Mercer County, New Jersey
Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, prompting its nickname The Capital County. Mercer County alone constitutes the Trenton–Princeton metropolitan statistical area and is considered part of the New York combined statistical area by the U.S. Census Bureau, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's Philadelphia Designated Media Market Area. The county is part of the Central Jersey region of the state.
As of the 2020 United States census, the county retained its position as the state's 12th-most-populous county, with a population of 387,340, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 20,827 from the 366,513 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn had reflected an increase of 15,752 from the 350,761 enumerated at the 2000 census The most populous municipality in Mercer County at the 2020 census was Hamilton Township, with 92,297 residents, while Hopewell Township was the largest in area.
The county was formed by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 22, 1838, from portions of Burlington County, Hunterdon County, and Middlesex County. The former Keith Line bisects the county and is the boundary between municipalities that previously had been separated into West Jersey and East Jersey.
Trenton–Mercer Airport in Ewing Township is a commercial and corporate aviation airport serving Mercer County and its surrounding vicinity. Princeton is home to Princeton University, one of the world’s most acclaimed research universities, and to Drumthwacket, the official residence of the governor of New Jersey. Mercer County contains 12 municipalities, the fewest of any county in New Jersey, and equal to Hudson County.
File:Princeton.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Holder Tower in Princeton University, one of the world's most prominent research universities
Etymology
The county was named for Continental Army General Hugh Mercer, who died as a result of wounds received at the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777. Continental Army Brigadier General Hugh Mercer served in the Continental Army during the Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton in 1777. A Scotsman who had fled to British North America after the failed Jacobite Rebellion, he worked closely with George Washington in the American Revolution. On January 3, 1777, Washington's army was en route to Princeton, New Jersey. While leading a vanguard of 350 soldiers, Mercer's brigade encountered two British regiments and a mounted unit. A fight broke out at an orchard grove and Mercer's horse was shot from under him. Getting to his feet, he was quickly surrounded by British troops who mistook him for George Washington and ordered him to surrender. Outnumbered, he drew his saber and began an unequal contest. He was finally beaten to the ground, bayoneted repeatedly, and left for dead. Legend has it that a beaten Mercer, with a bayonet still impaled in him, did not want to leave his men and the battle and was given a place to rest on a white oak tree's trunk, and those who remained with him stood their ground. The Mercer Oak, against which the dying general rested as his men continued to fight, appears on the county seal and stood for 250 years until it collapsed in 2000.History
Founded February 22, 1838, from portions of surrounding counties, Mercer County has a historical impact that reaches back to the pivotal battles of the American Revolutionary War. On the night of December 25–26, 1776, General George Washington led American forces across the Delaware River to attack the Hessian forces in the Battle of Trenton on the morning of December 26, also known as the First Battle of Trenton. After the battle, Washington crossed back to Pennsylvania. He crossed a third time in a surprise attack on the forces of General Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek, on January 2, 1777, also known as the Second Battle of Trenton, and at the Battle of Princeton on January 3. The successful attacks built morale among the pro-independence colonists. Ewing Church Cemetery in Ewing is one of the oldest cemeteries in the area, having served the Ewing community for 300 years. It is home to the burial places of hundreds of veterans from The Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War.Since 1790, Trenton has served as the state's capital, earning the county the name "the Capital County." After the Legislature relocated to Trenton from Perth Amboy in 1790, it purchased land for £250 and 5 shillings and constructed a new state house, designed by Philadelphia-based architect Jonathan Doane, beginning in 1792. The Doane building was covered in stucco, measured, and housed the Senate and Assembly chambers in opposite wings. To meet the demands of the growing state, the structure was expanded several times during the 19th century. New Jersey, along with Nevada, is the only state to have its capital be located at the border with another state, as Trenton is across the Delaware River from Pennsylvania. The official residence of the governor of New Jersey, known as Drumthwacket, is located in Princeton, and is listed on both the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.
The county experienced rapid urbanization and population growth during the first half of the 20th century due to the growth of industrialization in places such as Trenton. Mercer County was the landing spot for a fictional Martian invasion of the United States. In 1938, in what has become one of the most famous American radio plays of all time, Orson Welles acted out his The War of the Worlds invasion. His imaginary aliens first "landed" at what is now West Windsor. A commemorative monument is erected at Grovers Mill park.
There were 27 Mercer County residents killed during the September 11 terrorist attacks in Lower Manhattan. A long steel beam weighing one ton was given to the county by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in March 2011 and is now displayed at Mercer County Park.
Geography and climate
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of the 2020 Census, the county had a total area of, of which was land and was water.The county is generally flat and low-lying on the inner coastal plain, which extends up to the Route 1 corridor. Further northwest, terrain rises as it ascends the Piedmont Plateau, with The Sourlands encompassing the far northwestern portion of the county. Baldpate Mountain, in the western part of Hopewell Township, is the highest point in the county, at above sea level. The lowest elevation is sea level, spread out along the shores of the tidal portions of the Delaware River, Crosswicks Creek and the smaller waterways within the Trenton-Hamilton Marsh in Hamilton Township and the city of Trenton.
Climate
Most of Mercer has a hot-summer humid continental climate except for the southern portion of the county near and including Trenton where a humid subtropical climate exists. The hardiness zones are 6b and 7a.Ecology
According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. potential natural vegetation types, most of Mercer County would have a dominant vegetation type of Appalachian Oak with a dominant vegetation form of Eastern Hardwood Forest with a dominant section of Northeastern Oak/Pine Southern Mixed Forest in the far east near Hightstown.Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, Mercer County had a population of 387,340, making it the 12th-most populous county in New Jersey. Females comprised 50.8% of the population, matching the statewide share. Of the population, 5.4% were under the age of 5. Another 21.3% were under 18 and 15.4% were 65 or older, and the median age was 38.5 years.For every 100 females there were 96.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.1 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 46.1% White, 19.4% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 12.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 12.8% from some other race, and 8.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 21.7% of the population.
94.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 5.1% lived in rural areas.
There were 139,361 households in the county, of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.7% were married-couple households, 17.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 150,442 housing units, of which 7.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 59.5% were owner-occupied and 40.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.7%.
Racial and ethnic composition
2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 366,513 people, 133,155 households, and 89,480 families in the county. The population density was 1,632.2 per square mile. There were 143,169 housing units at an average density of 637.6 per square mile. The racial makeup was 61.39% White, 20.28% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 8.94% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 6.24% from other races, and 2.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.09% of the population.Of the 133,155 households, 31.4% had children under the age of 18; 48.2% were married couples living together; 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present and 32.8% were non-families. Of all households, 26.9% were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.16.
22.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.8 years. For every 100 females, the population had 95.5 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 93 males.