Manville is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, set in the heart of the Raritan Valley and part of the New York metropolitan area. It grew as a company town for the Johns-Manville Corporation, and that industrial origin shaped its character as a compact, working-class residential community. The borough is bordered by Somerville, Bound Brook, and Hillsborough, and its position between Interstate 287 and Route 206 places it close to the employment and commercial centers of central New Jersey. Water defines the borough's geography and, to a significant degree, its history. Manville sits at the convergence of the Raritan and Millstone rivers, and its low-lying neighborhoods — the Raritan section to the north and the Lost Valley section along the Millstone to the south — have experienced repeated flooding. A gauge on the Raritan at Manville has recorded well over 100 flood-stage events since 1903, and storms such as Hurricane Irene have inundated parts of the borough, making flood awareness a central part of life and of the local housing market. Manville's population is about 10,950, and it is served by its own Manville School District, a four-school system covering pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. That local district, along with a compact downtown and a network of neighborhood streets, gives the borough a genuine small-town feel despite its location in one of the state's busiest regions. NJ Transit rail stations in nearby Somerville and Raritan provide a commuting link toward Newark and New York. Manville suits people seeking an affordable, close-knit Somerset County borough — a walkable community with its own schools and easy freeway and rail access — while understanding the floodplain realities that come with living at the meeting point of two rivers.