Highland Park

History

The earliest settlers of the land that would become Highland Park were the Lenape Native Americans. They hunted in the hills along the Raritan River, which had trails that crisscrossed the area. The trail helped provide a link between the Delaware River and Hudson River areas. In 1685, John Inian bought land on both shores of the Raritan River and built two new landings downstream from the Assunpink Trail's fording place, which was later developed as Raritan Landing. He established a ferry service, and the main road was then redirected to lead straight to the ferry landing. This river crossing was run by generations of different owners, and a ferry house tavern operated for many years in the 18th century. A toll bridge replaced the ferry in 1795. The wood plank Albany Street Bridge was dismantled in 1848 and reconstructed in 1853. The present-day seven-span stone arch road bridge was built in 1892 and stretches across the Raritan River to New Brunswick. It became the Lincoln Highway Bridge in 1914 and was widened in 1925. In the late 17th century, Henry Greenland became one of the area's first European settlers; he owned nearly of land on the Mill Brook section of the Assunpink Trail, where he operated an inn for travelers. Other early settlers included Captain Francis Drake and other members of the Drake family, relatives of the famous explorer. In the early 18th century, a few wealthy Europeans, including the Van Horns and Merrills, settled on large tracts of land, establishing an isolated farmstead pattern of development that would continue for the next 150 years. The Reverend John Henry Livingston of the famous Livingston family, newly chosen head of Queen's College (now Rutgers University), purchased a plot of land in 1809, which would hereafter be known as…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.83 square miles (4.74 km2), including 1.82 square miles (4.72 km2) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.02 km2) of water (0.44%).

Race & ethnicity