Editing Bernards Township, New Jersey (section)

==History==
Bernards Township was originally formed by [[royal charter]] on May 24, 1760, as '''Bernardston Township''' from remaining portions of [[Northern precinct, Somerset County, New Jersey (Historical)|Northern precinct]].<ref name=Charter>Sadlouskos, Linda. [http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100106/NEWS/1060331 "250th anniversary tea to celebrate Bernards history"], ''[[Courier News]]'', January 6, 2010. Accessed March 22, 2011. "The events commemorate the 250th anniversary of the granting of a charter from British King George II to create the township of Bernardston, Kennedy said."</ref> It was incorporated as Bernards Township by an act of the [[New Jersey Legislature]] on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships. Portions of the township were taken to form [[Warren Township, New Jersey|Warren Township]] (March 5, 1806), [[Far Hills, New Jersey|Far Hills]] (April 7, 1921) and [[Bernardsville, New Jersey|Bernardsville]] (March 6, 1924).<ref name=Story>Snyder, John P. [https://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf ''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''], Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 221. Accessed May 8, 2012.</ref> The township celebrated its 250th charter anniversary in May 2010.<ref name=Charter/>

A set of [[referendum]]s to create independent boroughs from portions of Bernards Township were held in June 1921, which would have left only Liberty Corner and Lyons remaining in Bernards Township if all three proposals had been approved; The referendum in Far Hills passed and the vote in Bernardsville failed in 1921, but ultimately passed in 1924.<ref>Thomson, W. Barry. [https://somersethillshistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Newsletter-May2021-1.pdf#page=6 "New Municipal Proposals of 100 Years Ago"], ''Inside the Brick Academy'', June 2021. Accessed July 18, 2023. "One hundred years ago, in 1921, efforts were made to break up Bernards Township to create three new boroughs: Far Hills, Bernardsville, and Basking Ridge. As originally proposed, only the areas around Liberty Corner and Lyons would have remained within Bernards Township. After bills authorizing these new boroughs passed the New Jersey Legislature, local referenda were held in June 1921 allowing residents in each of the affected areas to vote on the proposals. The vote to create the Borough of Far Hills passed, while votes to form the separate boroughs of Bernardsville and Basking Ridge were defeated."</ref> Voters rejected the creation of proposed borough of [[Basking Ridge, New Jersey|Basking Ridge]] by a more than 4–1 margin.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/bernardsville-news-basking-ridge-voters/128457824/ "Ridge Defeats Borough Act"], ''Bernardsville News'', June 9, 1921. Accessed July 18, 2023, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "Basking Ridge by defeating the borough proposition today by a majority of 127 votes, chose to remain in the Township with Bernardsville and Liberty Corner. There were 161 ballots cast against the borough and 34 in favor."</ref>

The township was named for [[Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet]], who served as governor of the Province of New Jersey.<ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=8 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 27, 2015.</ref><ref>Cheslow, Jerry. [https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/19/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-living-basking-ridge-nj-rich-hamlet-that-gobbled-up-town.html "If You're Thinking of Living In: Basking Ridge, N.J.;A Rich Hamlet That Gobbled Up a Town"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 19, 1995. Accessed October 11, 2015. "The name Bernards Township was given to the area in 1760 by King George II to honor Sir Francis Bernard, Provincial Governor of New Jersey from 1758 to 1760."</ref>