Raritan is a Borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 6,338. According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.3 km2), all of it land. Raritan Town was originally established as a subdivision within Bridgewater Township by act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 3, 1868. After a series of bitter lawsuits between Raritan and Bridgewater in the 1930s and 1940s, the Legislature allowed Raritan to become an independent Borough by an Act on May 12, 1948, based on the results of a referendum passed on June 12, 1948. The new borough incorporated the old town and an additional portion of Bridgewater Township. Local government Raritan is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year Education Students from Raritan attend the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, together with students from Bridgewater Township. Approximately 1,000 students of the 8,800 students in the district are from Raritan. All of the school facilities — including Bridgewater-Raritan High School — are in Bridgewater, except for John F. Kennedy School, which is in Raritan.