thumb|right|alt=Photo of street|Plainfield Avenue
Berkeley Heights is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States, on a ridge in north central New Jersey, Berkeley Heights is a commuter town of New York City, in the Raritan Valley region and also bordering both Morris and Somerset counties in the Passaic Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census the township's population was 13,285,
The township was originally incorporated as New Providence Township by the New Jersey Legislature on November 8, 1809, from portions of Springfield Township, while the area was still part of Essex County. New Providence Township became part of the newly formed Union County at its creation on March 19, 1857. Portions of the township were taken on March 23, 1869, to create Summit, and on March 14, 1899, to form the borough of New Providence. On November 6, 1951, the name of the township was changed to Berkeley Heights, based on the results of a referendum held that day. The township was named for John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, one of the founders of the Province of New Jersey.
The township has been ranked as one of the state's highest-income communities. Based on data from the American Community Survey for 2013–2017, township residents had a median household income of $147,614, ranked 15th in the state among municipalities with more than 10,000 residents, almost double the statewide median of $76,475.
The township was listed as the fifth safest place in New Jersey as well as the ninth safest municipality in the nation according to a 2022 crime statistic compilation from Safewise.com.
History
The Lenape Native Americans were known to inhabit the region, including the area now known as Berkeley Heights, dating back to the 1524 voyage of Giovanni da Verrazzano to what is now Lower New York Bay.
The earliest construction in Berkeley Heights began in an area that is now part of the Watchung Reservation, a Union County park that includes of the township.
The first European settler was Peter Willcox, who received a land grant in 1720 from the Elizabethtown Associates. This group bought much of northern New Jersey from the Lenape in the late 17th century. Willcox built a grist and lumber mill across Green Brook. Deserted Village, in the Watchung Reservation, is open daily for unguided walking tours during daylight hours.
On March 23, 1869, Summit Township (now the City of Summit) seceded from New Providence Township. On March 14, 1899, the Borough of New Providence seceded from New Providence Township. Present day Berkeley Heights remained as New Providence Township.
Early life in Berkeley Heights is documented in the Littell-Lord Farmhouse Museum & Farmstead (31 Horseshoe Road in Berkeley Heights), an museum surrounding two houses, one of which was built and the other near the start of the 19th century. Among the exhibits are a Victorian master bedroom and a Victorian children's room, furnished with period antiques. The children's room also has reproductions of antique toys, which visitors can play with. The museum, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, also includes an outbuilding that was used as a summer kitchen, a corn crib dating to the 19th century and a spring house built around a spring and used for refrigeration. The museum is open 2–4 p.m. on the third Sunday of each month from April through December, or by appointment.
The township owes its rural character to its late development. Until 1941, when the American Telephone and Telegraph Company built the AT&T Bell Laboratories research facility in the township, it was a sleepy farming and resort community.
In 1958, part of a Nike missile battery (NY-73) was installed in Berkeley Heights. The missiles were located in nearby Mountainside, while the radar station was installed in Berkeley Heights. It remained in operation until 1963, and remnants of the site are located adjacent to Governor Livingston High School.
In 1960, the town’s seal was created via a contest in which local students could enter a design, and the best of these was officially named the seal, through an announcement on June 17, at Columbia Middle School. Patricia Jean Taylor created the winning design, which was chosen from a pool of 150 entries.
Free Acres
Another early Berkeley Heights community of note is the Free Acres, established in 1910 by Bolton Hall, a New York entrepreneur and reformer who believed in the idea of Henry George, the economist, of single taxation, under which residents pay tax to the community, which, in turn, pays a lump sum to the municipality. Among the early residents of Free Acres were the actor James Cagney and his wife, Billie.
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Benders Corners, Glenside Park, Stony Hill and Union Village.
Downtown
Downtown Berkeley Heights is located along Springfield Avenue, approximately between the intersections with Plainfield Avenue and Snyder Avenue. Downtown is home to more than 20 restaurants which join with the Downtown Beautification Committee to hold an annual Restaurant Week each September. In addition, a post office, the Municipal Building, police station, train station, and other shops and services are located in this downtown section.
A brick walk with personalized bricks engraved with the names of many long-time Berkeley Heights residents runs from near the railroad station towards the planned Stratton House development, at the site of the former Kings. A memorial to the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks adjoins a wooded area alongside Park Avenue, just southwest of downtown.
Certain portions of Berkeley Heights are located in flood zones. Residential homes, as well as some commercial areas along the downtown Springfield Avenue area, are impacted by flooding.