Editing Somerville, New Jersey (section)

==History==
[[Image:SomervilleNJ.jpg|thumb|left|[[September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks]] Memorial and Court House, Somerville]]

===Early development===
Somerville was settled in colonial times primarily by the Dutch who purchased land from the [[England|English]] proprietors of the colony. The Dutch established their church near what is today Somerville and a Dutch Reformed minister or Domine lived at the [[Old Dutch Parsonage]] from about 1754. The early village grew up around a church, courthouse and a tavern built at a crossroads shortly after the American Revolution. The name "Somerville" was taken from four brothers of the Somerville family, Edward, John and James from Drishane and [[Castlehaven]], [[County Cork]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], who first founded the town in the 1750s. Somerville was originally a sparsely populated farming community, but rapidly grew after the completion of the [[railroad]] in the 1840s and development of water power along the Raritan River in the 1850s. Early industry included [[brick]] making from the plentiful red clay and [[shale]] on which Somerville is built. While much of the borough features distinctive [[Victorian architecture]] in several neighborhoods and along its Main Street, other periods are represented. National Register sites in Somerville include the white [[marble]] 1909 [[Somerville Court House]] and the wooden and stone colonial [[Wallace House (New Jersey)|Wallace House]] (today a museum) where [[George Washington]] spent a winter during the [[American Revolutionary War]]. Near the Wallace House is the [[Old Dutch Parsonage]], where Reverend [[Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh]], a founder and first president of [[Rutgers University]], then called Queens College, lived. Register listed Victorian structures include the [[J. Harper Smith Mansion|James Harper Smith Estate]] (privately owned), [[St. John's Episcopal Church (Somerville, New Jersey)|St. John's Episcopal Church]] and rectory, and the Fire Museum (a vintage fire house). Other notable, register eligible structures are the Victorian train station (privately owned) and the municipal building, the former Robert Mansion.<ref name=History>[http://www.somervillenj.org/content/4066/4794/default.aspx History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528134643/http://www.somervillenj.org/content/4066/4794/default.aspx |date=May 28, 2018 }}, Borough of Somerville. Accessed March 8, 2020.</ref>

Originally the center of local commerce, the borough has evolved into a destination for boutique retail and dining. Modern [[highway]]s today surround and traverse Somerville, including [[U.S. Route 22]], [[U.S. Route 202]], [[U.S. Route 206]] and [[New Jersey Route 28|Route 28]] and is within {{convert|5|mi|km}} of [[Interstate 287]] and [[Interstate 78 in New Jersey|Interstate 78]], making it an important hub in central New Jersey.

===Tour of Somerville===
In 1940, the first competitive bicycle race, called the [[Tour of Somerville]] was established by bicycle shop owner, Fred Kugler, to showcase his son, Furman, who was a national cycling champion, and who won the initial men's competition. His daughter, Mildred won the women's. The 50-mile race is held annually and has since become the oldest competitive bicycle race in the U.S.<ref>Nieto-Munoz, Sophie. [https://www.nj.com/somerset/2019/05/tour-of-somerville-oldest-bike-race-in-us-draws-thousands-as-cyclists-speed-around-town.html "Tour of Somerville, oldest bike race in U.S., draws thousands as top cyclists compete"], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], May 27, 2019. Accessed March 8, 2020. "For the 76th year, thousands of people lined up along Main Street in Somerville to catch a glimpse of the oldest major bike race in the country and one of the most highly anticipated in the world."</ref> It carries a purse of $10,000 for each winner of the women's and men's races.

===Downtown today===
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2022}}
Main Street Somerville maintains most of its historical buildings, although many are now boutique specialty shops and second-hand shops. Somerville has quite a diverse and large selection of restaurants that draw people from the surrounding area. In many ways, Somerville remains Somerset County's downtown, and is the heart of its designated Regional Center. Several of the factories in Somerville were abandoned and replaced with modern office buildings or remodeled as apartments. Somerville today and historically has had an important [[African American]] community, a distinguished member of which was [[Paul Robeson]]. Another famous Somerville native was famed character actor [[Lee Van Cleef]]. One of the founders of modern American Dance, [[Ruth St. Denis]], made her professional debut at Somerset Hall, once a vaudeville theatre and today a local restaurant. The mix of modern amenities and an interesting and diverse past make Main Street, Somerville a unique destination for dining, strolling and visiting.

===Future redevelopment===
The shopping center on the west side of the downtown area was demolished and a new shopping center, town homes and other amenities will be built on the shopping center land and on adjacent land in the former borough [[landfill]] to the south. Ground was broken for a new "world class" [[ShopRite (United States)|ShopRite]] supermarket in March 2011 and opened in November 2011.<ref>Mustac, Frank. [http://www.nj.com/messenger-gazette/index.ssf/2011/03/somerville_holds_groundbreaking_for_new_shoprite_supermarket_off_west_main_street.html "Somerville holds groundbreaking for new ShopRite supermarket; Photo gallery"], ''Independent Press'', March 22, 2011. Accessed February 3, 2015.</ref> Borough planners envision a [[transit village]] style redevelopment centered around the [[Somerville station|Somerville]] train station.<ref>Garlic, Tiffani N. [http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2010/07/somerville_named_a_transit_vil.html "Somerville named a Transit Village"], ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', July 8, 2010. Accessed May 3, 2012. "New Jersey officials hope Somerville being named an official Transit Village community by the state Department of Transportation today will help jump-start the local economy."</ref>

===Hurricane Floyd===
Somerville was hit hard by [[Hurricane Floyd]] in September 1999, despite its having been downgraded to a [[tropical storm]] by the time it impacted the vicinity. The borough received a record {{convert|13.34|in|mm}} of rain over three days during the slow moving storm, causing significant flooding and considerable damage.<ref>[http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/floyd/floydreport.htm Post Storm Report...Hurricane Floyd], [[National Weather Service]]. Accessed May 3, 2012.</ref>

===Regulation concerns===
Numerous local and national media publications reported on how the state of New Jersey had eased regulations allowing for home baked goods to be made and sold from a home, but how Somerville in particular still suffers from, "...[a] draconian ordinance that creates a contradiction between Somerville's zoning policies and New Jersey's home baking law..." making it difficult for a [[small business]] owner or entrepreneur to try and earn a living in this fashion in Somerville.<ref>Intersimone, Jenna. [https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/money/business/2022/06/22/somerville-home-baking-cottage-food-laws-institute-for-justice/7617915001/ "NJ home bakers can now sell their goodies, but Somerville is saying no"], ''[[Courier News]]'', June 22, 2022. Accessed July 2, 2022. "Somerville resident Maria Winter is exactly the type of home baker that New Jersey's new law permitting the sale of home-baked goods was supposed to benefit.... Her application for a home business zoning permit, which would allow her to sell the sugar cookies from her 150-square-foot kitchen, was denied by Somerville for the first time in February. Winter was told by borough officials that she needed a zoning variance, pay a $1,000 application fee, deposit $4,000 into a borough escrow account, publish a public notice in the newspaper and notify all property owners within 200 feet of her home that there would be a public hearing on her application."</ref> In order to be able to make her cookies and sell them from her home kitchen was required "... to pay a $1,000 application fee and put $4,000 into a borough escrow account", in addition to notifying neighbors, placing a public notice advertisement and having a public hearing on the application.<ref>Harrigan, Fiona. [https://reason.com/2022/06/27/a-new-jersey-town-wants-to-charge-this-woman-5000-to-sell-cookies/ "A New Jersey Town Wants To Charge This Woman $5,000 To Sell Cookies Somerville still has costly regulations on the books even though New Jersey has legalized the sale of home-baked items."], ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'', June 27, 2022. Accessed July 2, 2022.</ref>