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Bordentown, New Jersey

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Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement

Bordentown is a city in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 3,993,<ref name=LWD2020/> an increase of 69 (+1.8%) from the 2010 census count of 3,924,<ref name=Census2010/><ref name=LWD2010/> which in turn reflected a decline of 45 (−1.1%) from the 3,969 counted in the 2000 census.<ref>Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.</ref>

Bordentown is located at the confluence of the Delaware River, Blacks Creek, and Crosswicks Creek. The latter is the border between Burlington and Mercer counties. Bordentown is the northernmost municipality in New Jersey that is a part of the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area and the Delaware Valley.<ref>Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area, United States Census Bureau. Accessed February 1, 2023.</ref> It sits about one-third of the distance from Center City, Philadelphia to Midtown Manhattan; it is located Template:Convert south of the state capital Trenton, Template:Convert northeast of Center City Philadelphia, and Template:Convert southwest of New York City.

Bordentown's first recorded European settlement was made in 1682 in what became known as Farnsworth's Landing and, after 1717, the town that had developed in the Provence of New Jersey was renamed to Borden's Town. After the American Revolution and the establishment of the New Jersey state government, Bordentown was incorporated with a borough government form by an act of its legislature on December 9, 1825, from portions within Chesterfield Township. It was reincorporated with a city government form on April 3, 1867, and it was separated from Chesterfield Township about 1877.<ref name=Story>Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 94. Accessed June 13, 2012.</ref>

History

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Thomas Farnsworth, an English Quaker, became the first European settler in the Bordentown area in 1682, when he moved his family upriver from Burlington. He made a new home on the windswept bluff overlooking the broad bend in the Delaware River, near today's northwest corner of Park Street and Prince Street, perhaps where an 1883 frame house now stands. "Farnsworth Landing" soon became the center of trade for the region.<ref>Staff. "Welcome to Bordentown City", Courier-Post, July 28, 2007. Accessed June 13, 2012. "According to the Bordentown Historical Society, it was one of the first free public schools in New Jersey. According to past Courier-Post reports, an English Quaker named Thomas Farnsworth settled the area in 1682 and created an active trading center called Farnsworth's Landing."</ref> Farnsworth is also the namesake of one of Bordentown's main streets, Farnsworth Avenue.

Joseph Borden, for whom the city is named,<ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 27, 2015.</ref><ref>Gannett, Henry. The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, p. 37. United States Government Printing Office, 1905. Accessed August 27, 2015.</ref> arrived in 1717, and by May 1740 founded a transportation system to carry people and freight between New York City and Philadelphia. This exploited Bordentown's natural location as the point on the Delaware River that provided the shortest overland route to Perth Amboy, from which cargo and people could be ferried to New York City.<ref>Bordentown City Master Plan Historic Preservation Element Template:Webarchive, Burlington County Bridge Commission, March 2012. Accessed June 13, 2012. "In 1717, Joseph Borden, a farmer from Freehold, New Jersey, settled here, bought up a substantial part of the land, and changed the town's name to Borden's Town. He started a packet line from Philadelphia to Bordentown, where travelers would stop to rest and then proceed on Borden's stage line to Perth Amboy, where they would make their connections to New York."</ref> The town was the childhood home of Patience Wright, America's first female sculptor, who lived there in the 1730s.

By 1776, Bordentown was full of Patriots. Joseph Borden's son (also named Joseph Borden) became a colonel during the American Revolutionary War. Other noted patriots lived in the area, including Thomas Paine. Francis Hopkinson (a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence), Colonel Kirkbride, and Colonel Oakey Hoagland. Hessian troops briefly occupied Bordentown in 1776 as part of the New York and New Jersey campaign before leaving to engage in the Battle of Iron Works Hill on December 23. On May 8, 1777, during the Philadelphia campaign, British forces raided Bordentown in pursuit of retreating American militiamen. The Redcoats burned several Bordentown buildings along with large quantities of American military supplies and several ships in the nearby waters. On June 23, 1778, British forces again raided Bordentown, destroying several buildings.<ref>Boatman, Gail. "Re-enactors to do battle in Bordentown", Burlington County Times, June 7, 2007. Accessed June 13, 2012.</ref>

In August 1831, master mechanic Isaac Dripps of Bordentown re-assembled (without blueprints or instructions) the locomotive John Bull (originally called "The Stevens") in just 10 days. It was built by Robert Stephenson and Company, in England, and was imported into Philadelphia by the Camden and Amboy Railroad. The next year it started limited service, and the year after that regular service, to become one of the first successful locomotives in the United States. The John Bull is preserved at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.<ref>John Bull Locomotive, Smithsonian Institution. Accessed July 8, 2013.</ref>

Another notable resident of Bordentown is Clara Barton, who started the first free public school in New Jersey in 1852. Barton later founded the American Red Cross.<ref>Staff. "Barton started first free school", Courier-Post, January 12, 1999. Accessed July 8, 2013.</ref> A recreation of her schoolhouse stands at the corner of Crosswicks and Burlington streets.<ref>Staff. "Clara Barton was Pioneer in BurlCo Public Education", The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 20, 1999. Accessed July 8, 2013. "At Burlington and Crosswicks Streets in Bordentown is a one-room brick schoolhouse, believed to be the first public school in the county, which Barton, then 30, started in 1852 as part of her goal to overcome a bias in the community against 'pauper schools.'"</ref>

In 1866, Susan Waters moved into what is now one of the larger properties on Mary Street. This was a base from which she taught and produced over 50 of her works, many of which are painting of animals in natural settings and pastoral scenes. She was also an early photographer. In 1876 she was asked to exhibit several of her works at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.<ref>History of Bordentown, Bordentown Historical Society. Accessed October 23, 2013.</ref>

In 1881, Rev. William Bowen purchased the old Spring Villa Female Seminary building (built on land purchased from the Bonapartes in 1837) and reopened it as the Bordentown Military Institute. In 1886, African-American Rev. Walter A. Rice established a private school for African-American children, the Manual Training and Industrial School for Colored Youth, in a two-story house at 60 West Street, which later moved to Walnut Street on the banks of the Delaware, and became a public school in 1894 under Jim Crow laws. The school, which was known as the Bordentown School, came to have a Template:Convert, 30-building campus with two farms, a vocational/ technical orientation, and a college preparatory program.<ref>Institutional History, New Jersey State Archives. Accessed November 21, 2013.</ref> The Bordentown School operated from 1894 to 1955.

In 1909, the religious order Poor Clares established a convent in the former Motherhouse of the Sisters of Mercy on Crosswicks Street. The building still stands and is used as an assisted living community called The Clare Estate. The Order of Poor Clares moved to a new facility outside Bordentown City.<ref>Stadnyk, Mary. "Grace of Perseverance; For 100 years, diocese has been blessed with the Poor Clare Sisters", The Monitor, December 10, 2009. Accessed October 23, 2013. "Having heard of the Poor Clares in Boston, Bishop McFaul contacted Mother Charitas, the abbess, and asked her to send sisters to Bordentown. Mother Charitas, who became the Bordentown's community's first abbess, was delighted with the request for it had been her wish to spread the Franciscan Order of St. Clare to other areas of the United States. On Aug. 12, 1909, the first five Sisters of St. Clare arrived in Bordentown."</ref>

Joseph Bonaparte

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File:Bordentown Joseph Bonaparte 003.jpg
Former Bonaparte mansion, before 1923
File:Bordentown Joseph Bonaparte 002.jpg
Original entrance of Bonaparte tunnel, before 1923

Several years after the banishing of his family from France in 1816, arriving under vigilant disguise as the Count de Survilliers, Joseph Bonaparte,<ref>McGreevy, Nora, "New Jersey Estate Owned by Napoleon’s Older Brother Set to Become State Park", Smithsonian, March 23, 2021. Accessed March 25, 2021. "Comparatively, Napoleon’s older brother Joseph had an easier time in exile. After the French emperor’s downfall, the elder Bonaparte, who’d briefly served as king of Spain and Naples, headed to the United States, where he settled on a bluff overlooking the Delaware River in Bordentown, New Jersey. Between 1816 and 1839, Bonaparate lived on and off at a property dubbed Point Breeze, spending the remainder of his adult years in resplendent luxury."</ref> former King of Naples and Spain and brother to Napoleon I of France, purchased the Point Breeze Estate near Bordentown from American revolutionary, Stephen Sayre.<ref>E.M. Woodward. “Bonaparte's Park, and the Murats, 1879. Page 38”</ref> He lived there for 17 years, entertaining guests of great fame such as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and the future 6th U.S. President, John Quincy Adams. The residents of Bordentown nicknamed the Count, "The Good Mr. Bonaparte" (Good to distinguish him from his younger brother). He built a lake near the mouth of Crosswicks Creek that was about Template:Convert wide and Template:Convert long. On the bluff above it he built a new home, "Point Breeze".<ref>A View of the Delaware from Bordentown Hill by Charles B. Lawrence Template:Webarchive, New Jersey Historical Society. Accessed October 23, 2013.</ref> The current Divine Word Mission occupies its former site along Park Street.<ref>Kilby, David. "Divine Word Father Detig reflects on his 50 years as missionary ", The Monitor, July 24, 2013. Accessed October 23, 2013. "When walking through the peaceful grounds of the Divine Word Residence, Bordentown, it's easy to forget that those 100 acres overlooking the Delaware River provide a home for missionaries like Father Joseph Detig, who has spread the Gospel around the world and endured many of the trials that come with doing so."</ref>

Today only vestiges of the Bonaparte estate remain. Much of it is the remains of a formerly Italinate building remodeled in English Georgian Revival style in 1924 for Harris Hammon, who purchased the estate at Point Breeze as built in 1850 by Henry Becket, a British consul in Philadelphia. In addition to the rubble of this mansion and some hedges of its elaborate gardens, only the original tunnel to the river (broken through in several places) and the house of Bonaparte's secretary remain. Many descendants of Joachim Murat, King of Naples and brother in law of the Bonapartes executed in 1815, also were born or lived in Bordentown, having followed their uncle Joseph there. After the Bonaparte dynasty was restored by Napoleon III, they moved back to France and were recognized as princes.

Geography

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According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 0.97 square miles (2.52 km2), including 0.93 square miles (2.42 km2) of land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) of water (4.02%).<ref name=CensusArea/><ref name=GR1 />

The City of Bordentown is surrounded on three sides by Bordentown Township and on the western side by the juncture of the Delaware River and Crosswicks Creek, which is the border with Hamilton Township in Mercer County.<ref>Areas touching Bordentown City, MapIt. Accessed March 20, 2020.</ref><ref>Municipalities within Burlington County, NJ, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Accessed March 20, 2020.</ref><ref>New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.</ref> It is bounded on the east by U.S. Route 130 and U.S. Route 206, on the south by Black's Creek and Interstate 295, and on the north by the Mile Hollow Run. Across the Delaware River is Falls Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Demographics

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Template:US Census population

2010 census

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The 2010 United States census counted 3,924 people, 1,859 households, and 922 families in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 2,014 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup was 83.51% (3,277) White, 10.12% (397) Black or African American, 0.20% (8) Native American, 2.73% (107) Asian, 0.03% (1) Pacific Islander, 1.17% (46) from other races, and 2.24% (88) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.81% (228) of the population.<ref name=Census2010/>

Of the 1,859 households, 21.3% had children under the age of 18; 32.4% were married couples living together; 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 50.4% were non-families. Of all households, 41.3% were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.91.<ref name=Census2010/>

18.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 29.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.3 years. For every 100 females, the population had 91.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 87.1 males.<ref name=Census2010/>

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $66,557 (with a margin of error of +/− $9,567) and the median family income was $90,165 (+/− $11,644). Males had a median income of $52,652 (+/− $10,201) versus $48,906 (+/− $9,108) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $36,814 (+/− $3,714). About 1.7% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.<ref>DP03: Selected Economic Characteristics from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for Bordentown city, Burlington County, New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed June 13, 2012.</ref>

2000 census

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As of the 2000 United States census<ref name="GR2" /> there were 3,969 people, 1,757 households, and 989 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 1,884 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 81.25% White, 13.08% African American, 0.05% Native American, 1.91% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.81% from other races, and 2.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.82% of the population.<ref name=Census2000>Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Bordentown city, New Jersey Template:Webarchive, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 8, 2013.</ref><ref name=Census2000SF1>DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Bordentown city, Burlington County, New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 8, 2013.</ref>

There were 1,757 households, out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.7% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.93.<ref name=Census2000/><ref name=Census2000SF1/>

In the city the population was spread out, with 20.9% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 34.2% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.<ref name=Census2000/><ref name=Census2000SF1/>

The median income for a household in the city was $47,279, and the median income for a family was $59,872. Males had a median income of $39,909 versus $31,780 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,882. About 4.0% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.8% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.<ref name=Census2000/><ref name=Census2000SF1/>

Economy

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Downtown Bordentown has many book, record and antique stores lining its streets, with Italian and American restaurants. The restaurants are primarily Italian, but there are also restaurants and diners that specialize in American food, Chinese food, and more recently Japanese and Latin-American food.<ref>Who We Are, Downtown Bordentown Association. Accessed October 1, 2014.</ref>

Government

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Local government

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File:Bordentown city, NJ municipal complex, Jan. 2023.jpg
Bordentown City Hall in 2023

Bordentown has been governed under the Walsh Act since 1913. The city is one of 30 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this commission form of government.<ref>Inventory of Municipal Forms of Government in New Jersey, Rutgers University Center for Government Studies, July 1, 2011. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref> The governing body is comprised of three commissioners, one of whom is selected to serve as Mayor. Each commissioner is assigned a specific department to oversee during their term in office. Members are elected at-large to four-year concurrent terms of office on a non-partisan basis as part of the May municipal election.<ref name=DataBook>2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, March 2013, p. 135.</ref><ref>"Forms of Municipal Government in New Jersey", p. 8. Rutgers University Center for Government Studies. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref><ref>The Commission Form of Municipal Government Template:Webarchive, p. 53. Accessed October 23, 2013.</ref>

Template:As of, Bordentown's commissioners are Mayor Jennifer L. Sciortino (Director of Revenue and Finance), Deputy Mayor Joe Myers (Director of Public Property, Streets and Water) and Commissioner Heather Cheesman (Director of Public Safety and Affairs; appointed to an unexpired term), all serving terms of office that end on May 13, 2025.<ref name=Administration>Administration Directory, City of Bordentown. Accessed April 18, 2024.</ref><ref>2024 Municipal Data Sheet, City of Bordentown. Accessed April 18, 2024.</ref>

In March 2024, the commissioners appointed Heather Cheesman to fill the seat that had been held by James E. Lynch Jr., until he resigned from office; Cheeseman will serve on an interim basis until the November 2024 general election, when voters will choose a candidate to serve the balance of the term of office.<ref>Wildstein, David. "Cheesman picked to fill Bordentown vacancy; Ex-deputy mayor returns following resignation of James Lynch", New Jersey Globe, March 8, 2024. Accessed April 18, 2024. "Heather Cheesman is returning to the Bordentown City Board of Commissioners to fill a vacant seat, giving the municipality its first woman majority in history. She replaces James E. Lynch, Jr., who resigned on March 1 for reasons that were not specific.... Cheesman will serve until the results of a November special election are certified and a replacement is picked to fill the remaining eight months of Lynch’s term."</ref>

The city's municipal complex is located on the site of the Point Breeze estate. Part of the site was purchased by the city in 2020 from the Divine Word Missionaries who occupied the Template:Convert site previously. The repurposed building opened in August 2022. The former city hall was located at 324 Farnsworth Avenue.<ref name=CityHall1>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=CityHall2>Template:Cite news</ref>

Emergency services

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Hope Hose Humane Fire Company 1 dates its founding to 1767, making it the nation's second-oldest volunteer fire service, having taken its current name from the combination in 1976 of the Hope Hose and the Humane fire companies.<ref>Rittenhouse, Lindsay. "Fire company begins fundraising for 250th anniversary, restoration project", NJ.com, July 6, 2015. Accessed October 21, 2016. "Hope Hose Humane Company 1 traces its firefighting roots to 1767, making it nine years older than the country and the second-oldest all volunteer fire department in the United States, the company says.... Paul Walsh, historian and secretary for Hope Hose Humane, said he even finds items on eBay such as old badges from Hope Hose and Humane fire companies that he then purchased. The companies merged into Hope Hose Humane in 1976."</ref>

Consolidated Fire Association dates back to the 1966 merger of three separate volunteer fire companies.<ref>Home Page, Consolidated Fire Association. Accessed October 21, 2016. "Consolidated Fire Association was established July 5th 1966 when the Citizen Hook and Ladder Co., The Delaware Fire Co. and Weccacoe Hose Co. dissolved and merged into one new fire association."</ref>

Environmental Commission

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The Bordentown City Environmental Commission (BCEC) is a volunteer group of Bordentown City residents. The Commission is an official body, and its chair answers to the Mayor. The BCEC advises local officials and the Planning Board regarding environmental issues and is a watchdog for environmental problems and opportunities. It is designed to inform elected officials and the public, serve on committees, research issues, develop educational programs and advocate for sound environmental policies. Local issues include preservation of open space, promoting walking and bicycling trails and the River Line, protection of wetlands and water quality, recycling and energy conservation, and environmental education.<ref>About BCEC, Bordentown City Environmental Commission. Accessed November 6, 2016.</ref>

The BCEC's most current efforts have focuses upon a bicycle and pedestrian circulation study, the City's open space plan, and the development of a set of local greenways (Thorntown and Black Creek).

State government facilities

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The New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission operates two juvenile detention centers in the Johnstone Campus in Bordentown: Johnstone Campus Juvenile Female Secure Care and Intake Facility, which houses the state's adjudicated girls,<ref>The Female Secure Care and Intake Facility, New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission. Accessed December 16, 2015. "Burlington Street Bordentown, NJ 08505"</ref> and Juvenile Medium Security Facility-North Compound (JMSF-N) and the Juvenile Medium Security Facility-South Compound (JMSF-S) for boys.<ref>Juvenile Medium Security Facility (JMSF), New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission. Accessed December 16, 2015. "Burlington Street Bordentown, NJ 08505"</ref>

Federal, state and county representation

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Bordentown City is located in the 3rd Congressional District<ref name=PCR2012>Plan Components Report, New Jersey Redistricting Commission, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020.</ref> and is part of New Jersey's 7th state legislative district.<ref name=Districts2011>Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed February 1, 2020.</ref><ref name=LWV2019>2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters. Accessed October 30, 2019.</ref><ref>Districts by Number for 2011-2020, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 6, 2013.</ref> Prior to the 2011 reapportionment following the 2010 census, Bordentown City had been in the 30th state legislative district.<ref name=LWV2011>2011 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government Template:Webarchive, p. 55, New Jersey League of Women Voters. Accessed May 22, 2015.</ref> Prior to the 2010 Census, Bordentown City had been part of the Template:Ushr, a change made by the New Jersey Redistricting Commission that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections.<ref name=LWV2011/>

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Template:NJ Burlington County Commissioners

Politics

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Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow |} As of March 2011, there were a total of 2,493 registered voters in Bordentown City, of which 906 (36.3% vs. 33.3% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 500 (20.1% vs. 23.9%) were registered as Republicans and 1,085 (43.5% vs. 42.8%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 2 voters registered as either Libertarians or Greens.<ref name=VoterRegistration>Voter Registration Summary - Burlington, New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed December 25, 2014.</ref> Among the city's 2010 Census population, 63.5% (vs. 61.7% in Burlington County) were registered to vote, including 77.9% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 80.3% countywide).<ref name=VoterRegistration/><ref>GCT-P7: Selected Age Groups: 2010 - State -- County Subdivision; 2010 Census Summary File 1 for New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed December 25, 2014.</ref>

In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 1,298 votes (66.4% vs. 58.1% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 605 votes (31.0% vs. 40.2%) and other candidates with 34 votes (1.7% vs. 1.0%), among the 1,954 ballots cast by the city's 2,634 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.2% (vs. 74.5% in Burlington County).<ref>Presidential November 6, 2012 General Election Results - Burlington County Template:Webarchive, New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, March 15, 2013. Accessed December 25, 2014.</ref><ref>Number of Registered Voters and Ballots Cast November 6, 2012 General Election Results - Burlington County Template:Webarchive, New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, March 15, 2013. Accessed December 25, 2014.</ref> In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 1,305 votes (64.8% vs. 58.4% countywide), ahead of Republican John McCain with 669 votes (33.2% vs. 39.9%) and other candidates with 25 votes (1.2% vs. 1.0%), among the 2,015 ballots cast by the city's 2,543 registered voters, for a turnout of 79.2% (vs. 80.0% in Burlington County).<ref>2008 Presidential General Election Results: Burlington County, New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, December 23, 2008. Accessed December 25, 2014.</ref> In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 1,151 votes (58.7% vs. 52.9% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 778 votes (39.7% vs. 46.0%) and other candidates with 17 votes (0.9% vs. 0.8%), among the 1,961 ballots cast by the city's 2,488 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.8% (vs. 78.8% in the whole county).<ref>2004 Presidential Election: Burlington County, New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, December 13, 2004. Accessed December 25, 2014.</ref>

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 661 votes (51.0% vs. 61.4% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 579 votes (44.7% vs. 35.8%) and other candidates with 30 votes (2.3% vs. 1.2%), among the 1,295 ballots cast by the city's 2,658 registered voters, yielding a 48.7% turnout (vs. 44.5% in the county).<ref>2013 Governor: Burlington County, New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, January 29, 2014. Accessed December 25, 2014.</ref><ref>Number of Registered Voters and Ballots Cast November 5, 2013 General Election Results : Burlington County, New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, January 29, 2014. Accessed December 25, 2014.</ref> In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 714 ballots cast (50.1% vs. 44.5% countywide), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 553 votes (38.8% vs. 47.7%), Independent Chris Daggett with 86 votes (6.0% vs. 4.8%) and other candidates with 54 votes (3.8% vs. 1.2%), among the 1,424 ballots cast by the city's 2,567 registered voters, yielding a 55.5% turnout (vs. 44.9% in the county).<ref>2009 Governor: Burlington County Template:Webarchive, New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, December 31, 2009. Accessed December 25, 2014.</ref>

Education

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Public schools

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Public school students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grades attend the schools of the Bordentown Regional School District, which serves students from Bordentown City, Bordentown Township and Fieldsboro Borough.<ref>Bordentown Regional School District 2016 Report Card Narrative Template:Webarchive, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 27, 2017. "Bordentown Regional School District is a vibrant learning community, proudly serving the communities of Fieldsboro, Bordentown City and Bordentown Township.... In addition to the three aforementioned communities, Bordentown Regional High School also welcomes students from New Hanover into its ninth-twelfth grade population."</ref><ref>Staff. "Regional School Districts", Burlington County Times, April 26, 2015. Accessed February 11, 2025. "Bordentown Regional - Serves: Bordentown City, Bordentown Township, Fieldsboro, New Hanover"</ref> As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprised of five schools, had an enrollment of 2,232 students and 190.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.8:1.<ref name=NCES>District information for Bordentown Regional School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.</ref> Schools in the district (with 2023–24 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics<ref>School Data for the Bordentown Regional School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.</ref>) are Clara Barton Elementary School<ref>Clara Barton Elementary School, Bordentown Regional School District. Accessed February 11, 2025.</ref> with 215 students in grades K–2 (generally serves Bordentown City and the Holloway Meadows section of Bordentown Township), Peter Muschal Elementary School<ref>Peter Muschal Elementary School, Bordentown Regional School District. Accessed February 11, 2025.</ref> with 480 students in grades PreK–5 (generally serves remainder of Bordentown Township and the Borough of Fieldsboro), MacFarland Intermediate School<ref>MacFarland Intermediate School, Bordentown Regional School District. Accessed February 11, 2025.</ref> with 247 students in grades 3–5, Bordentown Regional Middle School<ref>Bordentown Regional Middle School, Bordentown Regional School District. Accessed February 11, 2025.</ref> with 505 students in grades 6–8 and Bordentown Regional High School<ref>Bordentown Regional High School, Bordentown Regional School District. Accessed February 11, 2025.</ref> with 762 students in grades 9–12.<ref>District Information, Bordentown Regional School District. Accessed February 11, 2025. "What communities make up the Regional School District? Our district is comprised of the Township of Bordentown, the City of Bordentown and the Borough of Fieldsboro. New Hanover Township sends students on a tuition basis grades 9-12.... There are five schools in the school district. There are two elementary schools serving students in full day kindergarten through grade 3; Clara Barton is located in Bordentown City, and Peter Muschal is located in Bordentown Township. MacFarland Intermediate School, located in Bordentown City, serves grades 4 & 5, while Bordentown Regional Middle School, located in Bordentown Township, serves grades 6, 7 & 8 and Bordentown Regional High School serves grades 9-12 and is located in Bordentown Township."</ref><ref>Public Schools Directory 2023–2024, Burlington County, New Jersey. Accessed March 1, 2024.</ref><ref>School Performance Reports for the Bordentown Regional School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.</ref><ref>New Jersey School Directory for the Bordentown Regional School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.</ref> The board's nine seats are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with three seats assigned to Bordentown City.<ref>Government That Works; Opportunities For Change: The Report of the Bordentown Regional School District, New Jersey Department of the Treasury, September 1999. Accessed February 7, 2020. "The Bordentown Regional School District is composed of three municipalities, Bordentown Township (Township), Bordentown City (City) and Fieldsboro Borough (Borough). The school district is governed by a Board of Education consisting of five members from the Township, three from the City, and one from the Borough, and one non-voting member from the New Hanover Township District, which sends students in grades nine through twelve on a tuition basis."</ref>

The New Hanover Township School District, consisting of New Hanover Township (including its Cookstown area) and Wrightstown Borough, sends students to Bordentown Regional High School on a tuition basis for ninth through twelfth grades as part of a sending/receiving relationship that has been in place since the 1960s, with about 50 students from the New Hanover district being sent to the high school.<ref>High School Sending Districts, Burlington County Library System, backed up by the Internet Archive as of September 27, 2006. Accessed October 1, 2014.</ref><ref>Kuzminski, Charles; and Thomas W. "Study on Behalf of the New Hanover School District on the Feasibility of Extending the District's Send/Receive Relationship to Include Students in Grades 6 – 8, The Educational Information and Resource Center, November 2011. Accessed October 1, 2014. "The New Hanover Township School District has participated in a send/receive relationship with the Bordentown Regional District since approximately 1960. Each year 45-55 New Hanover School District students attend Bordentown Regional High School."</ref> As of 2011, the New Hanover district was considering expansion of its relationship to send students to Bordentown for middle school for grades 6–8.<ref>Zimmaro, Mark. "New Hanover School to decide on middle school proposal", Burlington County Times, March 11, 2011. Accessed October 1, 2014. "NEW HANOVER — The township's school district will decide on Wednesday whether to enter an agreement with the Bordentown Regional School District for a send-receive agreement for middle school children. The district which serves New Hanover and Wrightstown, already sends its high school students to Bordentown Regional High School and district officials are trying to determine whether sending sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders to Bordentown Regional Middle School would be a feasible idea."</ref>

Students from Bordentown, and from all of Burlington County, are eligible to attend the Burlington County Institute of Technology, a countywide public school district that serves the vocational and technical education needs of students at the high school and post-secondary level at its campuses in Medford and Westampton.<ref>Why Choose BCIT?, Burlington County Institute of Technology. Accessed November 21, 2013.</ref>

Private schools

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Saint Mary School was a Catholic school serving students in Pre-K–8, that operated for over 100 years under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton.<ref>Burlington County Catholic Schools Template:Webarchive, Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton. Accessed January 22, 2017.</ref> The school closed its doors in June 2013 due to the school's financial challenges in the face of enrollment that was half of the 220 students needed to remain financially viable.<ref>Mulvaney, Nicole. "St. Mary School in Bordentown closes after 150 years", The Times, June 15, 2013. Accessed June 16, 2013.</ref>

The Bordentown Military Institute was located in the city from 1881 to 1972.<ref>Bordentown Military Institute Alumni Association. Accessed July 15, 2007.</ref><ref>Template:Usurped. Accessed July 15, 2007.</ref> The Society of the Divine Word fathers operated a minor seminary in Bordentown from 1947 to 1983.<ref>Divine Word Seminary Alumni Template:Webarchive. Accessed May 12, 2008.</ref> One of its more notable alumni Douglas Palmer was the four-term mayor of Trenton, New Jersey, leaving office in 2009.<ref>Stevens, Andrew. "Douglas Palmer; Mayor of Trenton, New Jersey", City Mayors Foundation, March 2, 2008. Accessed November 21, 2013. "Douglas Palmer was born in Trenton and attended Trenton Public Schools. He then graduated from Bordentown Military Institute in Bordentown, New Jersey."</ref>

Transportation

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File:2018-05-23 18 30 15 View north along U.S. Route 130 and U.S. Route 206 at Burlington County Route 528 (Crosswicks Street) in Bordentown, Burlington County, New Jersey.jpg
U.S. Route 130 / U.S. Route 206 at County Route 528 in Bordentown

Roads and highways

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Template:As of, the city had a total of Template:Convert of roadways, of which Template:Convert were maintained by the municipality, Template:Convert by Burlington County and Template:Convert by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.<ref>Burlington County Mileage by Municipality and Jurisdiction, New Jersey Department of Transportation, May 2010. Accessed November 21, 2013.</ref>

U.S. Route 130 and U.S. Route 206 run through very briefly and intersect at County Route 528 in the city.<ref>U.S. 130 Straight Line Diagram, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed October 23, 2013.</ref> In addition to CR 528's western terminus in Bordentown, County Route 545 has its northern terminus in the city. The New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) passes through neighboring Bordentown Township with access at interchange 7 to U.S. Route 206, which is signed as Bordentown-Trenton.<ref>Travel Resources: Interchanges, Service Areas & Commuter Lots, New Jersey Turnpike Authority. Accessed October 23, 2013.</ref> Interstate 295 also passes through Bordentown Township and has two interchanges that take travelers into Bordentown: exit 56 and exit 57.

Public transportation

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The Bordentown station at Park Street<ref>Bordentown station, NJ Transit. Accessed November 21, 2013.</ref> offers service between the Trenton Rail Station in Trenton and the Walter Rand Transportation Center (and other stations) in Camden, on NJ Transit's River Line Light rail system.<ref>River LINE System Map, NJ Transit. Accessed February 27, 2022.</ref>

NJ Transit provides bus service in the township between Trenton and Philadelphia on the 409 route.<ref>Burlington County Bus/Rail Connections, NJ Transit, backed up by the Internet Archive as of January 28, 2010. Accessed November 21, 2013.</ref><ref>South Jersey Transit Guide Template:Webarchive, Cross County Connection, as of April 1, 2010. Accessed November 21, 2013.</ref>

Religion

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Bordentown City's one square mile is home to more than 10 houses of worship, including: American Presbyterian Church, B'nai Abraham Synagogue, Christ Episcopal Church, Dorothea Dix Unitarian Universalist Community, Ebenezer Full Gospel Community Church, First Baptist Church of Bordentown, First Presbyterian Church, Mount Zion AME Church, Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Shiloh Baptist Church, Trinity United Methodist Church and Union Baptist Church.<ref>Morgan, Scott. "If You're Thinking of Living In . . . Bordentown City 08505" Template:Webarchive, US 1, November 17, 2010. Accessed September 3, 2015.</ref><ref>Bordentown Community Profile Template:Webarchive, First Baptist Church. Accessed September 3, 2015.</ref>

Points of interest

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The city has become a destination for weekend dining as well as for the casual perusal of its book and record stores, historical sites and art galleries. The active downtown business association sponsors an annual Iris Festival & Art Show in early May, an annual Street Fair in mid- to late May, and an annual Cranberry Festival in early October. The Bordentown Historical Society sponsors events, such as the Holiday House Tour and Peach Social.<ref>O'Sullivan, Jeannie. "Bordentown Historical Society plans a peachy time", Burlington County Times, August 4, 2011. Accessed July 8, 2013. "The Bordentown Historical Society's annual peach social will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at 302 Farnsworth Ave. Admission is $5.... It is one of the signature annual events hosted by the historical society, which also sponsors a holiday home tour and ghost walk."</ref>

The Historical Society hosts exhibits at the Bordentown Friends Meeting House each year, and the 2022 exhibition consists of artifacts collected from Joseph Bonaparte<ref name="BurlCoTimes">Template:Cite web</ref> which led to a visit from Philippe Étienne, the ambassador of France to the United States.<ref name="BurlCoTimes"/>

Crosswicks Creek Site III, an archaeological site from the American Revolutionary War era, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 for its significance in military and maritime history.<ref>Template:NRISref</ref>

Point Breeze, the former estate of Joseph Bonaparte, was added to the NRHP in 1997 for its significance in architecture, landscape architecture, and politics/government.<ref>Template:NRISref</ref>

Notable people

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File:BHS-TP Statue.JPG
This statue on Prince Street honors Thomas Paine, who periodically lived in Bordentown

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

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References

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