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Politics & Government

Council President Won't Give Up on Starting Historical Group

Rose wants Bridgewater to have a history group, like the township's neighbors.

Township Council President Christine Rose is not going to let Bridgewater’s history fade away.

At a July council meeting,  Rose said it was time to start thinking about starting a Bridgewater historical committee to help preserve the township’s heritage.

That declaration sparked interest, Rose said at last week’s council meeting. A day after an article on Patch was posted, a representative of the Bridgewater Library contacted her with an offer to help, she said.

Henderson vowed last week to keep working toward the creation of a township historical committee.

Many of Bridgewater’s neighbors, including Branchburg, Somerville, Warren and the Somerset Hills communities have historical groups.

The thirty-three square mile area which is now Bridgewater was originally purchased from a local Indian tribe. The township was chartered by King George II of England in 1749, and incorporated in 1899.

Bridgewater played a part in the Revolution when Gen George Washington’s Continental Army camped between the ridges of the Watchung mountains. The history of the township also reflects the changing economy of New Jersey and United States, from agricultural to industrial to service. You can also see a living sociological history of the country in Bridgewater’s housing, from homes built before the Revolution to ranches and split-levels built after World War II to the townhouse communities developed in just last few decades.

Even the Somerset Shopping Center at the Somerville Circle has historical importance. Built in 1956, it was among the first shopping centers built in New Jersey, the land of the shopping center.

For more on the township’s history, click on www.bridgewaternj.gov/pictorial.html  
and www.bridgewaternj.gov/middlebrook/history.htm

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