Milltown is a borough in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is nestled within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, with Lawrence Brook (a Raritan river tributary) flowing through the center of the community. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,037, an increase of 144 (+2.1%) from the 2010 census count of 6,893, which in turn reflected a decrease of 107 (−1.5%) from the 7,000 counted in the 2000 census.Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.
Milltown was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 29, 1889, from portions of North Brunswick, based on the results of a referendum held three days earlier. The borough was reincorporated by resolution of the borough council on May 2, 1896. A portion of East Brunswick Township was annexed in 1902.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 171. Accessed May 30, 2024. Originally known as Bergen's Mill, named for Jacob I. Bergen who owned the grist mill,Clayton, W. Woodford. History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Their Pioneers and Prominent Men, p. 749. Everts & Peck, 1889. Accessed September 7, 2015. "A grist-mill was built where Milltown now is, on the North Brunswick side of Lawrence's Brook, at a very early day. Soon after the beginning of the present century it was owned by Jacob I. Bergen, and called Bergen's Mill." the name is believed to have become "Milltown" from residents "going to the mill in town".History , Borough of Milltown. Accessed September 7, 2015. "Fire destroys the rubber factory and Meyer's home, leaving him penniless. John Ford advances Meyer the money to rebuild. It is in this period of time that the name Bergen's Mill begins to be replaced with Milltown, most likely stemming from people saying they are 'going to the mill in town.'"
As of the 2000 Census, the center of population for New Jersey was located in Milltown, at Milltown Road, just east of the New Jersey Turnpike (see map of location).Population and Population Centers by State: 2000 , United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 16, 2006. Based on the results of the 2010 census, the center of population had shifted to East Brunswick.Stirling, Stephen. "U.S. Census shows East Brunswick as statistical center of N.J.", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, March 31, 2011, updated March 31, 2019. Accessed December 5, 2019. "For any of you who have ever lain awake at night asking: Where, oh where is the statistical center of New Jersey, there really is an answer. Nenninger Lane, East Brunswick.... Over the last several decades, New Jersey’s statistical center has gradually crept its way south and west along the New Jersey Turnpike as growth in the southern and western portions of the state has outpaced the north.... Ten years ago, it was at an intersection in Milltown, about a tenth of a mile from the Turnpike and a few paces south of a Home Depot."
History Long before the arrival of the first Europeans, the Lenape Native Americans had established settlements along the Lawrence Brook. The discovery of many artifacts in the area above today's municipal building (now a small county park) suggests the presence of a Native American settlement.Luery, H. Rodney, The Story of Milltown, A.S. Barnes, . In 1678, Thomas Lawrence, a New York baker, acquired a large area around the Lawrence Brook, which likely included today's Milltown. The Lawrence Brook was then called Piscopeek (and on later maps, Lawrence's Brook). The names and marks of several Native Americans (Quemareck, Quesiacs, Isarick, Metapis, Peckawan and Turantaca) appear on the bill of sale.Source : Indian Bill of sale - 1678 (New Jersey State Museum, Trenton). In 1769, Fulcard Van Nordstrand advertised the sale of a large gristmill on the bank of Lawrence Brook. It would soon be called Lawrence Brook Mill.History of the Mill , Borough of Milltown. Accessed October 26, 2011. The 1903 classic western film The Great Train Robbery was shot in Milltown.
After the end of World War I, the Michelin Illustrated Guides to the Battlefields (1914-1918) of the Western Front were published in Milltown.Michelin Illustrated Guides to the Battlefields (1914-1918): Verdun and the Battles for its Possession., National Museum of African American History and Culture. Accessed May 28, 2024. "At the bottom of the cover, in smaller lettering is the publisher/author of the book, [Michelin & Cie., Clermont-Ferrand / Michelin Tyre Co. Ltd., 81 Fulham Road, London, S.W. / Michelin Tire Co., Milltown, N.J., U.S.A.]."
Milltown was home to a large French community, about 3,000 of whom worked at the Michelin tire factory. Many hailed from Gourin, and spoke Breton.
In March 2010, the Milltown Borough Council voted against changing the name of Petain Avenue, citing the difficulties that the street's residents would endure if the name changed.Applebome, Peter. "A Local Street and a Lesson in History", The New York Times, March 7, 2010. Accessed October 26, 2011. "Just ask local officials, aggrieved residents of a neighboring town and the folks on Petain Avenue, a tiny, two-house side street in this placid central New Jersey borough. All have suddenly had to confront the legacy of the French World War I war hero and World War II Nazi collaborator, for whom the street is named, and the balance between the burdens of the past and the demands of living in the present."Chang, Kathy. "Milltown officials debate Petain street name issue " , East Brunswick Sentinel, March 18, 2010. Accessed October 26, 2011. "No one disputes the facts surrounding the street's namesake, Philippe Pétain, and his link to the Nazis during World War II. However, Mayor Gloria Bradford and Borough Council members said they have been stymied because of the 'hardship' that residents who live on the street would have to endure if the street name is changed." Petain Avenue is named for Philippe Pétain, a French World War I general who became the leader of the Vichy France government during World War II. The Vichy Regime willfully collaborated with Nazi Germany, taking state action against "undesirables", including Jews, Protestants, gays, gypsies, and left-wing activists. In total, the Vichy government participated in the deportation of 76,000 Jews to German extermination camps, although this number varies depending on the account; only 2,500 survived the war.Jean-Luc Einaudi and Maurice Rajsfus (2001), op.cit., p.17 After the war, Petain was charged with perjury and sentenced to death, though this was commuted to life imprisonment due to his advanced age. By contrast, in France itself, the French government has since changed the name of every street formerly named after Petain.Tagliabue, John. "Both Hero and Traitor, but No Longer on the Map", The New York Times, January 2, 2011. Accessed June 27, 2011. "After World War I, virtually every town in France had its Rue or Avenue Pétain. So vast was his fame that a dozen or so towns and cities in the United States also named streets for him. But when the signs here change this month, the last street in France bearing his name will have disappeared." The road was eventually renamed as an extension of Haig Avenue in 2024.
The groundbreaking anxiolytic and sedative drug Miltown (meprobamate) developed by Carter Products, which became available to the public in the mid-1950s, was named for the borough.via Los Angeles Times. "Frank Berger, leader of mood-drug movement, dies", Newsday, March 23, 2008. Accessed April 2, 2008. "He and his colleagues made a short film about the effects of the drug on rhesus monkeys, which created enough interest that Wallace, a subsidiary of Carter Products, brought it to market in May 1955, naming it 'Miltown' after the nearby village of Milltown, N.J."
After the death of Milltown Mel in 2021, who had been featured at Groundhog Day events that drew as many as a thousand spectators, a bill was passed by the legislature to allow groundhogs to be purchased from outside the state, but the bill was vetoed in January 2026 by Governor Phil Murphy over concerns that the imported animals might have rabies."Why New Jersey Is Running Out of Groundhogs", The New York Times, January 12, 2026. Accessed January 12, 2026. "It has been five years since Milltown Mel dazzled Groundhog Day crowds in New Jersey with his predictions of the springlike or wintry days that lay ahead. The groundhog, the borough’s third Mel, was about 3 years old when he died in late 2021.... On Monday, the hope Mr. Einbinder held of reinvigorating a tradition that sometimes drew as many as 1,000 revelers to Milltown, a borough of about 7,000 residents in central New Jersey, took another hit when Gov. Philip D. Murphy vetoed a bill that would have made it easier to import a furry understudy from another state."
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.60 square miles (4.13 km2), including 1.55 square miles (4.02 km2) of land and 0.04 square miles (0.11 km2) of water (2.56%).
The borough borders North Brunswick to the west and East Brunswick to the east.Areas touching Milltown, MapIt. Accessed February 27, 2020.Municipalities, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Accessed December 1, 2019.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.
The Lawrence Brook, a tributary of the Raritan River, flows through the borough after exiting the Farrington Lake; a dam, under Main Street, creates a reservoir, the Mill Pond. The brook's watershed covers that includes Milltown and East Brunswick, New Brunswick, North Brunswick and South Brunswick.What We Do, Lawrence Brook Watershed Partnership. Accessed November 15, 2019. "The Lawrence Brook Watershed Partnership, Inc. (LBWP) is a not-for-profit organization with the mission to protect the water in a 48-square-mile area, the Lawrence Brook watershed (USGSHUC code: 02030105130); this area extends over parts of 5 municipalities: New Brunswick, East Brunswick, North Brunswick, South Brunswick, and Milltown; it also covers most of Rutgers University's Cook Campus."
Climate The climate in the area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally cold winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Milltown has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Milltown, New Jersey, Weatherbase. Accessed December 5, 2019.
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Milltown had a population of 7,037. The median age was 41.2 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.4 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,613 households in Milltown, of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 59.2% were married-couple households, 13.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 2,707 housing units, of which 3.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 1.3%.