Middlesex County, New Jersey Real Estate
Middlesex County: The Heart of New Jersey

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Middlesex County, known as the "Heart" of New Jersey, is located squarely in the center of New Jersey and stretches from the Rahway River south to Mercer and Monmouth Counties and from Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean west to Somerset County. The county is 318 square miles in size, has 25 municipalities, including the City of New Brunswick, the seat of Middlesex County Government. Middlesex County has been one of the fastest growing counties in the State, having an estimated population increase between 1970 and 1990 of 87,967 persons. The 2000 census figure of 745,000 is projected to increase to nearly 796,000 by the year 2010.

The county was named by early English colonists to honor their home territory. In early England, Middlesex County was between Essex (East Saxon Land) and Sussex (South Saxon Land).

Middlesex County also boasts of its many American "firsts," including the first Medical Society (1766), the first snuff factory (1812), the first artist colony (1845), the first African-American voter (1870), the first intercollegiate football game (1869) and, of course, the first phonograph (1877) and electric light (1879, Thomas Alva Edison of Menlo Park) to mention just a few.

Among the major employers located in Middlesex County, New Jersey, are pharmaceuticals giant Bristol-Myers Squibb, investment brokerage Merrill-Lynch, personal care products wholesaler Johnson & Johnson, and Prudential Insurance. Among the historic sites that dot the county are the Cornelius Low House, which is an outstanding example of Georgian architecture and serves as the County museum, and the Edison Memorial State Park built on the site of Thomas Alva Edison's Menlo Park Library. Princeton and Rutgers Universities both reside in Middlesex County, as well.