MIDDLETOWN, NJ

Middletown Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township had a total population of 67,106, making it the most-populous municipality in the county and the state's 16th largest municipality by population, having seen an increase of 584 residents (0.9%) from its population of 66,522 in the 2010 Census.

Middletown is a bedroom community of New York City, located alongside of the Raritan Bay within the Raritan Valley region in the New York metropolitan area. Due to its affluence, low crime, access to cultural activities, public school system, proximity to the Jersey Shore and Raritan Bayshore, and central commuting location, Middletown was ranked in 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2014 in the Top 100 in CNNMoney.com's Best Places to Live. Time magazine listed Middletown on its list of "Best Places to Live 2014".

In 2016, SafeWise named Middletown Township as the fifth-safest city in America to raise a child; the township was the highest ranked of the 12 communities in New Jersey included on the list.

History

Small communities of the Lenape Navesink tribe were common throughout the area when the first known European landing in what would become Middletown Township occurred in 1609. Sea captain and explorer Henry Hudson, in search of the mythical Northwest Passage in the service of the Dutch West India Company, anchored along the shores of Sandy Hook Bay in 1609, describing the area "a very good land to fall in with and a pleasant land to see." While a patroonship was granted by the company in 1651 the land wasn't officially settled. Today's Shoal Harbor Museum and Old Spy House includes portions of a house constructed by Thomas Whitlock, one of the area's first European settlers (and a Reformed Baptist at Middletown) who arrived here as early as 1664, around the time of the English takeover of New Netherland as a prelude of the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Long-standing tradition had Penelope Stout, one of the first settlers, hiding in a tree from hostile Native Americans.

Shortly after the Dutch surrender of the New Netherland to the English in 1664 a large tract of land known as the Navesink Patent or Monmouth Tract was granted to Baptist and Quaker settlers from Long Island, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, which soon thereafter became the townships of Middletown and Shrewsbury, and shortly thereafter that into the township of Freehold.

During the American Revolutionary War, Middletown and much of the rest of Eastern Monmouth County was held by the British. After the Battle of Monmouth, the British retreat from Freehold Township carried them down King's Highway through Middletown to their embarkation points at Sandy Hook in the bay, heading back to New York City.

Middletown Township was originally formed on October 31, 1693, and was incorporated as a township by the Township Act of 1798 of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken to form Atlantic Township (February 8, 1847, now Colts Neck Township), Raritan Township (February 25, 1848, now Hazlet Township), Atlantic Highlands (February 28, 1887), Highlands (March 22, 1900) and Keansburg (March 22, 1917).

Upon the completion of a railroad junction in 1875, the town grew more rapidly, eventually changing from a group of small and loosely connected fishing and agricultural villages into a fast-growing suburb at the turn of the 20th century. If Middletown ever had a recognizable town center or town square, it was lost in that rapid growth soon after World War II.

In May 1958, several Nike Ajax missiles exploded at Battery NY-53 in Chapel Hill, killing ten Army and civilian personnel. The accident was one of the worst missile-related disasters of the Cold War.

During the September 11 attacks in 2001, Middletown lost 37 of its residents at the World Trade Center (WTC), New York City, making it suffered the 2nd most 9/11 losses after New York City itself. Memorial Gardens were opened to public on September 11, 2003, 2nd anniversary of the WTC attack.

The Waterfront site of Naval Weapons Station Earle is located in Leonardo on Sandy Hook Bay, and is used to load ammunition onto ships on a finger pier that stretches for , making it the world's second-longest such pier.

The "Evil Clown of Middletown" is a towering sign along Route 35 painted to resemble a circus clown, that currently advertises a liquor store. The sign is a remnant of an old supermarket that used to be at that location called "Food Circus". The clown and recent successful attempts from residents to save it from demolition have been featured in the pages of Weird NJ magazine, on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and in the Kevin Smith-directed film Clerks II.

The Indian Trails 15K road race is held each year in April to benefit the Monmouth Conservation Foundation and includes a 5K walk/run event for fun. The race, run on a combination on paved and dirt roads, includes many relatively steep hills and has been described as "the most challenging race in the state".

The Middletown Township Historical Society is a non-profit formed in 1968 to preserve and promote the history of Middletown, NJ.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 58.72 square miles (152.09 km²), including 40.95 square miles (106.06 km²) of land and 17.78 square miles (46.04 km²) of water (30.27%).

Belford (2010 Census population of 1,768), Fairview (3,806), Leonardo (2,757), Lincroft (6,135), Navesink (2,020), North Middletown (3,295) and Port Monmouth (3,818) are all census-designated places and unincorporated communities located within Middletown Township.

Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Browns Dock, Chapel Hill, East Keansburg, Everett, Fort Hancock, Harmony, Headdons Corner, Hendrickson Corners, Highland Park, Highlands Beach, Highlands of Navesink, Holland, Leonardville, Locust, Locust Point, Monmouth Hills, New Monmouth, Normandie, Oak Hill, Philips Mills, Red Hill, River Plaza, Stone Church, Tiltons Corner, Town Brook, Waterwitch Park and Wilmont Park.

The Sandy Hook peninsula is also within Middletown Township, though it is not connected to the rest of the township by land. However, one could sail along Raritan Bay from the mainland to Sandy Hook and remain within Middletown Township.

The township borders the Monmouth County communities of Atlantic Highlands, Colts Neck Township, Fair Haven, Hazlet Township, Highlands, Holmdel Township, Keansburg, Red Bank, Rumson, Sea Bright and Tinton Falls.

Poricy Creek (Poricy Park, Oak Hill Road) is locally well known for its deposits of Cretaceous marine fossils, including belemnites.

Demographics

2010 Census

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $96,190 (with a margin of error of +/− $2,818) and the median family income was $110,944 (+/− $3,794). Males had a median income of $78,739 (+/− $3,585) versus $52,752 (+/− $2,573) for females. The per capita income for the township was $42,792 (+/− $1,706). About 1.7% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

2000 Census

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 66,327 people, 23,236 households, and 18,100 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,613.0 people per square mile (622.8/km²). There were 23,841 housing units at an average density of 579.8 per square mile (223.9/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 94.71% White, 1.21% African American, 0.07% Native American, 2.59% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.41% of the population.

There were 23,236 households, out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.3% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.1% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the township the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $75,566, and the median income for a family was $86,124. Males had a median income of $60,755 versus $36,229 for females. The per capita income for the township was $34,196. About 1.9% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 105 or over.

Government

Local government

The Township Committee operates under a special charter approved on June 23, 1971, by the New Jersey Legislature; The charter preserves many aspects of the Township form of government. The township is one of 11 (of the 564) municipalities statewide governed under a special charter. The township's governing body is comprised of the five-member Township Committee, whose members are elected at-large in partisan elections to three-year terms on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle as part of the November general election. At an annual reorganization meeting, the Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor, each for a one-year term. The Township Committee establishes municipal policies and programs and appropriates funds.

, members of the Middletown Township Committee are Mayor Anthony S. Perry Jr. (R, term on committee ends December 31, 2024; term as mayor ends 2022), Deputy Mayor Rick W. Hibell (R, term on committee and as deputy mayor ends 2022), Ryan M. Clarke (R, 2023), Kimberly Kratz (R, 2023; elected to serve an unexpired term) and Kevin M. Settembrino (R, 2022).

In September 2021, the Township Committee selected Kimberly Kratz from a list of three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the seat expiring in December 2023 that had been held by Patricia A. Snell until she resigned from office the previous month. Kratz served on an interim basis until the November 2021 general election, when she was chosen by the voters to serve the balance of the term of office.

In February 2018, the Township Committee selected Rick Hibell to fill the seat expiring in December 2019 that was vacated by Gerard Scharfenberger after he resigned and took office on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders; Hibell served on an interim basis until the November 2018 general election, when voters elected him to fill the balance of the term of office.

In November 2017, the committee chose Anthony Perry, the son-in-law of then-Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger, from three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the seat expiring in December 2018 that had been vacated by Stephen G. Massell the previous month when he resigned from office to accept a position on the Monmouth County Tax Board.

In October 2006, Middletown councilman and former four-term mayor Raymond J. O'Grady (R) was sentenced to 43 months in federal prison on bribery and extortion charges arising from his involvement in a federal sting operation known as Operation Bid Rig targeting political corruption in New Jersey. O'Grady committed to obtain no-bid contracts after he had accepted bribes from contractors in exchange for the work.

Federal, state, and county representation

Middletown Township is split between the 4th and 6th Congressional Districts and is part of New Jersey's 13th state legislative district. Prior to the 2010 Census, Middletown Township had been split between the 6th Congressional District and the , 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. The split that took effect in 2013 placed 30,866 residents living in the township's southeast in the 4th District, while 35,656 residents in the northern and eastern portions of the township were placed in the 6th District.

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 46,628 registered voters in Middletown Township, of which 10,222 (21.9%) were registered as Democrats, 11,674 (25.0%) were registered as Republicans and 24,701 (53.0%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 31 voters registered to other parties.

In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 58.2% of the vote (18,426 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 40.4% (12,801 votes), and other candidates with 1.4% (448 votes), among the 37,742 ballots cast by the township's 48,011 registered voters (6,067 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 78.6%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 57.6% of the vote (20,997 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 41.3% (15,058 votes) and other candidates with 1.1% (404 votes), among the 36,887 ballots cast by the township's 48,174 registered voters, for a turnout of 76.6%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 60.2% of the vote (21,317 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 38.6% (13,651 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (301 votes), among the 35,403 ballots cast by the township's 46,022 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 76.9.

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 74.5% of the vote (15,145 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 23.8% (4,834 votes), and other candidates with 1.7% (337 votes), among the 20,555 ballots cast by the township's 47,933 registered voters (239 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 42.9%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 67.3% of the vote (16,351 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 25.8% (6,265 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 5.7% (1,382 votes) and other candidates with 0.8% (188 votes), among the 24,298 ballots cast by the township's 47,422 registered voters, yielding a 51.2% turnout.

Education

The Middletown Township Public School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of 17 schools, had an enrollment of 9,617 students and 792.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.1:1. The district consists of twelve K-5 elementary schools, three middle schools for grades 6–8, and two four-year high schools. Four elementary schools feed into each of the three middle schools. The facilities vary in age, architecture, size, and student population. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are

Bayview Elementary School (366 students in grades K-5),

Fairview Elementary School (295; K-5),

Harmony Elementary School (507; PreK-5),

Leonardo Elementary School (274; K-5),

Lincroft Elementary School (450; K-5),

Middletown Village Elementary School (384; K-5),

Navesink Elementary School (233; K-5),

New Monmouth Elementary School (367; PreK-5),

Nut Swamp Elementary School (572; K-5),

Ocean Avenue Elementary School (294; K-5),

Port Monmouth Elementary School (Now closed) (207; K-5),

River Plaza Elementary School (286; K-5),

Bayshore Middle School (626; 6–8),

Thompson Middle School (1,005; 6–8),

Thorne Middle School (677; 6–8),

Middletown High School North (1,449; 9–12) and

Middletown High School South (1,565; 9–12).

Middletown also hosts two public magnet schools, High Technology High School, on the property of Brookdale Community College, located in the Lincroft section of town, and the Marine Academy of Science and Technology located on Sandy Hook, which are part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District.

Middletown Township is home to two private high schools. Christian Brothers Academy is an all-boys College preparatory school with a focus on Christian education run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, located in Lincroft. Mater Dei High School is a four-year Catholic coeducational high school located in the New Monmouth section and operates under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton.

Saint Mary School (for PreK-8, founded in 1953) in New Monmouth and Saint Leo the Great School (a National Blue Ribbon School founded in 1960) in Lincroft both operate as part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton. Oak Hill Academy is an independent school for PreK-8 in Lincroft, that was founded in 1981.

Infrastructure

Emergency services

Middletown has some of the largest emergency service departments in the area. The police and fire departments celebrated a joint 75th Anniversary in 2003. As of November 2016, Middletown Township switched their radio system over to county dispatch as part of an effort to save an estimated $1 million per year by eliminating 15 dispatchers.

Police

The Middletown Township Police Department is the largest police force in Monmouth County, with 112 sworn officers. The Middletown Township Police Department was formed on May 15, 1928, with the hiring of its first full-time police officer, Earl N. Hoyer. His appointment read Patrolman / Chief of Police, at an annual salary of $125.00.

The Rude Awakening Program educates the youth and their parents about alcohol abuse and its position as a gateway drug to further and harsher drugs and substance abuse. The program is specifically designed to educate the student in the life altering ramifications of drinking and driving. The program is mainly backed by the police department and has later encompassed EMS and fire into the program for vehicle extrication demonstrations.

Fire department

The Middletown Township Fire Department (referred to as MTFD, Monmouth County agency prefix 31 and 71) consists of 11 fire companies plus additional specialized units spread throughout the town and is composed of 500 volunteers. It is commonly stated that the Middletown Township Fire Department is "The World's Largest All Volunteer Fire Department".

Fire companies, in order of creation, are as follows:

For a time these companies acted separately until August 28, 1928, when all the individual companies were brought together to form the current fire department. Since then, two more companies have been formed:

Later, the individual companies took on station numbers with regard to their creation date. Navesink becoming Station #1 and Old Village becoming Station #11.

=Specialized units=

There are other special units besides the main fire companies. The MTFD has its own Fire Police Unit, Air Unit, and Special Services Unit (SSU).

EMS

There are five squads that make up the Township of Middletown EMS Department (EMS) and provide Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances to the township. They are:

They are all volunteer as well. All except Port Monmouth have EMS rescue trucks with equipment to handle vehicle extrications and rope rescue. These squads also have boats and dive teams to perform rescue and recovery operations involving water which have been called out of town to assist with large area searches. Port Monmouth provides a bariatric unit, a converted ambulance, for severely overweight patients. It has been requested outside of Middletown Township as a back-up for MONOC's unit.

Advanced Life Support (ALS) or paramedics for the township and surrounding towns are provided by MONOC. The two primary paramedic units for Middletown Township are Medic 206 located at MTFD Station 8 (Middletown Fire Company No. 1) covering a majority of the town and Medic 201 located at South Aberdeen First Aid Squad in Aberdeen covering the Northwestern end of town. Other medic units from farther distances are dispatched when these are not available.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Monmouth County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

The Garden State Parkway is the largest and busiest highway which passes through the township, connecting Tinton Falls in the south to Holmdel Township in the north. The township includes Parkway interchange 109 which is signed for County Route 520 to Red Bank / Lincroft and interchange 114 for Holmdel / Middletown. There are three toll gates on the Parkway located in Middletown, two of them are at Exit 109 (northbound entry, southbound exit), and two at Exit 114 (northbound entry, with the southbound toll exit in Holmdel). Routes 35 and 36 pass through Middletown.

CR. 516 travels through the northern part of the township and its eastern end is at Route 36 near Leonardo, while its western end is at Route 18 in Old Bridge. CR. 520 passes through the southern portion of Middletown, and leads to Sea Bright to the east, and turns into CR. 612 in Monroe Township to the west, making it a vital route for central New Jersey, by connecting sections of the state near the shore to inland sections of the state near the New Jersey Turnpike at Exit 8A.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides rail service at the Middletown station which runs between New York City's Pennsylvania Station and Bay Head on the North Jersey Coast Line. NJ Transit is a major commuter rail system, with track-sharing agreements with Amtrak, Metro-North Railroad, Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation, and Conrail Shared Assets.

NJ Transit offers local bus service on the 817, 833 and 834 routes.

Ferry service to and from New York City is available through the NY Waterway. The ferry slip is located in the neighborhood of Belford and is utilized by many Middletown residents for commuting to New York City. The roughly 50 minute trip on the ferry to West Midtown Ferry Terminal travels across the Lower New York Bay to enter Lower New York Harbor at The Narrows.

SeaStreak is another local ferry service, with its ferry slip in neighboring Highlands. SeaStreak offers ferry service to and from New York City with trips to Pier 11 (on the East River at Wall Street) and East 35th Street in Manhattan. The ferry service also offers seasonal travel, such as to the public beaches on Sandy Hook, baseball games at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, trips to Broadway matinees, Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, college football games at West Point, fall foliage in the Hudson Valley, and to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, among other excursions.

Healthcare

Hackensack Meridian Health has two hospitals in the area. Bayshore Medical Center in neighboring Holmdel and Riverview Medical Center in neighboring Red Bank. These are local hospitals for the Raritan Bayshore region and handles all but trauma cases. The closest major university hospitals to the area that handle trauma care are, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in nearby Neptune and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in nearby New Brunswick.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, founded in New York City in 1884, is the oldest cancer treatment and research center in the world. The cancer center has a regional center for Monmouth County located in Middletown. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of Monmouth is the first center outside of the main center in Manhattan to offer outpatient surgery.

Notable people

People who were born in, are residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Middletown Township include: