New Brunswick Marconi Station was located at JFK Boulevard and Easton Avenue just a few minutes from the New Brunswick border. Today it is the site of Marconi Park. It was an early radio transmitter facility built in 1913 and operated by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America. After the interruption of transatlantic telegraph cables by enemy action, the facility was confiscated by the United States Navy on April 7, 1917,[17] to provide transatlantic communications during World War I. The New Brunswick Naval Radio Station was the principal wartime communication link between the United States and Europe, using the callsign NFF. President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points speech was transmitted from the site in 1918. After the war, ownership of the station, along with Marconi's other US assets, was transferred from the navy to RCA.[18] The antenna masts were demolished in 1952 to make room for what is now a small mall containing a Kmart, but the buildings on the other side of JFK Boulevard were spared. All but one of the brick buildings were demolished around 2004 to make way for a storage locker facility. The bricks and tiles were saved for use in any future restoration of the spared building, and the Marconi facility in Belmar, New Jersey.
During World War I, the original Marconi spark-gap transmitter was replaced with an Alexanderson alternator, the invention of the famous General Electric engineer, with an output power of 200 kilowatts and looking like an ordinary power station generator. Its frequency was around 17 kHz, which made its wavelength around 17,500 meters. The station used a huge 5,000-foot-long (1,500 m) antenna supported by eight 400-foot (120 m) tall steel masts, similar to the AT&T long wave telephone transmitter at RCA's Rocky Point, Long Island, transmitter facility.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 6.444 square miles (16.692 km2), including 6.327 square miles (16.388 km2) of land and 0.117 square miles (0.304 km2) of water (1.82%).[5][19]
Climate
The climate in the area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally cool to cold winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Somerset has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps.[20]
The 2010 United States census counted 22,083 people, 8,594 households, and 5,552 families in the CDP. The population density was 3,490.1 per square mile (1,347.5/km2). There were 8,883 housing units at an average density of 1,403.9 per square mile (542.0/km2). The racial makeup was 47.04% (10,387) White, 28.88% (6,378) Black or African American, 0.23% (50) Native American, 17.59% (3,885) Asian, 0.01% (3) Pacific Islander, 2.98% (659) from other races, and 3.26% (721) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.47% (2,092) of the population.[14]
Of the 8,594 households, 27.7% had children under the age of 18; 51.1% were married couples living together; 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present and 35.4% were non-families. Of all households, 29.0% were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.14.[14]
20.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.8 years. For every 100 females, the population had 91.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 87.2 males.[14]
Census 2000
At the 2000 United States Census[6] there were 23,040 people, 8,238 households and 5,799 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,322.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,669.0/km2). There were 8,424 housing units at an average density of 1,580.5 per square mile (610.2/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 43.94% White, 38.55% African American, 0.26% Native American, 8.23% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.04% from other races, and 2.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.00% of the population.[22]
There were 8,238 households, of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.29.[22]
24.0% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.[22]
The median household income was $65,831 and the median family income was $73,040. Males had a median income of $50,309 versus $36,162 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $26,798. About 4.9% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.9% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.[22]
Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu (born 1954), Sierra Leonean-American reverend, journalist and newspaper publisher who served as Minister Plenipotentiary at the Permanent Mission of Sierra Leone to the United Nations.[30]
^Cheslow, Jerry. "If You're Thinking of Living In/Somerset, N.J.; Diversity, Stability and Convenience", The New York Times, May 20, 2001. Accessed January 13, 2013. "Somerset also figured prominently in World War I. In 1913, the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company built a giant radio transmission station in Somerset and suspended a milelong antenna from a series of 440-foot-high steel masts along the canal route. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson used the station to broadcast an appeal to Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II to abdicate, an address that historians credit with hastening the armistice."
^via Associated Press. "N.J. natives haunt Nets", Courier News, March 27, 1986. Accessed June 15, 2021. "But last night, Edgar Jones, a Newark native, tapped in a missed shot by Roy Hinson, a Franklin Township product, with four seconds left to give the Cavaliers a 110-108 victory over the Nets before 10,278."
^Fremon, Suzanne S. "State Has 13 on Olympic Team", The New York Times, August 13, 1972. Accessed November 22, 2017. "Judy Melick, 17, of Somerset is the youngest of the New Jersey members of the Olympic team."
^Staff. "Franklin Girl Will Swim For U.S. Olympic Team"Archived December 1, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, The Franklin News-Record, August 17, 1972. Accessed November 23, 2017. "Judy Melick of Franklin Township will represent the United States in the XX Olympiad in Munich, Germany next month."
^Heininger, Claire; and Margolin, Josh. "Randal Pinkett, former 'Apprentice' star, on Corzine's shortlist for lieutenant governor", The Star-Ledger, July 14, 2009. Accessed January 13, 2013. "Pinkett, who lives in Somerset with his wife and daughter, is a millionaire CEO who holds five academic degrees, including one from Rutgers University. He gained fame in 2005, when he beat out 15 other young entrepreneurs on Trump's reality show to win a job working for the business mogul."
^Jeff Porter, United States Olympic Committee. Accessed August 9, 2016. "Birthplace: Summit, N.J.; Hometown: Somerset, N.J.; High School: Franklin High School (Franklin, N.J.) '03"
^Carino, Jerry. "With a gutsy gesture, Jersey's Breein Tyree swats Confederate 'hate groups' at Ole Miss", Asbury Park Press, March 5, 2019. Accessed December 16, 2019. "That’s exactly what Breein Tyree and his University of Mississippi basketball teammates did Feb. 23. Tyree, a Somerset native who starred at St. Joseph-Metuchen High School, was one of six players who took a knee during national anthem to protest a Confederacy rally near the arena."
