Bridgewater Township is a township in Somerset County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located within the Raritan Valley region. Crisscrossed by several major highways, the township is both a regional commercial hub for Central New Jersey (home to Bridgewater Commons and different corporate headquarters) and as a suburban bedroom community of New York City within the New York Metropolitan Area. The township is located roughly 32 miles (51 km) away from Manhattan and about 20 miles (32 km) away from Staten Island. Bridgewater Township was created by Royal charter on April 4, 1749, from portions of the Northern precinct. It was incorporated as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships by the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, under the Township Act of 1798. During the nineteenth century, portions of the township were taken to form Warren Township (March 5, 1806), Branchburg Township (April 5, 1845), Somerville (March 25, 1863), Raritan (April 3, 1868) and Bound Brook (March 24, 1869). As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 45,977, an increase of 1,513 (+3.4%) from the 2010 census count of 44,464, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,524 (+3.5%) from the 42,940 counted at the 2000 census. From Wikipedia