Raritan Township is a township in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 23,447, The township is located within the heart of the Amwell Valley and Raritan Valley regions, as the South Branch of the Raritan River (along with the Neshanic River) flows through the center of the township. The northwestern portion of the township is located on the Hunterdon Plateau.
Raritan was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 2, 1838, from portions of the now-defunct Amwell Township. Flemington was formed within the township on March 14, 1870, and became an independent borough on April 7, 1910. Portions of the township were ceded to East Amwell Township in 1854 and 1897.
The township's name is derived from the Raritan tribe, a Native American band of Lenape people that inhabited Central New Jersey. The name of the tribe is said to mean "forked river", "stream overflows" or "point on a tidal river".
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 37.65 square miles (97.52 km<sup>2</sup>), including 37.48 square miles (97.08 km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.17 square miles (0.44 km<sup>2</sup>) of water (0.46%). It borders the municipalities of Clinton Township, Delaware Township, East Amwell Township, Franklin Township and Readington Township in Hunterdon County; and Hillsborough Township in Somerset County.
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include: Cloverhill, Copper Hill, Croton, Flemington Junction, Klinesville, Larisons Corners, Muirhead, Reaville, as well as Bartles Corners, Gary Corner, Mount Carmel, Rockefellows Mills, Thachers Hill and Voorhees Corner.
Raritan Township is located east of Allentown, north of Philadelphia, and southwest of New York City.
Demographics
thumb|left|The historic [[Case-Dvoor Farmstead|Dvoor Farm, the headquarters for the county-wide Hunterdon Land Trust]]