 and 94 routes, with local service available on the 56 and 57.

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 busin ...

's freight-only Lehigh Line passes through the community along the tracks of the former

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, w ...

. The town once shared a passenger station with

on the mainline of the

. That line is abandoned. The

Staten Island Railway The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is a rapid transit line in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Staten Island. It is owned by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Trans ...

passed through the community before being dormant for years. It was reactivated by the

Morristown & Erie Railway Morristown & Erie Railway is a short-line railroad based in Morristown, New Jersey, chartered in 1895 as the Whippany River Railroad. It operates freight rail service in Morris County, New Jersey and surrounding areas on the original Whippany ...

, but Morristown & Erie did not renew their option and their 10-year lease ceased as of May 15, 2012.

Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Count ...

is approximately from Roselle.

Notable people

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

Rabih Abdullah Rabih Abdullah (born April 27, 1975) is a former American football running back. High school years Abdullah grew up in Roselle, New Jersey, where he attended Abraham Clark High School Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

and

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

* Charles Augustus Briggs (1841–1913), Presbyterian theologian *

Abraham Clark Abraham Clark (February 15, 1726 – September 15, 1794) was an American Founding Father, politician, and Revolutionary War figure. He was a delegate for New Jersey to the Continental Congress where he signed the Declaration of Independence and ...

(1725–1794), a founding father of the United States of America and a signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...

* Neil M. Cohen (born 1951), represented the 20th Legislative District in the

until being forced to suddenly resign after child pornography was discovered on his computer *

Greg Cook Gregory Lynn Cook (November 20, 1946 – January 27, 2012) was an American football quarterback who played two professional seasons, in the American Football League (AFL) and later the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

(1958–2005), basketball player *

Harold Dobbs Harold Stanley Dobbs (December 8, 1918 – August 14, 1994) was an influential civic leader in San Francisco, California. He was a lawyer, businessman, politician, and leader in the Jewish community, founding Mel's Drive-In and serving as presiden ...

(1918–1994), Republican politician and civic leader in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

who founded

Mel's Drive-In Mel's Drive-In is a term referring to two American restaurant chains, successors of a restaurant founded in 1947 by Mel Weiss and Harold Dobbs in San Francisco, California. It is closely associated with the film ''American Graffiti''. Locations ...

and served as president of the city's

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

Jameel Dumas Jameel Dumas (born February 18, 1981) is a former American football linebacker. He played for Syracuse University from 2000 to 2003, where he made 179 tackles and earned All-American honors. After suffering a knee injury in the first game of hi ...

(born 1981), linebacker who played in

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

* William Perry Fogg (1826–1909), author and adventurer * Jerry Green (born 1939), politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 1992, where he represents the 22nd Legislative District *

Rosey Grier Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (born July 14, 1932) is an American actor, singer, Protestant minister, and former professional football player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective plac ...

(born 1932), former football player in the NFL for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

, a member of the original

Fearsome Foursome ''Fearsome Foursome'' may refer to: * Fearsome Foursome (comics) ''Fearsome Foursome'' may refer to: * Fearsome Foursome (comics), a Marvel comic book group * Fearsome Foursome (American football) The Fearsome Foursome was the dominating defen ...

Al Harrington Albert Harrington (born February 17, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Cape Town Tigers. Selected with the 25th overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, Harrington played 16 seasons in the ...

(born 1980), professional basketball player who formerly played for the NBA's

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

(born 1979), politician who was chosen in 2015 to serve as a member of the

representing the 20th Legislative District, after having served as mayor of Roselle since 2012 *

Jesse Holley Jesse Holley (born January 8, 1984) is a former American football wide receiver. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at North Carolina. He won the reality TV show, ''4th and Lon ...

(born 1984), signed by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2007, he was winner of the Spike TV reality show ''4th and Long'' * Gene-Ann Polk Horne (1926–2015), physician and hospital administrator, director of pediatric ambulatory care at

Harlem Hospital Harlem Hospital Center, branded as NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, is a 272-bed, public teaching hospital affiliated with Columbia University. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City and was founded in 1887. The hosp ...

and professor of pediatrics at

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 ...

Phil Ivey Phillip Dennis Ivey Jr. (born February 1, 1977) is an American professional poker player who has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title, and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables. Ivey is regarded by numero ...

(born 1976), professional poker player * Kendall James (born 1991), football

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

who has played in the NFL for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

* Emil Milan (born 1922), mid-century designer craftsman who worked primarily in wood *

Barron Miles Barron Miles (born January 1, 1972) is a former professional Canadian football player who played for 12 years in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is the defensive coordinator for the Ottawa Redblacks of the CFL. Miles finished his career tie ...

(born 1972), defensive back for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

Rebecca Morse Rebecca Morse may refer to: * Rebecca Morse (journalist) Rebecca Jane Morse (born 26 August 1977, in South Australia) is an Australian journalist, news and radio presenter. Morse was a presenter of Adelaide's ''10 News First.'' She is also a ...

(born 1992),

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defender, currently playing for the

Metropolitan Riveters The Metropolitan Riveters (originally the New York Riveters) are a professional women's ice hockey team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with home games at the American Dream Meadowlands ice rink. They were one of the four charter franchi ...

of the

National Women's Hockey League The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and ha ...

* Carole Dawn Reinhart (born 1941), trumpet player and professor in Vienna *

Charles August Sulzer Charles August Sulzer (February 24, 1879 – April 15, 1919) was a delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the Territory of Alaska from 1917 to 1919. Life and career Sulzer was born on February 24, 1879, in Roselle, New Jer ...

(1879–1919), delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the

Alaska Territory The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the ...

* William H. Tunner (1906–1983), general officer in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Lucius Walker Lucius Walker (August 3, 1930 – September 7, 2010) was an American Baptists, Baptist minister who served as executive director of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization in the 1960s and was a persistent advocate for ending ...

(1930–2010), Baptist minister best known for his opposition to the

United States embargo against Cuba The United States embargo against Cuba prevents American businesses, and businesses organized under U.S. law or majority-owned by American citizens, from conducting trade with Cuban interests. It is the most enduring trade embargo in modern hist ...

References

External links

Roselle Borough website

Roselle Public Library
{{Authority control 1894 establishments in New Jersey Borough form of New Jersey government Boroughs in Union County, New Jersey New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zones Populated places established in 1894