Bordentown is the northernmost municipality in New Jersey that is a part of the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area and the Delaware Valley.

[22] Thomas Farnsworth, an English Quaker, became the first European settler in the Bordentown area in 1682, when he moved his family upriver from Burlington.

This exploited Bordentown's natural location as the point on the Delaware River that provided the shortest overland route to Perth Amboy, from which cargo and people could be ferried to New York City.

Hessian troops briefly occupied Bordentown in 1776 as part of the New York and New Jersey campaign before leaving to engage in the Battle of Iron Works Hill on December 23.

On May 8, 1777, during the Philadelphia campaign, British forces raided Bordentown in pursuit of retreating American militiamen.

The Redcoats burned several Bordentown buildings along with large quantities of American military supplies and several ships in the nearby waters.

[27] In August 1831, master mechanic Isaac Dripps of Bordentown re-assembled (without blueprints or instructions) the locomotive John Bull (originally called "The Stevens") in just 10 days.

The John Bull is preserved at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.[28] Another notable resident of Bordentown is Clara Barton, who started the first free public school in New Jersey in 1852.

This was a base from which she taught and produced over 50 of her works, many of which are painting of animals in natural settings and pastoral scenes.

In 1909, the religious order Poor Clares established a convent in the former Motherhouse of the Sisters of Mercy on Crosswicks Street.

[33] Several years after the banishing of his family from France in 1816, arriving under vigilant disguise as the Count de Survilliers, Joseph Bonaparte,[34] former King of Naples and Spain and brother to Napoleon I of France, purchased the Point Breeze Estate near Bordentown from American revolutionary, Stephen Sayre.

[35] He lived there for 17 years, entertaining guests of great fame such as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and the future 6th U.S. President, John Quincy Adams.

Much of it is the remains of a formerly Italinate building remodeled in English Georgian Revival style in 1924 for Harris Hammon, who purchased the estate at Point Breeze as built in 1850 by Henry Becket, a British consul in Philadelphia.

In addition to the rubble of this mansion and some hedges of its elaborate gardens, only the original tunnel to the river (broken through in several places) and the house of Bonaparte's secretary remain.

Many descendants of Joachim Murat, King of Naples and brother in law of the Bonapartes executed in 1815, also were born or lived in Bordentown, having followed their uncle Joseph there.

[50][51] Downtown Bordentown has many book, record and antique stores lining its streets, with Italian and American restaurants.

[3][57] In March 2024, the commissioners appointed Heather Cheesman to fill the seat that had been held by James E. Lynch Jr., until he resigned from office; Cheeseman will serve on an interim basis until the November 2024 general election, when voters will choose a candidate to serve the balance of the term of office.

It is designed to inform elected officials and the public, serve on committees, research issues, develop educational programs and advocate for sound environmental policies.

Local issues include preservation of open space, promoting walking and bicycling trails and the River Line, protection of wetlands and water quality, recycling and energy conservation, and environmental education.

[63] The BCEC's most current efforts have focuses upon a bicycle and pedestrian circulation study, the City's open space plan, and the development of a set of local greenways (Thorntown and Black Creek).

[70] Prior to the 2010 Census, Bordentown City had been part of the 4th Congressional District, a change made by the New Jersey Redistricting Commission that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections.

[70] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 3rd congressional district is currently represented Herb Conaway (D, Delran Township).

[72] For the 2024-2025 session, the 7th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Troy Singleton (D, Palmyra) and in the General Assembly by Carol A. Murphy (D, Mount Laurel).

[73] Burlington County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners composed of five members who are chosen at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year; at an annual reorganization meeting, the board selects a director and deputy director from among its members to serve a one-year term.

[96] Among the city's 2010 Census population, 63.5% (vs. 61.7% in Burlington County) were registered to vote, including 77.9% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 80.3% countywide).

[119][120] As of 2011, the New Hanover district was considering expansion of its relationship to send students to Bordentown for middle school for grades 6–8.

[121] Students from Bordentown, and from all of Burlington County, are eligible to attend the Burlington County Institute of Technology, a countywide public school district that serves the vocational and technical education needs of students at the high school and post-secondary level at its campuses in Medford and Westampton.

The New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) passes through neighboring Bordentown Township with access at interchange 7 to U.S. Route 206, which is signed as Bordentown-Trenton.

[136][137] The city has become a destination for weekend dining as well as for the casual perusal of its book and record stores, historical sites and art galleries.

The Bordentown Historical Society sponsors events, such as the Holiday House Tour and Peach Social.