Brielle, New Jersey facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brielle, New Jersey
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Borough
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Glimmer Glass Beach in Brielle
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| Motto(s):
"A Community By the River"
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Location of Brielle in Monmouth County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Monmouth County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
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Census Bureau map of Brielle, New Jersey
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 Brielle, New Jersey
Location in Monmouth County, New Jersey
Brielle, New Jersey
Location in New Jersey
Brielle, New Jersey
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
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| State |  New Jersey |
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| County | Monmouth | |
| Incorporated | June 3, 1919 | |
| Named for | Brielle, Netherlands | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Borough | |
| • Body | Borough Council | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 2.37 sq mi (6.14 km2) | |
| • Land | 1.76 sq mi (4.55 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.61 sq mi (1.59 km2) 25.86% | |
| Area rank | 383rd of 565 in state 26th of 53 in county |
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| Elevation | 7 ft (2 m) | |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 4,982 | |
| • Estimate
(2023)
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4,920 | |
| • Rank | 374th of 565 in state 32nd of 53 in county |
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| • Density | 2,837.9/sq mi (1,095.7/km2) | |
| • Density rank | 229th of 565 in state 28th of 53 in county |
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| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST)) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT)) | |
| ZIP Code |
08730
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| Area code(s) | 732 exchanges: 223, 292, 528 | |
| FIPS code | 3402507750 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 0885170 | |
Brielle is a borough located in southern Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, along the Manasquan River. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,982, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 208 (+4.4%) from the 2010 census count of 4,774, which in turn reflected a decline of 119 (−2.4%) from the 4,893 counted in the 2000 census.
Brielle was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 10, 1919, from portions of Wall Township, based on the results of a referendum passed on June 3, 1919. The borough was named after Brielle, Netherlands.
Contents
History
Archaeological excavations along what is now Birch Drive reveal temporary Lenape Native American settlements. The Lenape practiced farming in other parts of Monmouth County much of the year, and they visited the wooded areas in what is now Brielle for hunting and fishing.
The area was originally part of Shrewsbury Township and the first settlers were primarily farmers, and the area became known as Union Landing. In colonial times, salt was an important preservative, and before the American Revolutionary War, most of it was imported from Great Britain. The Union Salt Works opened around the outbreak of the war, and on April 5, 1778, several British Loyalists attacked and burned the salt works and other buildings. A year later, the salt works reopened and continued to operate through the duration of the war.
Early in the 19th century, Shrewsbury Township was divided, and the area became part of Howell Township which was further divided in 1851, when the area became part of Wall Township. On July 7, 1881, a group of businessmen purchased several acres of land and formed the Brielle Land Association with the intention of building vacation homes. The quaint riverside charm of the area reminded one of the developers of another pastoral town on a river which he had visited, Brielle, in the Netherlands.
Author Robert Louis Stevenson vacationed in Brielle for most of May 1888. During his stay he wrote a portion of his book The Master of Ballantrae and gave Osborn Island the nickname "Treasure Island" which was the title of one of his previous books.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.37 square miles (6.14 km2), including 1.76 square miles (4.55 km2) of land and 0.61 square miles (1.59 km2) of water (25.86%).
Located at the southeastern corner of Monmouth County, Brielle is bordered to the north and east by the Manasquan, to the west by Brick Township (in Ocean County) and Wall Township and to the south by Point Pleasant and Point Pleasant Beach across the Manasquan River. Route 35 runs through the middle of the town and Route 70 runs along its western edge.
The borough is primarily a residential community of single homes, with a few condominiums; there are almost no undeveloped lots of land left. There are several businesses located along Union Avenue and Higgins Avenue and some marinas along the Manasquan River. Ripley's Believe It or Not! once stated that Brielle has "16 bars and no churches". It currently has one church, The Church in Brielle (formerly the Dutch Reformed Church) and several restaurants that have liquor licenses, but no full bars. There is also a 140 acres (0.57 km2) 18 hole golf course called the Manasquan River Golf Club.
The town has approximately 6.4 kilometers (4.0 mi) of waterfront along the Manasquan River, Glimmerglass, and Debbie's Creek, all of which are salt water and tidal. Brielle's borders extend to an 8-acre (32,000 m2) island in the Manasquan River.
Manasquan Park is an unincorporated community located within Brielle.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1920 | 392 | — | |
| 1930 | 684 | 74.5% | |
| 1940 | 961 | 40.5% | |
| 1950 | 1,328 | 38.2% | |
| 1960 | 2,619 | 97.2% | |
| 1970 | 3,594 | 37.2% | |
| 1980 | 4,068 | 13.2% | |
| 1990 | 4,406 | 8.3% | |
| 2000 | 4,893 | 11.1% | |
| 2010 | 4,774 | −2.4% | |
| 2020 | 4,982 | 4.4% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 4,920 | 3.1% | |
| Population sources: 1920 1920–1930 1940–2000 2000 2010 2020 |
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2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 4,774 people, 1,805 households, and 1,336 families in the borough. The population density was 2,717.5 per square mile (1,049.2/km2). There were 2,034 housing units at an average density of 1,157.8 per square mile (447.0/km2). The racial makeup was 94.64% (4,518) White, 2.53% (121) Black or African American, 0.10% (5) Native American, 0.94% (45) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.46% (22) from other races, and 1.32% (63) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.18% (152) of the population.
Of the 1,805 households, 33.4% had children under the age of 18; 60.4% were married couples living together; 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present and 26.0% were non-families. Of all households, 22.0% 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 2.64 and the average family size was 3.13.
26.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 18.7% from 25 to 44, 32.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 97.3 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 91.3 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $98,419 (with a margin of error of +/− $10,635) and the median family income was $108,818 (+/− $11,831). Males had a median income of $84,568 (+/− $8,259) versus $53,041 (+/− $4,411) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $45,445 (+/− $5,694). About none of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The Brielle School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade at Brielle Elementary School. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 512 students and 50.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.1:1.
For ninth through twelfth grades, public school students attend Manasquan High School in Manasquan, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Manasquan Public Schools, joining students from Avon-by-the-Sea, Belmar, Lake Como, Sea Girt, Spring Lake and Spring Lake Heights at the school. As of the 2020–21 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,006 students and 76.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.1:1.
The Brielle Public Library, which is located at 610 South Street, claims to have been the first library in New Jersey to have offered public access to the Internet.
Transportation
Roads and highways
As of May 2010[update], the borough had a total of 27.08 miles (43.58 km) of roadways, of which 21.94 miles (35.31 km) were maintained by the municipality, 2.66 miles (4.28 km) by Monmouth County and 2.48 miles (3.99 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
New Jersey Route 35 is the main highway serving Brielle. Brielle is also the southern terminus of New Jersey Route 71. A small portion of New Jersey Route 70 also passes through the borough.
Public transportation
NJ Transit provides bus transportation between the borough and Philadelphia on the 317 route and local service on the 830 route.
NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line passes through Brielle, but does not stop in the borough. The nearest station is the Manasquan station.
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Brielle include:
- Robert E. Brennan (born 1944), businessman who built the penny stock brokerage firm, First Jersey Securities
- Charles H. Brower (1901–1984), advertising executive, copywriter and author
- Jeffrey A. Citron (born 1970/1971), chairman of Vonage, a voice-over-IP phone company, inventor of Island ECN and founder of Datek
- Mary Catherine Cuff (born 1947), former acting justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court (Judge of the Appellate Division, Temporarily Assigned to the Supreme Court) who served between 2012 and 2016
- Edward A. Flynn (born c. 1948), law enforcement official who has been Chief of the Milwaukee Police Department
- Ben Kenney (born 1977), bass guitarist for the band Incubus
- Gerry Matthews (born 1941), head men's basketball coach at Stockton University
- Riley McCusker (born 2001), artistic gymnast and 2018 World Champion
- Frank Mundus (1925–2008), shark hunter said to have inspired the character Quint in the movie Jaws
- Charles Piercey (1890–1966), Australian racing cyclist
- Nelson Rae (1915–1945), radio and stage actor killed during World War II
- Mark Tornillo (born 1954), singer and vocalist of heavy metal band Accept
- Jason Westrol (born 1988), professional basketball player who has played for the Limburg United of the Belgian Basketball League
