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Bernardsville is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. The borough is nestled in the heart of the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,707,[1][2][3] reflecting an increase of 362 (+4.9%) from the 7,345 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 748 (+11.3%) from the 6,597 counted in the 1990 Census. Bernardsville is often mispronounced as "Ber-NARDS-ville" as opposed to the correct pronunciation "BER-nards-ville". Bernardsville was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 6, 1924, from portions of Bernards Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 29, 1924. The borough was named for Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet, who served as governor of the Province of New Jersey. In 2009, part of the borough was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Olcott Avenue Historic District.[4] In 2000, Bernardsville had the 10th-highest per capita income in the state. Based on data from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey, the borough had a per-capita income of $70,141, ranked 27th in the state. In 2019, the borough was ranked by Bloomberg News as 64th on its 2019 list of Bloomberg Richest Places, one of 18 in the state included on the list. [edit] History
Bernardsville was originally a section of Bernards Township known as Vealtown. In 1840, Vealtown became Bernardsville, named after Sir Francis Bernard, Colonial governor of New Jersey from 1758 to 1760. Located in the northernmost part of Somerset County, just south of Morristown, the borough includes some of the last vestiges of the Great Eastern Forest. During the Revolutionary War, General Charles Lee rested his troops in Vealtown around the night of December 12 to 13, 1776. General Lee and some of his guard spent the night about southeast at White's Inn on the southeast side of Basking Ridge, near the manor house of Continental Army general William Alexander, Lord Stirling. On the morning of December 13, General Lee was captured by the British and removed to New York. The Vealtown Tavern, now known as the John Parker Tavern, was a regular stop during the 1779–1780 winter encampment at Morristown. After the Civil War, many wealthy and prominent New Yorkers moved into the area, first as summer visitors, then later as permanent residents of the Bernardsville Mountain. For most, the men worked in New York City while the women and children spent summers in Bernardsville. The Gladstone Branch of the existing railroad line was built through Bernardsville in 1872 and played an important role in the borough's development. The Gladstone line, whose five o'clock train was appropriately nicknamed "the millionaire's special," as it was direct route to Penn Station, allowed the men who built grand estates in Bernardsville to commute to the city on a daily basis rather than only visit their families on weekends. Bernardsville did not become an independent municipality until 1924, when it split from Bernards Township.[5] On November 4, 2020, The Bernardsville Library announced that it would join the MAIN Library System, which has member libraries in all of Morris County, all of Hunterdon County and parts of Somerset and Warren counties. The Bernardsville Library is the second library from Somerset County to join the MAIN System, after the Bernards Township Library in neighboring Bernards Township. The library joined the MAIN System on January 11, 2021 On January 15, 2021, Kings Food Markets announced that it would close their Bernardsville location on Morristown Road, officially closing on January 23, 2021. [edit] Historic districtThe New Jersey State Review Board for Historic Sites recommended the creation of the Olcott Avenue historic district on February 10, 2009. While the Olcott Avenue School is but one historic structure within Bernardsville's first historic district area, the area's appeal and historic significance is part of the story of the rise of the middle class in Bernardsville and how this particular location impacted the entire region, from the downtown, Little Italy, and the Mountain Colony areas.
According to the National Park Service: The Olcott Avenue neighborhood in the borough of Bernardsville, located in northeast Somerset County, was developed at the turn of the 20th century as a carefully laid out middle class residential neighborhood. The streets in the district are characterized by lots of moderate size with regular setbacks with moderate to substantial dwellings constructed in a variety of late 19th and early 20th century architectural styles, several of which are particularly noteworthy examples. The original dwellings constructed during the first three decades or so of the 20th century all still stand and the streetscape has changed relatively little since curbs and sidewalks were added and the road was paved around 1916. Residents of the district have continued the long tradition of participation in civic activities. Olcott Avenue is named after Frederic P. Olcott, a New York banker, politician, and philanthropist, who lived here. The street was originally named after Stewart Wolfe. In 1905, Olcott financed the construction of a high school, the first in the township, and donated it to the Bernards Township Board of Education. The stone building features Tudor Revival style and was designed by architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, who also lived here. Hardenbergh also designed the Bernardsville United Methodist Church and the parish house at St. Bernard's Church. The district includes several houses designed with Colonial Revival style.[6]
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