Editing Branchburg, New Jersey (section)

== History ==
While the area of today's Branchburg has a history antedating the [[American Revolutionary War]], the township itself was incorporated by an act of the [[New Jersey Legislature]] on April 5, 1845, from portions of [[Bridgewater Township, New Jersey|Bridgewater Township]].<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. 222. Accessed September 119, 2012.</ref> The township is named for its location at a point where branches of the [[Raritan River]] merge.<ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=9 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 25, 2015.</ref>

The land that is now known as Branchburg Township was originally inhabited by the [[Raritan tribe|Raritan]]s, a tribe of the [[Lenape|Lenni Lenape]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. By 1686 most of the land was purchased from the Lenape by the Lords Proprietors of [[East Jersey]], who sold the land in small parcels to numerous settlers, mostly of [[Dutch people|Dutch]] or [[English people|English]] extraction.<ref>[http://www.branchburg.nj.us/historic-information/ Historic Information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206070346/http://www.branchburg.nj.us/historic-information/ |date=February 6, 2015 }}, Township of Branchburg. Accessed February 1, 2015.</ref> With the 1688 redrawing of the boundary between East and [[West Jersey]], the Branchburg region was split between [[Essex County, New Jersey|Essex County]] to the north and the newly formed Somerset County to the south. With Somerset's acquisition of territory from Essex and [[Middlesex County, New Jersey|Middlesex Counties]] in 1741, Branchburg lay entirely within Somerset County.<ref>[http://www.branchburg.nj.us/overview-of-branchburg/ Overview of Branchburg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122194126/http://www.branchburg.nj.us/overview-of-branchburg/ |date=January 22, 2013 }}, Township of Branchburg. Accessed February 7, 2013.</ref>

[[Bridgewater Township, New Jersey|Bridgewater Township]] was chartered in 1749. The residents of the part of Bridgewater west of the [[Raritan River]] petitioned the New Jersey Legislature for incorporation as a separate township, which was granted by an act dated April 5, 1845.<ref name=Story/><ref name=GovernmentInformation/> The first town meeting was held April 14, 1845, in White Oak Tavern, a stagecoach stop and local meeting place along the [[Old York Road]].<ref name=GovernmentInformation/>