Editing Somerville, New Jersey (section)

===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.