Bound Brook

History

The area was first settled in 1681 and a community was established near the Bound Brook stream of the same name, which flows into the Raritan River via the Green Brook on the eastern side of the borough. The brook, which was mentioned as a boundary in a Native American deed, provides the source of the borough's name. A wooden bridge over the Raritan River was erected as early as 1761 and named Queen's Bridge in 1767. Later, it became a covered bridge. During the American Revolutionary War, the bridge was used repeatedly by both sides including during the Battle of Bound Brook in 1777. In 1875, the wooden bridge was replaced by a steel pipe truss bridge. More than 100 years later, that bridge was itself replaced by a steel girder bridge in 1984, still using the old pillars. The bridge was renovated and repaved in 2007. The Battle of Bound Brook, one of the battles in the New York and New Jersey campaign during the American Revolutionary War, occurred on April 13, 1777, and resulted in a defeat for the Continental Army, who were routed by about 4,000 troops under British command. On April 22, 1921, over 100 people were injured in Bound Brook, and one died, when a cloud of phosgene gas began spreading over the city in the early morning hours, the result of a faulty valve of a storage tank at a paint factory in town. The intervention of four people stopped further escape of the phosgene, which had been used in concentrated form as a chemical weapon during World War I.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.70 square miles (4.39 km2), including 1.66 square miles (4.30 km2) of land and 0.03 square miles (0.09 km2) of water (2.00%). Since the southern portion of the borough (including the downtown area) is a low-lying natural flood plain of the Raritan River, Bound Brook has suffered occasional severe flooding after heavy rain. Extensive flood control measures were put into place during 1999–2015 to provide protection from 150-year floods.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Bridgewater-Raritan High School
  High · Bridgewater · 2,711 students · 12.1:1 ratio
• Hillsborough High School
  High · Hillsborough · 2,368 students · 14:1 ratio
• Franklin High School
  High · Somerset · 2,220 students · 13:1 ratio
• Watchung Hills Regional High School
  High · Warren · 1,741 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• Ridge High School
  High · Basking Ridge · 1,682 students · 11.4:1 ratio
• Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School
  Middle · Bridgewater · 1,347 students · 11:1 ratio
• Central Jersey College Prep Charter School
  Other · Somerset · 1,288 students · 13.3:1 ratio
• North Plainfield High School
  High · North Plainfield · 1,214 students · 12.3:1 ratio