Highland Park is a borough in Middlesex County, in the central region of the U.S. state of New Jersey, in the New York City metropolitan area. The borough is located on the northern banks of the Raritan River, in the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 15,072,
Highland Park was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1905, when it broke away from what was then known as Raritan Township (present-day Edison). The borough was named for its location above the Raritan River.
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 the Livingston Manor. A gracious Greek Revival house built around 1843 by Robert and Louisa Livingston stands on this property, which remains Highland Park's most prominent historic house. The Livingston Homestead, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was owned by the Waldron family throughout most of the 20th century.
In the early 19th century, both the Delaware & Raritan Canal and a railroad were constructed largely to serve the commercial center of New Brunswick across the river. In 1836, the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company built a rail line that terminated on the Highland Park side of the Raritan River and established a station named "East New Brunswick." The Camden and Amboy Railroad built a wood, double-deck bridge, which eliminated the station stop in 1838. It was destroyed by a suspicious fire in 1878.
Despite the canal and the railroad, Highland Park's land continued to be used for agriculture. Residential development slowly began 30 years later. Several stately houses were constructed on Adelaide Avenue, and more modest houses were constructed on Cedar, First, and Second Avenues and Magnolia, Benner, and Johnson Streets. In the 1870s, the small hamlet became better known as "Highland Park", a name derived from the suburban housing development. Although the area adjacent to the railroad tracks continued to be called "East New Brunswick."
In 2016, Highland Park became the state's first registered HeartSafe community.