POPULATION: 24,575
INCORPORATED: May, 1760

LAND AREA: 24.0 Square Miles
SECTIONS OF TOWN: Basking Ridge, Liberty Corner, and Lyons
EMERGENCY SERVICES: 9-1-1
POLICE: 1 Collyer Lane (908) 766-2510
FIRE/FIRST AID: Washington Ave., Basking Ridge (908) 766-1122
Church Street, Liberty Corner (908) 766-1122
MUNICIPAL BUILDING: 1 Collyer Lane (908) 766-2510
LIBRARY: 32 S. Maple Avenue, Basking Ridge (908) 204-3031
POST OFFICE: 21 Brownlee Place, Basking Ridge (908) 766-0611
8 Church Street, Liberty Corner (908) 647-0841
Allen Road, The Hills (908) 470-0757
BOARD OF EDUCATION: 101 Peachtree Road, B.Ridge (908) 204-2600
TRANSPORTATION:
Basking Ridge/Lyons Station (800) 772-2222
Lakeland Bus (973) 366-0600
NJ Transit (800) 772-2222
ATTRACTIONS:
Basking Ridge Golf Course (908) 766-8200
NJ National Golf Club (908) 781-2575
Recreation Department (908) 204-3090
YOUTH RELATED ACTIVITIES: Somerset County Environmental Center, Lord Stirling Equestrian Center, Pleasant Valley Park and Pool, VA Golf Course, Dunham Park, Southard Park, Rebel Hill Park
DISTANCE TO:
New York City: 44.3 miles
Newark Airport: 27 miles

 

 

"Bernards Township had been part of about 3,000 acres purchased from Lenni-Lenape Chief Nowenock in 1717. Another 7,000 acres were bought by William Penn later that year and that formed Bernards Township. Around 1740, approximately 30 families mostly from Scotland and Northern Ireland settled in the area. Soon after the settlement began, wild animals were seen basking in the sun on the ridge, so the settlers decided to name the area Basking Ridge. The early settlers, being Scotch Presbyterians, built a log church around the year 1700. The structure was replaced in 1749 by a larger frame building. The Presbyterian Church is the focal point of Basking Ridge. A large oak tree standing in the churchyard is over 500 years old and is the oldest historical object in Basking Ridge. In 1760, Bernards Township was chartered by George 11 and named in honor of Sir Francis Bernard, governor-in-chief of the Province of New Jersey. Today, Bernards Township is known as a "rurban" community. Office development has turned the township in to a major employment center, but at the same time, many large tracts of woodlands and wetland have been left untouched, so the town still maintains a rural character. "