Basking Ridge, New Jersey

The Basking Ridge White Oak Tree (also known as the Holy Oak and Old Oak Tree) was a white oak that stood in the churchyard of the Presbyterian Church in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The tree was over 600 years old and died in 2016, before being cut down in 2017. It stood at 97 feet tall, and may have been the oldest white oak in the world.

Brick Academy is the nickname for a Federal-style brick building built in 1809 to meet the growing needs of the Basking Ridge Classical School located in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. That school existed prior to 1799, at least 10 years before the construction of this building in 1809. The brick building was constructed for the elementary school run by local Presbyterian pastor, Rev. Robert Finley. This was about halfway through Rev. Finley's time at Basking Ridge. During the time he ran the school, attendance grew from fewer than 12 to an average near 25 students, and sometimes as high as 40 students. Students came from near & far, mostly from prominent families. The school was a high end preparatory school for boys who generally continued on to the College of New Jersey, later (in 1896), known as Princeton University. In 1817, Rev. Finley quit Basking Ridge to briefly become president of the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. By 1828, the "Brick Academy" corporation was formed and the building continued use as a private, then public school in 1853, before being used for other purposes. The nickname "Brick Academy" is often misused to include students who actually attended the "Basking Ridge Classical School" (prior to 1828). It is also used inappropriately to include students at that school prior to the construction of the brick building, later known as "the Brick Academy". Samuel Southard is frequently cited as having attended the "Brick Academy" in Basking Ridge, however he graduated Princeton in 1804 - fully 5 years prior to the construction of the brick building later known as the Brick Academy. After many years of service as a private boys' school, the Brick Academy later served as a public school, and then as a meeting hall for several fraternal and benevolent organizations, and the Bernards Township municipal building. (See timeline below.) In 1976 the Township leased the Brick Academy to The Historical Society of the Somerset Hills which uses the historic building for its headquarters and public meetings, and operates a museum, one room schoolhouse for local history, and research room. That organization offers an online virtual tour of the Brick Academy. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 21, 1976 for its significance in education, philosophy, and religion.

The Presbyterian Church in Basking Ridge is a historic church at 1 E. Oak Street in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. The church congregation was founded in 1717. The present church, which was constructed in 1839 in a Greek Revival style, is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Until 2017, the churchyard held the Old Oak Tree of Basking Ridge, which was estimated to be 600 years old.

Basking Ridge is an NJ Transit station in Bernards Township, New Jersey along the Gladstone Branch of the Morris and Essex Lines.

The Boudinot–Southard Farmstead is located at 135 North Maple Avenue in Bernards Township of Somerset County, New Jersey. The property was purchased by Elias Boudinot in 1771. Featuring a Colonial Revival farmhouse, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 2009, for its significance in agriculture, architecture, military and politics/government. The 37-acre (15 ha) farmstead includes four contributing buildings and two contributing structures. It is also known as the Ross Farm.

Ridge High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Bernards Township in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Bernards Township School District. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,731 students and 142.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.1:1. There were 15 students (0.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 5 (0.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch. As of 2021, the racial breakdown consists of White (60.9%), Asian (28.3%), Hispanic (6.6%), two or more races (3.4%) and African American (0.8%).

Lord Stirling Park is a 925/950 acre park operated by the Somerset County Park Commission and located in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and separated from the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge by the Passaic River. The park displays a diverse ecosystem in floodplains of the upper Passaic River and its contributors and contains swamps, fields, forests, brooks, marshes, and meadows. Lord Stirling Park has two major parts. It is home to the Somerset County Environmental Education Center which contains 425 acres (1.72 km2) and provides educational services for visitors and contains a gift shop; it is also the starting point for a number of hiking trails for the exploration of the park. The office and education building was the first public building in the United States that was solar-heated when opened in 1977. The original hot water solar heating system panels were replaced in 2013 with solar photovoltaic panels. The Lord Stirling Stable is an equestrian center with stables, an indoor arena, outdoor rings, and about 10 miles (16 km) of dedicated horseback trails in its 366-acre (1.48 km2) section of the Lord Stirling Park. The area was prehistorically part of the Glacial Lake Passaic. For thousands of years it has been inhabited, and current archeological sites explore the artifacts of the Lenape civilization. The park is named after William Alexander, Lord Stirling, a general of the American Revolution whose estate included the area. His manor is in an unopened part of the park.

The Bernards Township School District is a comprehensive community public school district, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Bernards Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States.As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 4,874 students and 456.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.7:1.The district offers its Integrated Preschool Program for children on the autism spectrum, utilizing the principles of applied behavior analysis.The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "J", the highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.

Lyons is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Bernards Township, in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 228. Lyons is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-southeast of Bernardsville. Lyons has a post office with ZIP Code 07939.

Lyons is a New Jersey Transit station in Basking Ridge, New Jersey along the Gladstone Branch of the Morris & Essex Lines. The station serves south Basking Ridge as well as the Hills and Liberty Corner.

Bernards High School is a comprehensive four-year regional public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school is part of the Somerset Hills Regional School District, a regional K–12 school district that consists of the participating municipalities of Bernardsville, Far Hills and Peapack-Gladstone. Students from Bedminster are sent to the district's high school for grades 9-12 as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Bedminster Township School District. The school is located in Bernardsville, within walking distance from the main section of Bernardsville. The school is overseen by the New Jersey Department of Education. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 797 students and 68.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.7:1. There were 51 students (6.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 17 (2.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

The Lord Stirling Manor Site is a historic site located at 96 Lord Stirling Road in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township in Somerset County, New Jersey. It was the property of the American General William Alexander, Lord Stirling. It is now part of Lord Stirling Park. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1978, for its significance in military and social history.