Pequannock Township, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pequannock Township, New Jersey
Township
Martin Berry House
Coat of arms
Location of Pequannock Township in Morris County highlighted in red (right). Inset map: Location of Morris County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (left).
Census Bureau map of Pequannock Township, New Jersey
Pequannock Township, New Jersey Location in Morris County, New Jersey Show map of Morris County, New Jersey Pequannock Township, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Pequannock Township, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
U.S. state	New Jersey
County	Morris
Formed	March 25, 1740 as Poquanock Township
Incorporated	February 21, 1798 as Pequanack Township
Government
• Type	Faulkner Act (council–manager)
• Body	Township Council
Area
• Total	7.11 sq mi (18.41 km2)
• Land	6.79 sq mi (17.58 km2)
• Water	0.32 sq mi (0.83 km2)  4.53%
Area rank	243rd of 565 in state 21st of 39 in county
Elevation	203 ft (62 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	15,571
• Estimate  (2023)	15,603
• Rank	166th of 565 in state 14th of 39 in county
• Density	2,294.2/sq mi (885.8/km2)
• Density rank	271st of 565 in state 14th of 39 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07440 – Pequannock 07444 – Pompton Plains
Area code(s)	973
FIPS code	3402758110
GNIS feature ID	0882208

Pequannock Township (pronounced pa-QUAN-nick) is a township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census^[update], the township's population was 15,571, an increase of 31 (+0.2%) from the 2010 census count of 15,540, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,652 (+11.9%) from the 13,888 counted in the 2000 census. The primary community in the township is the census-designated place of Pompton Plains.

The name "Pequannock", as used in the name of the township and of the Pequannock River, is thought to have been derived from the Lenni Lenape Native American word Paquettahhnuake, meaning "cleared land ready or being readied for cultivation". The name "Pompton" has been cited by some sources to mean "a place where they catch soft fish".

New Jersey Monthly ranked Pequannock Township as the "Best Bang for the Buck" in New Jersey and 9th overall in its 2011 edition of "Best Places to Live" in New Jersey. It was then ranked 14th overall in the 2013 edition of "Best Places to Live". In the 2015 edition of "Best Places to Live" in New Jersey, Pequannock ranked 4th overall.

History

The name for the area goes back at least as far as March 1, 1720, when it was referred to as "Poquanick", a precinct in Hunterdon County. Formed as "Poquanock Township" on March 25, 1740, as the county's largest township, what is now a 7.1-square-mile (18 km²) bedroom community with Pompton Plains in its northern portion and old Pequannock in its southern was once a vast 176-square-mile (460 km²) region of rural farmland settled by the Dutch after its purchase by Arent Schuyler and associates in 1695 and 1696. The township was incorporated by the New Jersey Legislature's Township Act of 1798 as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships on February 21, 1798.

Over time, several municipalities were split off from the township: Jefferson Township on February 11, 1804; Rockaway Township on April 8, 1844; Boonton Township on April 11, 1867; Montville Township on April 11, 1867; Butler Borough on March 13, 1901; Kinnelon Borough on March 21, 1922; Lincoln Park Borough on April 25, 1922; and Riverdale Borough on April 17, 1923.

During the American Revolutionary War, both Comte de Rochambeau and George Washington's troops camped on what is now the site of the Pequannock Valley Middle School. While Washington stayed at the Schuyler-Colfax House in nearby Pompton, unproven oral history states that he attended church services in the First Reformed Church located in Pompton Plains, also known as the Pompton Meeting House, which had been constructed in 1771. The Mandeville Inn, located on the site of where the soldiers had camped during the war, was built in 1788 and was once owned by Garret Hobart, later Vice President of the United States. The stone with the engraved date is now located inside the Pequannock Valley Middle School when the Inn was demolished and replaced with the school in 1950.

During the Civil War, Pequannock was a stop on the Underground Railroad. The Giles Mandeville House (also built in 1788), a field and quarry-stone structure located at 515 Newark-Pompton Turnpike, which is believed to have served as a waypoint for many runaway slaves, still stands today, and has been in use as the Manse of the adjacent First Reformed Church since 1953.

Historic sites

Historic sites located in Pequannock Township include:

• Ackerson Mead Clark House, a Greek revival mansion constructed in the 1870s.
• Bank Barn
• Giles Mandeville House
• Mandeville Inn
• Martin Berry House, a Dutch home constructed in 1720, making it Pequannock's second-oldest.
• Paul DeBow House
• Paul Barney DeBow House
• Pequannoc Spillway
• Pompton dam, constructed in 1837 to provide water for the Morris Canal.
• Pompton Plains Railroad Station was built in 1872 and offered regular passenger train service until 1966. Added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 5, 2008, the station serves as the Pequannock Township Museum.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 7.11 square miles (18.41 km²), including 6.79 square miles (17.58 km²) of land and 0.32 square miles (0.83 km²) of water (4.53%).

The Township of Pequannock is located in eastern Morris County, along Route 23, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) north of the interchange of Route 23 with Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 46. Interstate 287 crosses the northwest corner of the township, with a full interchange just north of the township in the borough of Riverdale. Pequannock Township is located 20 miles (32 km) west of New York City.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Pequannock and Pompton Plains, each of which is served by a separate post office of the United States Postal Service.

Pequannock Township borders the municipalities of Kinnelon, Lincoln Park and Riverdale in Morris County; and Pompton Lakes and Wayne in Passaic County.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 15,540 people, 6,471 households, and 3,986 families in the township. The population density was 2,302.7 per square mile (889.1/km²). There were 6,794 housing units at an average density of 1,006.7 per square mile (388.7/km²). The racial makeup was 95.76% (14,881) White, 0.48% (75) Black or African American, 0.09% (14) Native American, 1.94% (302) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.89% (138) from other races, and 0.84% (130) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.52% (703) of the population.

Of the 6,471 households, 26.2% had children under the age of 18; 52.9% were married couples living together; 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present and 38.4% were non-families. Of all households, 35.6% were made up of individuals and 25.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.18.

21.5% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 19.4% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 24.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 85.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 81.3 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $84,322 (with a margin of error of +/− $4,784) and the median family income was $109,572 (+/− $9,602). Males had a median income of $77,988 (+/− $7,857) versus $50,744 (+/− $7,369) for females. The per capita income for the township was $42,016 (+/− $2,741). About 1.8% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Pequannock Township School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2018–19 school year^[update], the district, comprised of five schools, had an enrollment of 2,123 students and 167.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.7:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Stephen J. Gerace Elementary School 290 with students in grades K–5, Hillview Elementary School 313 with students in grades K–5, North Boulevard Elementary School 340 with students in grades K–5, Pequannock Valley School with 459 students in grades 6–8 and Pequannock Township High School with 701 students in grades 9–12.

Holy Spirit School is a Catholic school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade operated under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson. In addition, there is Kolbe Immaculata School, a non-diocesan Catholic school for grades 1–8; the Netherlands Reformed Christian School (PreK–12); and Chancellor Academy, a school founded in 1983 that serves students in sixth through twelfth grades who have not succeeded in a traditional school structure.

Transportation

Interstate 287 southbound in Pequannock Township

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 63.41 miles (102.05 km) of roadways, of which 50.67 miles (81.55 km) were maintained by the municipality, 8.54 miles (13.74 km) by Morris County and 4.20 miles (6.76 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Two major roadways exist within the township; Interstate 287 runs for 1.4 miles (2.3 km) across the northwest corner and Route 23 runs for 2.8 miles (4.5 km) along the eastern boundary.

Public transportation

The NJ Transit Mountain View and Lincoln Park train stations are both near Pequannock, offering service on the Montclair-Boonton Line to Hoboken Terminal. Pequannock Township was formerly served by the Pompton Plains railroad station, which has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Bus service is provided by NJ Transit on the 194 line to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. In September 2012, as part of budget cuts, NJ Transit suspended service to Newark on the 75 line.

Downtown Pompton Plains is 19.8 miles (31.9 km) from Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark / Elizabeth, 14.1 miles (22.7 km) from Teterboro Airport, 13.7 miles (22.0 km) from Morristown Municipal Airport in Hanover Township, 11.5 miles (18.5 km) from Greenwood Lake Airport in West Milford, 6.6 miles (10.6 km) from Essex County Airport and 1.6 miles (2.6 km) from Lincoln Park Airport in Lincoln Park Borough.

Media

Pequannock is served by New York City TV stations. It is served by the newspapers The Star-Ledger, the Daily Record, and The Record of Bergen County.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Pequannock Township include:

• Don Argott (born 1972), documentary filmmaker and musician
• Jason Biggs (born 1978), actor who has appeared in the American Pie films
• Michael T. Cahill, Dean of Brooklyn Law School
• Peter Cameron (born 1959), novelist and short-story writer.
• Derek Jeter (born 1974), former shortstop for the New York Yankees
• Danny Kass (born 1982), Olympic snowboarder
• Sibyl Kempson (born 1973), playwright and performer
• Shawn Keough (born 1959), member of the Idaho Senate
• Davana Medina (born 1974), figure competitor
• Susan Misner (born 1971), actress who has appeared on films and television, including roles in One Life to Live, The Bronx Is Burning, Rescue Me and Chicago
• French Montana (born 1984), rapper
• Criss Oliva (1963–1993), musician who was the lead guitarist and co-founder of Savatage
• Dan Prestup (born 1984), drummer
• Danielle Rose Russell (born 1999), actress who has appeared in films and on television, including roles in The Originals, Legacies and Wonder
• Pete Yorn (born 1974), singer-songwriter and musician
• Karen Young (born 1958), actress

See also

In Spanish: Municipio de Pequannock para niños