Whitehouse Station, also spelled White House Station, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Readington Township, in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. At the 2010 United States census, the CDP's population was 2,089. Whitehouse Station takes its name from Whitehouse and Abraham Van Horne's 18th century tavern.
New Jersey Transit offers service on the Raritan Valley Line at White House Station.
History
The area, which is now served only by New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line, used to be a railroad junction, serving as the endpoint of the ill-fated Rockaway Valley Railroad, which ceased operation in 1913.
Whitehouse Station was home to the global headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Merck, which was housed in the modernist Merck Headquarters Building for more than two decades. Merck has shifted its base of operations to Rahway.
On April 5, 2024, at 10:23 AM, the community was struck by a magnitude 4.8 earthquake. The quake saw no major damage and no injuries. At 5:59 PM, on the same day, a second earthquake recorded at magnitude 3.8 struck east of the community in Gladstone, New Jersey.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of , including of land and of water (3.20%).
Demographics
Whitehouse Station first appeared as an unincorporated community under the name White House Station in the 1970 U.S. census.
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|1,841
|1,833
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,479
|94.36%
|87.75%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |78.65%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|17
|58
|style='background: #ffffe6; |64
|0.87%
|2.78%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.03%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|0
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3
|0.00%
|0.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.10%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|19
|64
|style='background: #ffffe6; |264
|0.97%
|3.06%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.38%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.25%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|24
|23
|style='background: #ffffe6; |73
|1.23%
|1.10%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.32%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|50
|110
|style='background: #ffffe6; |261
|2.56%
|5.27%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.28%
|-
|Total
|1,951
|2,089
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,152
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 2,089 people, 963 households, and 553 families in the CDP. The population density was . There were 989 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 91.53% (1,912) White, 2.82% (59) Black or African American, 0.05% (1) Native American, 3.06% (64) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 1.15% (24) from other races, and 1.39% (29) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.27% (110) of the population.
There were 878 households, of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.86.
- The Whitehouse–Mechanicsville Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015 for its significance in architecture and community development.
<gallery heights=150px widths=225px mode="nolines">
File:Rockaway Reformed Church, Whitehouse Station, NJ.jpg|The Rockaway Reformed Church
File:Memorial Park Cemetery, Whitehouse, NJ - entrance gate.jpg|Memorial Park Cemetery
File:United Methodist Church, Whitehouse, NJ.jpg|Whitehouse United Methodist Church
</gallery>
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Whitehouse Station include:
- Taissa Farmiga (born 1994), actress.
- Robyn Kenney (born 1979), field hockey player.
- Tom Malloy (born 1974), actor and filmmaker.
- Ed Martin, politician who served as Chair of the Missouri Republican Party.
- James N. Pidcock (1836–1899), represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1885 to 1889.