Martinsville is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) located within Bridgewater Township, in Somerset 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 so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

.GCT-PH1 - Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County -- County Subdivision and Place from the 2010 Census Summary File 1 for Somerset County, New Jersey
,

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

. Accessed February 11, 2013.New Jersey: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts - 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32)

, August 2012. Accessed February 11, 2013. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP's population was 11,980.DP-1 - Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data for Martinsville CDP, New Jersey

. Accessed February 10, 2013. Martinsville is located in northeastern Bridgewater near Warren Township; the 08836 ZIP Code also takes in the southern extension of Bernards Township. It is an affluent, predominantly residential area, though it does have its own commercial center along Washington Valley Road, and its own post office.

History

The Middlebrook encampment was a seasonal encampment of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

near Martinsville that straddled the ridge of the First

Watchung Mountains The Watchung Mountains are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between high, lying parallel to each other in northern New Jersey in the United States. The name is derived from the American Native Lenape name for them, Wach Unks ...

. Its position provided a natural fortress not only protecting the Continental Army, but also overlooking the plains towards

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

where the British forces were stationed in 1777. Tradition holds that it was at the Middlebrook encampment that the first official

flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

was unfurled, after a law to adopt a national flag had been passed by Congress on June 14, 1777. By special order of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, a Thirteen Star Flag is flown 24 hours a day at the Washington Camp Ground, part of the former Middlebrook encampment, in Bridgewater. Since 1889, the first hoisting of the flag is commemorated annually each July 4 with a changing of the flag, a reading of the

United States Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...

, and the delivery of an historical address.

Geography

According to the

, Martinsville had a total area of 12.398 square miles (32.111 km²), including 12.322 square miles (31.914 km²) of land and 0.076 square miles (0.198 km²) of water (0.62%).

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 11,980 people, 4,331 households, and 3,491 families in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . There were 4,461 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 88.45% (10,596)

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

, 1.31% (157) Black or African American, 0.04% (5) Native American, 8.20% (982) Asian, 0.00% (0)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 0.42% (50) from other races, and 1.59% (190) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.81% (457) of the population. Of the 4,331 households, 36.2% had children under the age of 18; 71.7% were married couples living together; 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present and 19.4% were non-families. Of all households, 16.6% were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.10. 24.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 18.2% from 25 to 44, 35.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 95.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 92.4 males.

Points of interest

* Washington Valley Park, part of the Somerset County Park System, is located in Martinsville. The park offers extensive hiking and mountain biking opportunities. A notable hike in the park is an hour-long hike around the out-of-use reservoir that once served

Bound Brook, New Jersey Bound Brook is a borough in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located along the Raritan River. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,988, an increase of 1,586 (+15.2%) from the 2010 census coun ...

. * Devil's Tree is a solitary oak located in a field on Mountain Road. Legend has it that it is the property of the Devil and a gateway to Hell. *There is a Revolutionary War cemetery in the Spring Run section of Martinsville, where soldiers of both American and British troops are buried, along with some early settlers of the area.

Education

The

Pingry School The Pingry School is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory country day school in New Jersey, with a Lower School (K–5) campus in the Short Hills neighborhood of Millburn, a Middle (6–8) and Upper School (9–12) campus in ...

's upper division for grades 6 to 12 is located in Martinsville. Little Friends of Jesus Nursery School (preschool, non-parochial) operate under the supervision of Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Martinsville include: * Catherine Caro (born 1995),

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

player * Andrea Kane, author of

romance novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and Romance (love), romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed ...

s *

Geraldine Laybourne Geraldine "Gerry" Laybourne (''née'' Bond; born May 19, 1947) is an American entrepreneur and former TV executive. She worked at Nickelodeon from 1980 until 1996, when she became the president of Disney-ABC Cable Networks (including Disney Ch ...

(born 1947), founded Oxygen Media and has served as its chairman and chief executive officer since its inception * Ally Mastroianni, professional

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

player for the California Palms of the Women's Lacrosse League * Mark Oldman (born 1969), entrepreneur, wine expert and author *

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American author, muckraker journalist, and political activist, and the 1934 California gubernatorial election, 1934 Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

(1878-1968), author of ''

The Jungle ''The Jungle'' is a novel by American author and muckraking-journalist Upton Sinclair, known for his efforts to expose corruption in government and business in the early 20th century. In 1904, Sinclair spent seven weeks gathering information ...

'' lived in Martinsville during the later years of his lifeFreeman, Muriel
"Upton Sinclair: Recalling a Muckraker"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', December 17, 1978. Accessed May 4, 2015. "Martinsville - Upton Sinclair, muckraker extraordinaire and the author of more than 100 books, died in Bridgewater Township on Nov. 25, 1968, at the age of 90."

References

{{Authority control Bridgewater Township, New Jersey Census-designated places in Somerset County, New Jersey Census-designated places in New Jersey