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Rahway, New Jersey

Rahway is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is 15 miles southwest of Manhattan and 5 miles west of Staten Island.

Built on the navigable Rahway River, it was an industrial and artisanal craft city for much of its history. The city has increasingly reinvented itself in recent years as a diverse regional hub for the arts and biological sciences, with a new global headquarters for Merck & Co.

As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 29,556, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 2,210 (+8.1%) from the 27,346 recorded at the 2010 census,  which in turn reflected an increase of 846 (+3.2%) from the 26,500 counted in the 2000 census.

Indigenous presence
Rahway and the surrounding area were once the home of the Lenape Native Americans, and tradition states that the city was named after Rahwack (or Ra-wa-rah), a local tribal chief.

English colonization
Formal European colonization began in 1664 with the purchase by the English from the Lenape of the Elizabethtown Tract, which encompassed lands from the mouth of the Raritan River and included all of present-day Union County as well as parts of Somerset, Middlesex, Morris and Essex counties. The early settlers of Elizabethtown and Woodbridge were the founders of Rahway which began as outlying acreage and plantations. The Seventeenth Century Clark House is one of the oldest buildings in the state.

By the 18th century, Rahway consisted of four distinct communities: Upper Rahway, Bridge Town (or Lower Rahway), Leesville, and Milton.

Revolutionary War and the Battle of Spanktown
Rahway saw action during the American Revolutionary War because of its proximity to Staten Island, Elizabethtown and Perth Amboy. In January 1777, rebels were victorious against the British in the Battle of Spanktown, which resulted in the death of some 100 British troops. The battle was named this after Rahway's original name given to it by the first settlers, Spanktown, which is said to have been chosen "because an early settler publicly took his spouse across his knee and chastised her". Spanktown was mentioned in Revolutionary War military dispatches from January 5, 1777, through March 14, 1782.

The Merchants and Drovers Tavern is located at the corner of St. Georges and Westfield Avenues. The earliest buildings at the site date to 1795 and the property remains one of Rahway's most prominent historical landmarks. George Washington visited Rahway during his travel to New York City prior to his presidential inauguration in 1789. A marker across the street from the tavern reads:

 * Here, on April 23, 1789, on his way to New York City, Washington was received by troops from Elizabethtown and Newark. He was entertained at the inn kept by Samuel Smith by gentlemen of the town.

Following the Revolution, Rahway became the home of the first national mint to create a coin bearing the inscription E pluribus unum. A United States Post Office established in Rahway was one of only six in the entire state in 1791.

Various historical place markers in town document Rahway Revolutionary War history.

Stagecoach era and corporate growth
Rahway grew due to its location along the major stagecoach and railroad lines between New York City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The navigable Rahway River, which flows through the city, also aided the city's commercial growth.

As immigrants from Britain, Ireland and Germany streamed into what was then Rahway Township in the 1850s, Rahway became incorporated as a city by an act of the State Legislature on April 19, 1858, from portions of Rahway Township in Union and Woodbridge Township in Middlesex County. In 1860, the portion of Rahway that had been part of Middlesex County was transferred to Union. On March 13, 1861, the remainder of Rahway Township became part of Rahway City. Clark Township was formed from portions of the city on March 23, 1864.

The first municipal elections for the mayor and council were conducted on April 19, 1858, and the council held its first meeting on May 3, 1858. The city's police department and its initial group of four constables were created at that first council meeting.

The city became home to dozens of major manufacturers, including the Regina Music Box Company, Wheatena, Mershon Bros. and, most importantly, Merck & Co., which was established in Rahway in 1903, when George W. Merck moved his small chemical company to Rahway from New York City.

Postwar era
The national decline in industry after World War II led to the closure of most of Rahway's major manufacturing facilities (except for Merck) and a general deterioration of the city's central business district.

Revitalization
Beginning in the late 1990s, the city launched a plan to revitalize the downtown area and authorized the construction of hundreds of new market-rate housing units, a hotel, art galleries and additional retail space.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 4.04 square miles (10.47 km2), including 3.90 square miles (10.09 km2) of land and 0.15 square miles (0.38 km2) of water (3.59%).

Rahway is bordered by the municipalities of Clark to the northwest and Linden to the northeast in Union County; and by Woodbridge Township to the south in Middlesex County.

The Rahway River travels through Rahway, entering from Clark at Rahway River Parkway. The river receives the waters of Robinsons Branch at Elizabeth Avenue between West Grand Avenue and West Main Street, and then receives the waters of the South Branch at East Hazlewood Avenue and Leesville Avenue. The river leaves Rahway at the city limits of Linden and Woodbridge before flowing into the Arthur Kill.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include Inman Heights and North Rahway.

2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 27,346 people, 10,533 households, and 6,815 families in the city. The population density was 7016.8 /sqmi. There were 11,300 housing units at an average density of 2899.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup was 52.30% (14,301) White, 30.93% (8,457) Black or African American, 0.31% (84) Native American, 4.30% (1,175) Asian, 0.02% (5) Pacific Islander, 8.37% (2,288) from other races, and 3.79% (1,036) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.52% (6,433) of the population.

Of the 10,533 households, 28.1% had children under the age of 18; 42.4% were married couples living together; 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present and 35.3% were non-families. Of all households, 29.5% were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.23.

21.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.8 years. For every 100 females, the population had 91.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 87.1 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $58,551 (with a margin of error of +/− $3,355) and the median family income was $77,268 (+/− $9,506). Males had a median income of $56,572 (+/− $3,375) versus $47,832 (+/− $3,542) for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,855 (+/− $1,981). About 5.4% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census there were 26,500 people, 10,028 households, and 6,728 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,642.7 PD/sqmi. There were 10,381 housing units at an average density of 2,602.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 60.19% White, 27.07% African American, 0.16% Native American, 3.58% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.62% from other races, and 3.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 13.87% of the population.

There were 10,028 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the city the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $50,729, and the median income for a family was $61,931. Males had a median income of $41,047 versus $32,091 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,481. About 5.4% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Downtown
In 2020, downtown Rahway received accolades as a Great Downtown by the American Planning Association: "'Downtown Rahway is a great place. It is a place that emphasizes livability, walkability, shopping, food, art, diversity and a destination. Centered in the heart of the bustling City of Rahway, next to the NJ Transit Station, Rahway's downtown is the building block for this diverse city.'"

In 2019, the Watt Hotel opened across from the train station, with 100 rooms managed by Hilton on the third and fourth floors of a 17-story building, a lobby cocktail lounge and a rooftop terrace with a seasonal bar offering views of the city, river and outwards to the Watchung Mountains.

Beginning in the early 1990s and continuing through the present day, the City of Rahway has rebounded as its downtown began to see the construction of new restaurants, art galleries, market-rate housing and the old Rahway Theatre reopening as the Union County Performing Arts Center. The theater underwent a $6.2-million renovation and expansion project, completed in 2007. As part of the expansion, the facility was purchased by the County of Union for $1.3 million and leased back for $1 a year.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Rahway
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Rahway, formerly Rahway Hospital, is a 122-bed non-profit, public, research and academic teaching hospital located in Rahway. The medical center is a part of the RWJBarnabas Health System. It is affiliated with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. It also has an emergency department for area residents.

Merck & Co.
In 2021, Merck & Co. announced that it would be returning its global headquarters to its Rahway research campus (currently the largest private employer in Rahway) and former headquarters. By 2024, Merck plans to complete the move of headquarters to Rahway.

Local news media

 * TAPInto Rahway is a local news site covering Rahway news exclusively, part of the TAPinto network of news in Central and Northern New Jersey.
 * Rahway Rising is a longstanding news site run by the former editor of the now-defunct newspaper The Rahway Progress and covering city council meetings with a focus on redevelopment.
 * Rahway Is Happening! is the news release arm of the Rahway Special Improvement District, announcing and promoting the arts, festivals, dining, shopping, new and established local businesses, and other downtown culture.
 * Our Town Rahway is a free monthly community newspaper mailed out to residents and published by Renna Media.
 * Union News Daily. A news outlet covering Union County news, it has a dedicated Rahway section. It is part of LocalSource and published by Worrall Community Newspapers of Union.
 * Remaining multi-community newspapers that cover Rahway include the Courier News, a daily newspaper based in Bridgewater Township, and The Star-Ledger and the Suburban News based in Newark.

Library and other media
In September 1999, remnants of Hurricane Floyd swept across New Jersey and caused severe damage. The Rahway Public Library was on a flood plain and suffered over US$1 million in flood damage. The building was demolished in October 2001 and a new library was constructed and opened on March 22, 2004, behind the city's municipal building along a less flood-prone area of the Rahway River. The site of the former Rahway Public Library now contains tennis courts and a small playground. The new library opened in 2004.

Historian and Rahway native Eva Bridges opened the city's Black-owned bookstore, Bridges Book Center Afro-American Research Library & Museum, located at 1480 Main Street, in 1970.

Performing and visual arts
As of the early 2020s, downtown Rahway has become a regional hub in the performing and visual arts.

The landmarked Rahway Theatre building is home to the Union County Performing Arts Center.

Houses of worship

 * The First Presbyterian Church of Rahway was established in 1741 and its current church on Grand and Church Street was built in 1832. It was extensively remodeled in 1876.
 * Divine Mercy Parish is a Roman Catholic community of faith in Rahway. Its church on Central Avenue was built in 1888 by Irish architect Jeremiah O'Rourke. It was formerly known as St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, which was merged by the Archdiocese with the former St. Mark's German Catholic Church around 2010 to form Divine Mercy Parish.
 * Built in 1865, the Seventh-day Adventist Church stands at the intersection of Main Street and West Emerson (1221 New Brunswick Avenue). It was formerly the Second Presbyterian, but that congregation merged with the First Presbyterian in 2012.
 * Established in 1826, the Ebenezer AME Church in Rahway is one of the oldest African Methodist Episcopal church in the country
 * Trinity Methodist. Founded in 1849, this Methodist group was called Second Methodist. In 1893, the group changed its name to Trinity United Methodist and built the large brick, Romanesque-styled church on the corner of E. Milton Avenue and Main Street.

City parks
The city is home to more than ten parks. The best-known is Rahway River Park, which is maintained by Union County, and is also partially located in Clark. The Robinson's Branch Reservoir abuts the city at the Madison Hill Bridge on the Clark-Rahway border.

The pool at Rahway River Park
The Walter E. Ulrich swimming pool in Rahway River Park was extensively renovated and retiled in 2021. A beach-style splash feature for children, with an "ocean-like" sloping entry without stairs, was added to the pool that year. The pool is available to Union County residents and their guests for a daily fee. Built in 1929, it was documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in 1985.

Local government
The City of Rahway is governed under the Faulkner Act system of municipal government under the Mayor-Council (Plan F), implemented as of January 1, 1955, based on the recommendations of a Charter Study Commission. The township is one of 71 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government. The city's governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the nine-member City Council. The Mayor is elected directly by the voters. The City Council includes nine members, all elected to four-year terms of office. Six members of the council are elected from each of six wards. The other three members are elected to represent the entire city on an at-large basis. Elections are in even-numbered years, with the six ward seats up together, followed two years later by the three at-large seats and the mayoral seat. Under the City of Rahway's form of government, all executive and administrative authority is vested in the office of the mayor, who appoints the Business Administrator and department directors. The Business Administrator develops an annual budget for the city, manages the city's departments and oversees its employees. This form of government gives citizens a centralized line of authority for the efficient management of the city's business.

, the mayor of Rahway is Democrat Raymond A. Giacobbe Jr., whose term of office ends December 31, 2026. The members of the Municipal Council are Jeffrey Brooks (At Large; D, 2026), David Brown (Fourth Ward; D, 2024), Joseph D. Gibilisco (Sixth Ward; D, 2024), Joanna Miles (At Large; D, 2026), Jeremy E. Mojica (At Large; D, 2026), Danielle "Danni" Newbury (Fifth Ward; D, 2024), Al Parker (First Ward; D, 2024), Vannie Deloris Parson (Third Ward; D, 2024), and Karla Timmons (Second Ward; D, 2024).

Federal, state, and county representation
Rahway is located in the 7th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 22nd state legislative district.

Politics
As of March 2011, there were a total of 15,719 registered voters in Rahway, of whom 7,159 (45.5% vs. 41.8% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 1,675 (10.7% vs. 15.3%) were registered as Republicans and 6,880 (43.8% vs. 42.9%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 5 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens. Among the city's 2010 Census population, 57.5% (vs. 53.3% in Union County) were registered to vote, including 73.5% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 70.6% countywide).

In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 8,413 votes (74.7% vs. 66.0% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 2,648 votes (23.5% vs. 32.3%) and other candidates with 107 votes (0.9% vs. 0.8%), among the 11,269 ballots cast by the city's 16,730 registered voters, for a turnout of 67.4% (vs. 68.8% in Union County). In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 8,340 votes (69.8% vs. 63.1% countywide), ahead of Republican John McCain with 3,410 votes (28.5% vs. 35.2%) and other candidates with 115 votes (1.0% vs. 0.9%), among the 11,944 ballots cast by the city's 16,039 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.5% (vs. 74.7% in Union County). In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 6,512 votes (63.1% vs. 58.3% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 3,668 votes (35.5% vs. 40.3%) and other candidates with 92 votes (0.9% vs. 0.7%), among the 10,326 ballots cast by the city's 14,471 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.4% (vs. 72.3% in the whole county).

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Democrat Barbara Buono received 55.4% of the vote (3,211 cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 43.0% (2,494 votes), and other candidates with 1.6% (93 votes), among the 5,934 ballots cast by the city's 16,359 registered voters (136 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 36.3%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 3,961 ballots cast (57.4% vs. 50.6% countywide), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 2,451 votes (35.5% vs. 41.7%), Independent Chris Daggett with 366 votes (5.3% vs. 5.9%) and other candidates with 68 votes (1.0% vs. 0.8%), among the 6,895 ballots cast by the city's 15,842 registered voters, yielding a 43.5% turnout (vs. 46.5% in the county).

Education
The Rahway Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 4,056 students and 325.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.5:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are Grover Cleveland Elementary School with 513 students in grades PreK-6, Franklin Elementary School with 618 students in grades PreK-6, Madison Elementary School with 341 students in grades PreK-6, Roosevelt Elementary School with 578 students in grades PreK-6, Rahway 7th & 8th Grade Academy with 730 students in grades 7-8 and Rahway High School with 1,124 students in grades 9-12.

Marquis de Lafayette
From July 1824 to September 1825, the French Marquis de Lafayette, the last surviving major general of the American Revolutionary War, made a tour of the 24 states in the United States, stopping at the Peace Tavern in Rahway.

Nikola Tesla
In the 1880s, Nikola Tesla opened Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing in Rahway.

Legends of pirate treasure
According to recently resurfaced 19th century lore, Captain William Kidd buried treasure in the Rahway area, alongside the body of one of his men he had just murdered.

The location of this pirate treasure was said to be on the southern banks of the Rahway River at a spot called Price's or Post's Woods, said to be midway between Rahway and the Arthur Kill.

The murder and burial of treasure was witnessed secretly from a tree, allegedly, by a Lenape chieftain known as Ra-wa-rah who is the namesake of the city of Rahway. Ra-wa-rah allegedly witnessed the murder and burial of treasure while returning from a fishing journey.

East Jersey State Prison
East Jersey State Prison, formerly known as Rahway State Prison, actually is located in Woodbridge Township at the border with Rahway. The prison's mailing address is in Rahway, leading many to believe the facility was located there. The prison's official name was changed to East Jersey State Prison as of November 30, 1988, at the request of the citizens of Rahway. East Jersey State Prison is seen at the beginning of the movie Ocean's Eleven, starring George Clooney. The 1978 documentary Scared Straight was filmed there, as was the 1989 movie Lock Up, starring Sylvester Stallone. The prison was briefly mentioned in John Sayles City of Hope (1991).

The Unknown Woman
The Rahway murder of 1887 was the unsolved murder of an unidentified young woman whose body was found in the city on March 25, 1887, garnering attention from the press and the public.

Roads and highways
As of 2010, the city had a total of 73.67 mi of roadways, of which 59.18 mi were maintained by the municipality, 10.45 mi by Union County and 4.04 mi by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Rahway is served by U.S. Route 1/9, Route 27, and Route 35. The city is sandwiched between the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike, which are each located about two miles outside of the city limits. There are several crossings of the Rahway River in the city.

Public transportation
NJ Transit 115 route provides local service and interstate service to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, with service on the 48 line to Elizabeth and Perth Amboy.

Rahway Train Station serves NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line and Northeast Corridor Line. The City of Rahway and NJ Transit helped fund a $16 million renovation for the station in 1999 and a public plaza in front of the station was completed in 2001, changes that have spurred cleanup and revitalization downtown. A new US$11.2 million 524-space parking deck opened across the street from the station in January 2005, helping train commuters and allowing the city to transform old parking lot space into new buildings and residences. A typical train ride to New York City's Pennsylvania Station takes 38 minutes.

Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport is 10.2 miles northeast of Rahway, approximately a 20-minute drive by car, or approximately 16 minutes by Coast or Northeast Corridor Line.

Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Rahway has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Rahway include:

 * Antonio Alfano (born 2000), American football defensive tackle for the Colorado Buffaloes
 * Juliette Atkinson (1873–1944), Hall of Fame tennis player and three-time U.S. Open champion
 * Robert Lee Bloomfield (1827–1916), businessman and church-founder
 * Peter Boettke (born 1960), economist of the Austrian School
 * Frank E. Boland (c. 1880–1913), James Paul Boland (1882–1970) and Joseph John Boland (1879–1964), early aircraft designers who started the Boland Airplane and Motor Company
 * Aaron Bradshaw, basketball player.
 * Kimberly Brandão (born 1984), professional women's soccer player; captain of the Portugal Women's National Team, which she has represented since 2007
 * Chris Brantley (born 1970), former NFL wide receiver; played for the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills
 * Ronald Breslow (1931-2017), chemist
 * Isaac Brokaw (1746–1826), clockmaker
 * Harvey Brown (1795–1874), military officer who fought in the Black Hawk and Seminole Wars, the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War
 * James Monroe Buckley (1836–1920), Methodist minister, doctor, author and editor of the Christian Advocate.
 * Darrion Caldwell (born 1987), mixed martial artist and former Bellator Bantamweight World Champion, NCAA wrestling national champion at NC State
 * Louis Campbell (born 1979), professional basketball player; plays for Strasbourg IG of the French League
 * Clifford P. Case (1904–1982), Representative of the Sixth District of New Jersey in the House of Representatives (1945–1954); United States Senator (R-NJ) 1955–1979
 * Abraham Clark (1725–1794), signer of the Declaration of Independence; buried at the Rahway Cemetery
 * Earl Clark (born 1988), professional basketball player who played in the NBA for the Brooklyn Nets
 * Samuel Hanson Cox (1793–1880), Presbyterian minister and abolitionist
 * Mary Frances Creighton (1899–1936), housewife, who along with Everett Applegate, was executed in Sing Sing prison's electric chair, Old Sparky, for the poisoning of Applegate's wife
 * Joseph T. Crowell (1817–1891), Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly and President of the New Jersey Senate
 * Arnold D'Ambrosa (1933-2018), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1974 to 1976, until his career was cut short by a political scandal
 * George Davenport (1783–1845), frontiersman, trader, United States Army officer and settler in the Iowa Territory; namesake of Davenport, Iowa
 * Dion Dawkins (born 1994), offensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills of the NFL
 * Evie (born 1956), contemporary Christian music singer
 * John Frazee (1790–1862), sculptor and architect
 * Amos Noë Freeman (1809–1893), abolitionist, educator and Presbyterian minister
 * Milton Friedman (1912–2006), economist and Nobel Prize winner
 * Leighton Gage (1942–2013), author of crime fiction
 * Antonio Garay (born 1979), defensive tackle for the San Diego Chargers
 * Wayne Gilchrest (born 1946), U.S. Congressman
 * Alfred M. Gray Jr. (1928-2024), 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps, from July 1, 1987, to June 30, 1991
 * Jerome Kagan (1929–2021), professor emeritus of psychology at Harvard University; one of the pioneers of developmental psychology
 * Janis Karpinski (born 1953), one of the first women Brigadier Generals of the Army; former commander of the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq
 * William H. Lash (1961–2006), Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Market Access and Compliance 2001–2005
 * Paul Matey (born 1971), attorney who is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
 * Benjamin Fay Mills (1857–1916), evangelist preacher, vegetarianism activist and writer
 * Richard Moran (born 1950), investor, venture capitalist, author and president emeritus of Menlo College
 * Ira Nadel (born 1943), biographer, literary critic and James Joyce scholar
 * Olsen Pierre (born 1991), American football defensive end who played in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals
 * Dory Previn (1925–2012, born as Dorothy Veronica Langan), lyricist and singer-songwriter
 * Pearl Reaves (1929–2000), R&B singer and guitarist
 * Eric Roberson (born 1976), R&B and soul singer-songwriter
 * Freddie Russo (1924–1987), professional boxer
 * Carl Sagan (1934–1996), astronomer; winner of Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction Writing in 1978
 * Mike Seamon (born 1988), soccer midfielder who has played for the Seattle Sounders FC and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds
 * Mark Slonaker (born 1957), college basketball coach; head coach of the Mercer Bears men's basketball team 1998–2008
 * Chris Smith (born 1953), U.S. Congressman
 * Dexter Strickland (born 1990), McDonald's High School All-American basketball player; attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
 * Kurt Sutter (born 1966), screenwriter, director, producer and actor
 * Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), formed his company, Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing, in Rahway
 * Marques Townes (born 1995), basketball player for the Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team, who transferred out of Cardinal McCarrick after his sophomore year
 * Kevin M. Tucker (1940–2012), Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department, 1986–1988
 * Allan Vache (born 1953), jazz clarinetist; younger brother of Warren Vache
 * Warren Vache (born 1951), jazz cornetist and veteran of the groups of Benny Goodman, Rosemary Clooney, Benny Carter, Annie Ross and many other jazz notables
 * P. Roy Vagelos (born 1929), retired Merck & Co. CEO
 * Carolyn Wells (1862–1942), author and poet
 * Shanice Williams (born 1996), actress who starred as Dorothy in The Wiz Live! on NBC in December 2015
 * Emmanuel Yarbrough (1964–2015), 1995 USA World Sumo Champion
 * Robert Rahway Zakanitch (born 1935), painter and a founder of the Pattern and Decoration movement

title: Rahway, New Jersey


text:
Roselle, New Jersey

Roselle is a borough located in Union County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 22,695, an increase of 1,610 (+7.6%) from the 2010 census count of 21,085,  which in turn reflected a decline of 189 (−0.9%) from the 21,274 counted in the 2000 census.

History
On January 19, 1883, the world's first electric lighting system employing overhead wires began service in Roselle. It had been built by Thomas Edison to demonstrate that an entire community could be illuminated by electricity. This success encouraged the installation of electric lighting in numerous other villages and cities. The First Presbyterian Church, located on the corner of West 5th Avenue and Chestnut Street, was the first church in the United States to be lit by electricity, and the second in the world after the City Temple church in London.

Roselle was incorporated on December 20, 1894, at the height of the Boroughitis phenomenon sweeping through New Jersey at the time, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier, from portions of Linden. Roselle's name is derived from the Roselle Land Improvement Company, which was created in 1866 to lay out a community around the Mulford Station on the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The name "Roselle" is said to have been based on the company's founder, John Conklin Rose or from John Pierre Roselle, a friend of the railroad's president.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.65 square miles (6.86 km2), including 2.64 square miles (6.82 km2) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km2) of water (0.49%).

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include Aldene.

The borough is bordered by the Union County municipalities of Roselle Park to the north, Linden to the south and Cranford to the west and Elizabeth, along the edges of Warinanco Park, to the east. Morses Creek runs through the borough.

2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 21,085 people, 7,407 households, and 5,096 families in the borough. The population density was 7,953.5 per square mile (3,070.9/km2). There were 7,939 housing units at an average density of 2,994.7 per square mile (1,156.3/km2). The racial makeup was 29.59% (6,240) White, 55.06% (11,610) Black or African American, 0.31% (65) Native American, 2.23% (471) Asian, 0.02% (5) Pacific Islander, 9.63% (2,030) from other races, and 3.15% (664) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 26.77% (5,644) of the population.

Of the 7,407 households, 31.1% had children under the age of 18; 42.0% were married couples living together; 19.8% had a female householder with no husband present and 31.2% were non-families. Of all households, 26.7% were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.44.

23.5% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.0 years. For every 100 females, the population had 90.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 85.6 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $58,041 (with a margin of error of +/− $3,948) and the median family income was $64,038 (+/− $4,495). Males had a median income of $40,163 (+/− $3,874) versus $36,210 (+/− $1,612) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $25,678 (+/− $1,130). About 7.5% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.9% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census there were 21,274 people, 7,520 households, and 5,226 families residing in the borough. The population density was 8,048.8 PD/sqmi. There were 7,870 housing units at an average density of 2,977.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the borough was 51.32% African American, 35.58% White, 0.31% Native American, 2.71% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 6.07% from other races, and 3.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.11% of the population.

8.0% of the population of Roselle (Creole: Wozel) was of Haitian ancestry. This was the third-highest such percentage in New Jersey and the 16th-highest of any municipality in the nation.

There were 7,520 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.41.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $51,254, and the median income for a family was $58,841. Males had a median income of $37,604 versus $32,535 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $21,269. About 5.8% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
Portions of the borough are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ), one of 32 zones covering 37 municipalities statewide. Roselle was selected in 2002 as one of a group of three zones added to participate in the program. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment and investment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3.3125% sales tax rate (half of the $6 5/8$% rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in July 2002, the borough's Urban Enterprise Zone status expires in December 2023.

Arts and culture
The Roselle House Music Festival is held each July in Warinanco Park, sponsored by the borough council, the Union County Board of County Commissioners and commercial brand sponsors.

Parks and recreation
Warinanco Park is a Union County park created in 1920 that covers 205 acres in Roselle and Elizabeth.

Local government
Roselle is governed under the borough form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities of the 564 statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey. The governing body is comprised of the mayor and the borough council, with all positions elected on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. The mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council includes six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle. Roselle is divided into five election districts, referred to as wards. One councilperson is elected from each of the five wards, and one councilperson is elected from the borough at-large. Roselle is one of only two boroughs statewide that use wards (the other is Roselle Park). The borough form of government used by Roselle is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council. A borough administrator, appointed by the borough council, oversees the day-to-day operations of the municipal government.

, the mayor of the Borough of Roselle is Democrat Donald Shaw, whose term of office ends on December 31, 2027. Members of the Roselle Borough Council are Council President Cindy Thomas (Ward 4; D, 2025), Brandon Bernier (Ward 2; D, 2024), John Fortuna (Ward 5; D, 2024), Cynthia Johnson (Ward 3; D, 2026), Isabel Sousa (Ward 1; D, 2026), and Denise Wilkerson (Council-at-Large; D, 2025).

In January 2020, the borough council appointed Isabel Sousa to fill the First Ward seat expiring in December 2020 that had been held by Denise Wilkerson until she resigned from office to take a seat as the at-large councilmember.

Council President Kim Shaw was named to serve as acting mayor in March 2015, after Jamel Holley was named to fill a vacant seat in the New Jersey General Assembly. She served until Dansereau was sworn in on March 11, 2015, making her the first woman to serve as mayor in borough history.

In April 2015, the borough council, based on nominations submitted by the Democratic municipal committee, chose Samuel Bishop to fill the vacant seat in the 5th Ward of Roy Locke, while Reginald W. Atkins was chosen to fill the at-large seat vacated by Christine Dansereau when she was sworn in as mayor. Locke had resigned from office in February 2015, under pressure from then-mayor Jamal Holley who cited Locke's frequent absences from council meetings, which Locke attributed to conflicting work and personal responsibilities.

Federal, state and county representation
Roselle is located in the 10th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 20th state legislative district.

Politics
As of March 2011, there were a total of 11,743 registered voters in Roselle, of which 7,127 (60.7% vs. 41.8% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 526 (4.5% vs. 15.3%) were registered as Republicans and 4,087 (34.8% vs. 42.9%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 3 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 55.7% (vs. 53.3% in Union County) were registered to vote, including 72.8% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 70.6% countywide).

In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 8,034 votes (88.8% vs. 66.0% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 875 votes (9.7% vs. 32.3%) and other candidates with 53 votes (0.6% vs. 0.8%), among the 9,043 ballots cast by the borough's 12,694 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.2% (vs. 68.8% in Union County). In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 8,055 votes (85.4% vs. 63.1% countywide), ahead of Republican John McCain with 1,262 votes (13.4% vs. 35.2%) and other candidates with 52 votes (0.6% vs. 0.9%), among the 9,428 ballots cast by the borough's 12,533 registered voters, for a turnout of 75.2% (vs. 74.7% in Union County). In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 6,325 votes (79.4% vs. 58.3% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 1,564 votes (19.6% vs. 40.3%) and other candidates with 40 votes (0.5% vs. 0.7%), among the 7,971 ballots cast by the borough's 11,609 registered voters, for a turnout of 68.7% (vs. 72.3% in the whole county).

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Democrat Barbara Buono received 71.3% of the vote (2,882 cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 27.6% (1,115 votes), and other candidates with 1.1% (44 votes), among the 4,283 ballots cast by the borough's 12,460 registered voters (242 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 34.4%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 3,816 ballots cast (77.3% vs. 50.6% countywide), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 866 votes (17.5% vs. 41.7%), Independent Chris Daggett with 170 votes (3.4% vs. 5.9%) and other candidates with 35 votes (0.7% vs. 0.8%), among the 4,939 ballots cast by the borough's 12,148 registered voters, yielding a 40.7% turnout (vs. 46.5% in the county).

Education
Students are educated by the Roselle Public Schools, which serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of eight schools, had an enrollment of 2,897 students and 289.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.0:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are Kindergarten Success Academy with 184 students in Kindergarten, Harrison Elementary School with 268 students in grades 1–4, Dr. Charles C. Polk Elementary School with 295 students in grades 1–4, Washington Elementary School with 317 students in grades 1–4, Leonard V. Moore Middle School with 460 students in grades 5–6, Grace Wilday Junior High School with 503 students in grades 7–8 and Abraham Clark High School with 781 students in grades 9–12.

Roselle Catholic High School, a parochial high school run by the Marist Brothers, serves grades 9–12 under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.

St. Joseph the Carpenter School, which was founded in 1913, serves students in preschool through eighth grade, operating under the supervision of the Newark Archdiocese.

Roads and highways
, the borough had a total of 49.96 mi of roadways, of which 40.32 mi were maintained by the municipality, 8.60 mi by Union County and 1.04 mi by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

New Jersey Route 27 is the most significant highway in Roselle. It forms the borough's southeastern border with Linden.

Public transportation
NJ Transit provides bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City on the 112 and 115 routes, to Newark on the 59, 62 and 94 routes, with local service available on the 56 and 57.

Conrail's freight-only Lehigh Line passes through the community along the tracks of the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. The town once shared a passenger station with Roselle Park on the mainline of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. That line is abandoned.

The Staten Island Railway passed through the community before being dormant for years. It was reactivated by the Morristown & Erie Railway, but Morristown & Erie did not renew their option and their 10-year lease ceased as of May 15, 2012.

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 6 miles from Roselle.

Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Roselle include:

 * Rabih Abdullah (born 1975), running back who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots
 * Reginald Atkins (born 1967), pastor and politician, who has represented the 20th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2022.
 * Charles Augustus Briggs (1841–1913), Presbyterian theologian
 * Abraham Clark (1725–1794), a founding father of the United States of America and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence
 * Neil M. Cohen (born 1951), represented the 20th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly until being forced to suddenly resign after child pornography was discovered on his computer
 * Greg Cook (1958–2005), basketball player
 * Leo Disend (1915–1985), tackle who played in the NFL for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Green Bay Packers
 * Harold Dobbs (1918–1994), Republican politician and civic leader in San Francisco who founded Mel's Drive-In and served as president of the city's Board of Supervisors
 * Jameel Dumas (born 1981), linebacker who played in NFL Europe
 * William Perry Fogg (1826–1909), author and adventurer
 * Jerry Green (born 1939), politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 1992, where he represents the 22nd Legislative District
 * Rosey Grier (born 1932), former football player in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams, a member of the original Fearsome Foursome
 * Al Harrington (born 1980), professional basketball player who formerly played for the NBA's New York Knicks
 * Jamel Holley (born 1979), politician who was chosen in 2015 to serve as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 20th Legislative District, after having served as mayor of Roselle since 2012
 * Jesse Holley (born 1984), signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2007, he was winner of the Spike TV reality show 4th and Long
 * Gene-Ann Polk Horne (1926–2015), physician and hospital administrator, director of pediatric ambulatory care at Harlem Hospital and professor of pediatrics at Columbia University
 * Phil Ivey (born 1976), professional poker player
 * Kendall James (born 1991), football cornerback who has played in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns
 * Emil Milan (born 1922), mid-century designer craftsman who worked primarily in wood
 * Barron Miles (born 1972), defensive back for the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League
 * Rebecca Morse (born 1992), ice hockey defender, currently playing for the Metropolitan Riveters of the National Women's Hockey League
 * Carole Dawn Reinhart (born 1941), trumpet player and professor in Vienna
 * Charles August Sulzer (1879–1919), delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the Alaska Territory
 * William H. Tunner (1906–1983), general officer in the United States Air Force
 * Lucius Walker (1930–2010), Baptist minister best known for his opposition to the United States embargo against Cuba

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Roselle, New Jersey


text:
Roselle Park, New Jersey

Roselle Park is a borough in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 13,967, an increase of 670 (+5.0%) from the 2010 census count of 13,297,  which in turn reflected reflected an increase of 16 (+0.1%) from the 13,281 counted in the 2000 census.

Roselle Park was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 22, 1901, from portions of Union Township. Roselle Park's name is derived from the Roselle Land Improvement Company, which was created in 1866 to lay out a community around the Mulford Station on the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The name "Roselle" is said to have been based on the company's founder, John Conklin Rose or from John Pierre Roselle, a friend of the railroad's president.

History
The first known settlement within what is now the borough was built by Samuel Williams in 1700. Galloping Hill Road was continually used by revolutionary war scouts, delivering messages to and from General George Washington and Governor Livingston. Galloping Hill Road also believed to be the route traveled by the British columns en route to the Battle of Connecticut Farms, battling the New Jersey militia the entire way. Son of American general William Crane, was bayoneted and killed by the British near what is now Galloping Hill Road and Colonial Road.

Elizabethtown & Somerville Railroad passed through in 1839, as the first railroad in Northern New Jersey. The first store in the world to be lit by electric light was Stone's Store on Westfield Avenue, lit by Thomas Edison's carbon filament prototype.

The formation of Roselle Park in 1901 occurred due to a number of grievances based on a lack of sufficient public services, including; lack of a modern sewage system, poor schools, neglected roads, and minimal public safety measures.

In 1907, the first poured concrete building in the world, now the Robert Gordon School, was built in Roselle Park using Edison's revolutionary process. Roselle Park was home to the factory and lab of Marconi Wireless Telegraph, and in late 1921 became the site of WDY, the first radio broadcasting station licensed in the state of New Jersey.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.23 square miles (3.17 km2), all of which was land.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include Lorraine.

The borough is bordered to the northeast by Union Township, to the northwest by Kenilworth, to the east by Elizabeth, to the south by Roselle and to the west by Cranford.

2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 13,297 people, 5,002 households, and 3,406 families in the borough. The population density was 10,792.7 per square mile (4,167.1/km2). There were 5,231 housing units at an average density of 4,245.8 per square mile (1,639.3/km2). The racial makeup was 73.72% (9,802) White, 5.89% (783) Black or African American, 0.15% (20) Native American, 10.18% (1,354) Asian, 0.02% (2) Pacific Islander, 7.52% (1,000) from other races, and 2.53% (336) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.65% (3,809) of the population.

Of the 5,002 households, 32.3% had children under the age of 18; 49.9% were married couples living together; 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 31.9% were non-families. Of all households, 26.8% were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.28.

22.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 95.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 92.0 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $61,923 (with a margin of error of +/− $5,415) and the median family income was $75,017 (+/− $8,553). Males had a median income of $50,502 (+/− $5,243) versus $41,193 (+/− $5,261) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $30,566 (+/− $2,011). About 3.6% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 1.9% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census there were 13,281 people, 5,137 households, and 3,416 families residing in the borough. The population density was 10,855.7 PD/sqmi. There were 5,258 housing units at an average density of 4,297.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the borough was 80.87% White, 2.42% African American, 0.11% Native American, 9.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 4.89% from other races, and 2.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.34% of the population.

There were 5,137 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $53,717, and the median income for a family was $63,403. Males had a median income of $42,623 versus $33,105 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $24,101. About 3.4% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 1.6% of those age 65 or over.

Local government
The Borough of Roselle Park is governed under the borough form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities (of the 564) statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey. The governing body is comprised of the mayor and the borough council, with all positions elected on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. The mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council includes six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle. Roselle Park is divided into five election districts, referred to as wards. One councilperson is elected from each ward, and one councilperson is elected from the borough at-large, with two council seats up for election each year for three-year terms of office. Roselle Park is one of only two boroughs statewide that use wards (the other is Roselle). The borough form of government used by Roselle Park is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council.

, the mayor of Roselle Park is Democrat Joseph Signorello III, whose term of office ends December 31, 2026. Members of the Borough Council are Council President Joseph Petrosky (Ward 2; D, 2024), Rosanna Antonuccio-Lyons (Ward 3; D, 2025), Gregory Johnson (Ward 1; D, 2026), Khanjan Patel (Ward 4; R, 2025), Jay Robaina (Ward 5; D, 2024) and Joseph Signorello Jr. (At-large; D, 2026).

When former mayor and newly elected councilman-at-large Joe DeIorio was sworn into office in January 2018, serving with his husband Fifth Ward Councilman Thos Shipley, they became the first openly gay married couple to serve elected public office together for the same municipality.

On December 4, 2015, Councilwoman Charlene Storey announced that she would resign from here seat effective January 7, 2016, due to her opposition to the council's decision to rename the annual ceremony from "The Tree Lighting" to "The Christmas Tree Lighting", citing issues of establishment of a preferred religion. However, the next day, Storey and Mayor Hokanson reached an agreement stating that Storey would rescind her resignation and that she would chair a committee on diversity in the borough. In August 2016, Storey became an independent after being removed by the Democratic Committee; In January 2017, Eugene Meola switched his voter registration from Democratic to independent.

In January 2015, Joseph Petrosky was chosen by the borough council from among three candidates offered by the municipal Democratic committee to fill the Second Ward seat vacated by Charlene Storey when she took office to fill the at-large seat.

In the wake of charges that he had stolen campaign signs from a neighbor's lawn, Fifth Ward Michael Yakubov announced in January 2015 that he would be resigning from office in March. Richard Templeton was selected by three candidate nominated by the Republican municipal committee and appointed to Yakubov's vacant seat in March 2015, before switching parties and becoming a Democrat five days after he took office.

On November 3, 2015, Republican Thos Shipley bested incumbent Rich Templeton by 60% of the vote On January 7, 2016, Thos Shipley made Borough history twice as the first African American and the first openly gay member of the governing body sworn into office. Councilman Shipley is also married to former 16-year Mayor Joseph DeIorio, the longest-serving mayor in Borough history.

Federal, state and county representation
Roselle Park is located in the 10th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 22nd state legislative district.

Politics
As of March 2011, there were a total of 7,525 registered voters in Roselle Park, of which 2,325 (30.9% vs. 41.8% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 1,279 (17.0% vs. 15.3%) were registered as Republicans and 3,918 (52.1% vs. 42.9%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 3 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 56.6% (vs. 53.3% in Union County) were registered to vote, including 72.9% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 70.6% countywide).

In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 60.4% of the vote (3,064 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 38.1% (1,931 votes), and other candidates with 1.5% (75 votes), among the 5,117 ballots cast by the borough's 7,841 registered voters (47 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 65.3%. In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 3,064 votes (59.9% vs. 66.0% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 1,931 votes (37.7% vs. 32.3%) and other candidates with 75 votes (1.5% vs. 0.8%), among the 5,117 ballots cast by the borough's 7,841 registered voters, for a turnout of 65.3% (vs. 68.8% in Union County). In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 3,083 votes (53.5% vs. 63.1% countywide), ahead of Republican John McCain with 2,530 votes (43.9% vs. 35.2%) and other candidates with 96 votes (1.7% vs. 0.9%), among the 5,759 ballots cast by the borough's 7,953 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.4% (vs. 74.7% in Union County). In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 2,753 votes (50.6% vs. 58.3% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 2,619 votes (48.1% vs. 40.3%) and other candidates with 43 votes (0.8% vs. 0.7%), among the 5,443 ballots cast by the borough's 7,773 registered voters, for a turnout of 70.0% (vs. 72.3% in the whole county).

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 56.6% of the vote (1,610 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 41.6% (1,183 votes), and other candidates with 1.8% (50 votes), among the 2,923 ballots cast by the borough's 7,676 registered voters (80 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 38.1%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 1,700 votes (49.2% vs. 41.7% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 1,404 votes (40.6% vs. 50.6%), Independent Chris Daggett with 249 votes (7.2% vs. 5.9%) and other candidates with 41 votes (1.2% vs. 0.8%), among the 3,455 ballots cast by the borough's 7,711 registered voters, yielding a 44.8% turnout (vs. 46.5% in the county).

Education
The Roselle Park School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of five schools, had an enrollment of 2,034 students and 174.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.6:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are Aldene Elementary School with 286 students in grades Pre-K–5, Robert Gordon Elementary School with 266 students in grades Pre-K–5, Sherman Elementary School with 355 students in grades K–5, Roselle Park Middle School with 526 students in grades 6–8 and Roselle Park High School with 587 students in grades 9–12.

Library
The Roselle Park Veterans Memorial Library was renamed in the early 1980s in honor of the veterans of Roselle Park. The library currently has more than 10000 sqft of space used to store traditional books in addition to computers, books on tape, videos, CD's, Meeting Room, information center, pictures, and music tapes. The library offers a photocopier and fax service and allows its patrons to reserve and renew materials over the phone and online. The library offers free Wi-Fi access.

The Veterans Memorial Library offers an array of events such as charity projects, book discussions, and a Book of the Month Club. The Veterans Memorial Library also caters to children and young teens with many different events. Events such as Homework Help, No Bullying Resources, and Crazy For Crafts, among other things, are offered free of charge and children are encouraged to participate.

Roselle Park RVRR rail trail
Area residents have proposed a 7.3 mi pedestrian linear park along the main line of the abandoned Rahway Valley Railroad that would run through Roselle Park. The rail trail would run eastbound from Overlook Medical Center on the edge of downtown Summit and head south through Springfield, Union, over Route 22 to Kenilworth and end at the southwest edge of Roselle Park at the Cranford border. A northern portion of the rail trail on the RVRR main line is under construction as the Summit Park Line, with a footbridge over Morris Avenue installed in October 2022. In parallel, advocates have been pushing for immediate development of the portion of the RVRR Main Line south of Route 22, running past the Galloping Hill Golf Course through Kenilworth and Roselle Park. The New Jersey Department of Transportation, which owns the railbed, has been working to clear it in anticipation of possible future trail use for pedestrians and cyclists.

Roads and highways
, the borough had a total of 27.48 mi of roadways, of which 23.20 mi were maintained by the municipality, 2.32 mi by Union County and 1.96 mi by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Route 28 passes through Roselle Park. The Garden State Parkway passes just beyond the western boundary of the borough.

Public transportation
NJ Transit provides service on bus routes 58 route with service from Elizabeth to Kenilworth, 94 to Newark and 113 to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City.

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 10 minutes away. Linden Airport, a general aviation facility, is in nearby Linden.

The Roselle Park station offers NJ Transit commuter rail service as part of its Raritan Valley Line service. This was a result of the Aldene Connection that opened in Roselle Park on April 30, 1967, between tracks of the Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Lehigh Valley Railroad, allowing passengers to travel directly to Newark Penn Station and change there for trains to New York Penn Station, rather than riding to Jersey City and taking ferries into Manhattan. In January 2015, New Jersey Transit began Raritan Valley service directly to New York Penn Station through the use of dual-powered diesel and overhead electric ALP-45DP locomotives. Currently the Roselle Park station is located at milepost 16.0 on the Conrail Lehigh Line, on the corner of Chestnut Street and West Lincoln Avenue; the same location as the original Lehigh Valley station. In addition to local travel, one can take the train to Newark or New York and connect to various modes of travel to nearly anywhere in the U.S. and Canada.

Railroad history
Roselle Park has a rich railroading heritage. A steam locomotive adorns the borough seal, and the town is very welcoming to railroad enthusiasts.

The Elizabethtown & Somerville railway began laying rails through what would become Roselle Park in 1839. It eventually became the Central Railroad of New Jersey between Jersey City, New Jersey, and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Throughout the years as traffic grew, the line would grow to four main tracks, and also offered trains of Reading Company and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

Competition would come as the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company realized that railroading was a more efficient mode of transportation for their coal than a canal system. They formed the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and began building eastward in 1853. By 1872, they had reached Roselle, and formed the subsidiary Newark and Roselle Railway in order to continue building east to the Hudson River.

Roselle Park and Roselle formerly shared a rail station on the CNJ mainline. Passenger service east of Bayonne ended on April 30, 1967. Shuttle service between Bayonne and Cranford continued on until August 1978 but eventually ended, resulting in the closure of the old station on Chestnut Street. The line continued to see operation as an access route to the NJTransit/NJDOT railroad shops at Elizabethport until the mid-1980s. It is currently in service and used, as the Conrail Shared Assets Elizabeth Industrial Track and serves several local industries.

On April 1, 1976, the Lehigh Valley Railroad became part of the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) and became known as the "Lehigh Line". On June 1, 1999, Conrail was purchased and split between Norfolk Southern (58%) and CSX (42%), and became "shared assets". Conrail continues to operate the Lehigh Line between Newark and Manville for Norfolk Southern and CSX. In addition to NJ Transit, the line sees anywhere from 35-45 freight trains per day from three railroads; Conrail, Norfolk Southern, and CSX. Canadian Pacific (formerly Delaware and Hudson Railway) utilized trackage rights into Oak Island Yard in Newark until 2012. The track is Norfolk Southern's primary access on their northern transcontinental route into and out of the New York City metropolitan area, and is also part of CSX's primary north–south corridor between New England and Jacksonville, Florida.

The borough was once served by the Rahway Valley Railroad. The line was exempted in 1991 by then Rahway Valley Railroad controller Delaware Otsego Corporation, and was given to the County of Union. It has remained dormant since. However, beginning in 2004, the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders began taking steps to reactivate the routes. They named the Morristown and Erie Railway as designated operator and funded the beginning of right-of-way renewal, though the project has faced opposition from residents who incorrectly believed that the line would be used to transport trash. All funding for the project was spent on litigation with opponents. Currently the Morristown and Erie Railway is awaiting further funding to complete the work. , the project was halted and no further steps were being taken to reactivate the railway. As of 2022, local residents have been advocating for conversion to a pedestrian rail trail.

Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Roselle Park include:

 * Michael Ausiello (born 1972), TV Guide writer
 * Rick Barry (born 1944), NBA All-Pro forward who was ranked #2 on the Sports Illustrated list of The 50 Greatest New Jersey Sports Figures
 * Frank R. Burns (1928–2012), American football player and coach, who was head coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from 1973 to 1982
 * Mike Daly, producer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist
 * Gregory Gillespie (1936–2000), artist
 * Edmund Kara (1925–2001), fashion illustrator and designer, interior designer, and sculptor on the Big Sur coast of California
 * Keith Loneker (1971–2017), former professional football player and actor
 * Marisa Acocella Marchetto (born 1962), cartoonist and author of the New York Times best-selling graphic novel Ann Tenna, the graphic memoir Cancer Vixen and Just Who the Hell is She, Anyway?
 * Francis M. Nevins (born 1943), mystery writer, attorney, and professor of law
 * James J. Norris (1907–1976), advocate for refugees and migrants who was the first president of the International Catholic Migration Commission
 * Chris Ostrowsky (born c. 1970), college football coach who has been offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Yale Bulldogs football team since 2023
 * Alan Pasqua (born 1952), pianist, composer and jazz musician
 * Dick Sweeney, businessman and co-founder of Keurig, developer of the K-Cup single coffee brewing system

title: Roselle Park, New Jersey


text:
Scotch Plains, New Jersey

Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located on a ridge in northern-central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 24,968, an increase of 1,458 (+6.2%) from the 2010 census count of 23,510,  which in turn reflected an increase of 778 (+3.4%) from the 22,732 counted in the 2000 census.

Native settlement
The Lenape are the ancestral community indigenous to a large chunk of the Mid-Atlantic region, stretching from Eastern Pennsylvania to the Atlantic Ocean, and from Delaware to Southern New York. Scotch Plains and the Mid-Atlantic region was used by the Lenape and their ancestors for roughly 10,000 years. It is suggested that the Lenape used Scotch Plains as a temporary camp in between the highly-utilized Delaware River and mountains to the West, and the Atlantic Ocean to the East.

Chronology and Ways of life
From the earliest periods of the Paleo-Indian (10,000-12,000 years ago) to the Archaic Period (4,000-10,000 years ago), there is evidence suggesting a high degree of mobile hunting in the rivers and woods around the Scotch Plains area, with spears, atlatls, and axe heads being found. During the Woodland period (450-4,000 years ago), it was common for communities to make items such as dugout canoes and nets for fishing, two artifacts the Lenape have come to be known for, along with their shelter of choice, the wigwam. During this time they also extensively farmed, moving around to different areas in search of productive land as the seasons progressed.

Colonial era
The area known as Scotch Plains was first settled by Europeans, including many Scottish Quakers, as early as 1684. The name is said to have come from George Scott, a leader of a group of Scottish settlers. It later served as a stop on the stage coach line between New York City and Philadelphia.

The Lenni Lenape were significantly impacted by the establishment of colonies in the 17th century, with colonists taking up a large majority of land that had once been the living area of the community. In 1778, the US ratified the first treaty with an American Indian tribe, the Treaty of Fort Pitt; the treaty eventually fell apart, causing the inter-cultural relationship to rupture. Today, the Lenni-Lenape, now known as the Delaware Nation, are found in small regions across the US and Canada. A variety of treaties, conflicts, and migration have spread out the community, although a small group continue to live in their ancestral region, hoping to educate and bring to light their claims to the land, including Scotch Plains.

The Ash Swamp in Scotch Plains was the scene of a key action in the Battle of Short Hills, on June 26, 1777, which included skirmishes as Washington's forces moved along Rahway Road in Scotch Plains toward the Watchung Mountains. An ancient house in Scotch Plains recalls those skirmishes and with the acreage adjoining the house, presents a vista of that decade, the 1770s. This was the home of Aunt Betty Frazee, whose retort to Lord Cornwallis led the British to find their bread from friendlier bakers in the same battle. The farmstead of Betty and Gershom Frazee is being restored by local organizations.

What is now Scotch Plains was originally incorporated as Fanwood Township on March 6, 1878, by an act of the New Jersey Legislature from portions of Plainfield Township and Westfield Township. Portions of the township were taken to form Fanwood Borough on October 2, 1895. Fanwood Township was renamed as Scotch Plains on March 29, 1917, based on the results of a referendum held that same day.

Scotch Plains was home to the Shady Rest Golf and Country Club, the nation's first African-American country club. Its pro, John Shippen, the first African-American golf professional, led the 1892 U.S. Open in the final round before finishing fifth. The Shady Rest clubhouse hosted Cab Calloway and other greats as a local center for African-American culture in the 1920s and 1930s. It is preserved today as the Scotch Hills Municipal course.

A much more complete history of the township can be found in the October 28, 1999, "Our Towns: Scotch Plains-Fanwood (2nd Annual)" issue of The Times of Scotch Plains-Fanwood, produced by the town's newspaper of record at the time as well as on the township's website.

The ancestors of many residents immigrated from the area of Montazzoli, Italy, as part of a wave of Italian immigrants who arrived in the area in the early 20th century. In recognition of this longstanding connection, the township established "Montazzoli Plaza" in October 2015 in front of the Italian American Club.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 9.06 square miles (23.46 km2), including 9.02 square miles (23.36 km2) of land and 0.04 square miles (0.09 km2) of water (0.40%).

The township borders the municipalities of Berkeley Heights, Clark, Fanwood, Mountainside, Plainfield and Westfield in Union County; Edison and South Plainfield in Middlesex County; and Watchung in Somerset County.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Alton, Goodmans, Graceland, Two Bridges and Willow Grove.

The Robinson's Branch of the Rahway River additionally flows through Scotch Plains en route to the Robinson's Branch Reservoir.

Demographics
Bloomberg Businessweek ranked Scotch Plains as the most affordable suburb in New Jersey in its 2009 report.

2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 23,510 people, 8,595 households, and 6,429 families in the township. The population density was 2606.9 /sqmi. There were 8,896 housing units at an average density of 986.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup was 77.43% (18,203) White, 11.08% (2,605) Black or African American, 0.12% (29) Native American, 7.65% (1,799) Asian, 0.01% (2) Pacific Islander, 1.39% (327) from other races, and 2.32% (545) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.73% (1,582) of the population.

Of the 8,595 households, 37.4% had children under the age of 18; 62.6% were married couples living together; 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present and 25.2% were non-families. Of all households, 21.7% were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.20.

25.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 91.5 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 88.3 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $104,873 (with a margin of error of +/− $6,397) and the median family income was $126,138 (+/− $7,410). Males had a median income of $90,016 (+/− $11,033) versus $66,022 (+/− $5,055) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $52,488 (+/− $3,094). About 1.3% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census there were 22,732 people, 8,349 households, and 6,295 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,503.3 PD/sqmi. There were 8,479 housing units at an average density of 933.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the township was 78.88% White, 11.30% African American, 0.09% Native American, 7.25% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.95% from other races, and 1.52% from two or more races. 3.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,349 households, out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.6% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the township the population was distributed with 25.4% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $81,599, and the median income for a family was $96,238. Males had a median income of $63,648 versus $43,714 for females. The per capita income for the township was $39,913. 3.0% of the population and 2.0% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 2.0% of those under the age of 18 and 7.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Parks and recreation
Parks in the township include:
 * Watchung Reservation is a 1945 acres nature reserve on the north side of the township that includes open space, playgrounds, nature trails, a nature and science center, gardens, stables, and many other amenities.
 * Ponderosa Farm Park is a park on Cooper Road. Modest park featuring playgrounds and a sprinkler area, plus open green spaces and restrooms.
 * Scotch Hills Municipal Golf Course, known as the Shady Rest Golf and Country Club before it was taken over by the township, was at one time the only African-American country club in the United States.
 * Ashbrook Golf Course, is a public golf course with 18-holes of championship golf as well as a 9-hole pitch and putt course located on Raritan Road in Scotch Plains.
 * Shackamaxon Country Club is a private golf course, swimming and tennis facility also hosting celebrations, founded in 1916 and is located on Shackamaxon Drive in Scotch Plains. Some of its 130+ acres occupy land in Westfield.
 * Willow Grove Swim Club: established in 1958.
 * Highland Swimming Club, established in 1952.
 * Bowcraft Amusement Park was an amusement park located on Route 22 West that was featured in scenes in the films Mortal Thoughts (1991) and North (1994). It officially closed in 2018.

Local government
Scotch Plains is governed within the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Council-Manager form of New Jersey municipal government. The township is one of 42 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government. The governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the four-member Township Council. Council members are elected at-large in partisan elections to serve four-year terms of office on a staggered basis in even-numbered years, with the Mayor and one of the council members elected in years divisible by four and the three other council seats coming up for election two years later. The Mayor and the Councilmembers are the only elected officials in the township government. The Mayor and Council then appoint a Township Manager, who serves as the chief executive officer of the Township, with the authority to appoint most subordinate personnel.

, the mayor of Scotch Plains is Democrat Joshua G. Losardo, whose term of office expires on December 31, 2024. Members of the Township Council are Deputy Mayor Ellen Zimmerman (D, 2024), Matthew S. Adams (D, 2026), Elizabeth Stamler (D, 2026), and Roshan "Roc" White (D, 2026).

In January 2021, the Township Council chose Suman Dahiya-Shah from a list of three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the council seat expiring in December 2022 that had been held by Joshua Losardo until he stepped down to take office as mayor. In April 2021, Matthew Adams was selected to fill Dahiya-Shah's seat, after she stepped down from office in March, citing "personal reasons". Adams served on an interim basis until the November 2021 general election, when he was elected to serve the balance of the term of office.

The Chief of Police is Jeffrey Briel. The Deputy Police Chief is Al Sellinger.

Federal, state and county representation
Scotch Plains is split between the 7th and 12th Congressional Districts and is part of New Jersey's 22nd state legislative district.

Prior to the 2010 Census, all of Scotch Plains had been part of the 7th 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. The redistricting plan that went into effect in 2013 put 1,091 residents from the extreme northernmost portion of the township into the 7th District, with the remaining 22,419 put into the 12th District.

Politics
As of March 2011, there were a total of 15,979 registered voters in Scotch Plains Township, of which 5,061 (31.7% vs. 41.8% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 3,562 (22.3% vs. 15.3%) were registered as Republicans and 7,346 (46.0% vs. 42.9%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 10 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 68.0% (vs. 53.3% in Union County) were registered to vote, including 91.7% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 70.6% countywide).

In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 6,801 votes (54.8% vs. 66.0% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 5,394 votes (43.5% vs. 32.3%) and other candidates with 135 votes (1.1% vs. 0.8%), among the 12,407 ballots cast by the township's 16,820 registered voters, for a turnout of 73.8% (vs. 68.8% in Union County). In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 7,094 votes (55.0% vs. 63.1% countywide), ahead of Republican John McCain with 5,603 votes (43.5% vs. 35.2%) and other candidates with 109 votes (0.8% vs. 0.9%), among the 12,894 ballots cast by the township's 16,359 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.8% (vs. 74.7% in Union County). In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 6,134 votes (51.0% vs. 58.3% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 5,757 votes (47.9% vs. 40.3%) and other candidates with 83 votes (0.7% vs. 0.7%), among the 12,018 ballots cast by the township's 15,361 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.2% (vs. 72.3% in the whole county).

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 60.8% of the vote (4,504 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 37.8% (2,804 votes), and other candidates with 1.4% (105 votes), among the 7,532 ballots cast by the township's 16,527 registered voters (119 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 45.6%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 4,381 votes (50.8% vs. 41.7% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 3,480 votes (40.4% vs. 50.6%), Independent Chris Daggett with 633 votes (7.3% vs. 5.9%) and other candidates with 68 votes (0.8% vs. 0.8%), among the 8,619 ballots cast by the township's 16,122 registered voters, yielding a 53.5% turnout (vs. 46.5% in the county).

Education
Public school students in Scotch Plains attend the schools of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional School District, which serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from the Borough of Fanwood and the Township of Scotch Plains. The district has five elementary schools (grades PreK to 4), two middle schools (5–8) and a comprehensive high school (9–12)., all of which are located in Scotch Plains. Students from School One, Evergreen and Brunner pool into Nettingham Middle School, while students from Coles and McGinn feed into Terrill. School One is the only elementary school that teaches English as a second language. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of eight schools, had an enrollment of 5,649 students and 438.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.9:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are Howard B. Brunner Elementary School with 414 students in grades Pre-K–4, J. Ackerman Coles School with 552 students in grades Pre-K–4, Evergreen School with 402 students in grades Pre-K–4, William J. McGinn School with 512 students in grades K–4, School One with 395 students in grades Pre-K–4, Malcolm E. Nettingham Middle School with 909 students in grades 5-8, Terrill Middle School with 811 students in grades 5–8 and Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School with 1,574 students in grades 9–12. Seats on the district's nine-member board of education are allocated based on the population of the constituent districts, with seven seats assigned to Scotch Plains.

Park Middle School was renamed in 2021 to honor Malcolm V. Nettingham, who had served with the Tuskegee Airmen.

Shackamaxon School, was built in 1951 (the same year as Evergreen School) and operated until 1981, when it was leased to the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey as their Jewish Community Center and offices. The Federation bought the building outright five years later.

The Union County Vocational Technical Schools includes the Union County Magnet High School, the Academy for Information Technology, the Union County Academy for Allied Health Sciences, the Union County Academy for Performing Arts and the Vocational-Technical School. The grouping of different schools is for vocational as well as gifted students, publicly funded by the combined taxes of Union County municipalities.

Union Catholic Regional High School (often abbreviated UC), a private Roman Catholic school, brings in students from Union County and parts of Essex and Middlesex counties and operates under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. The Newark Archdiocese also supervises operation of the K–8 St. Bartholomew Academy.

Union County College has a facility in Scotch Plains.

Roads and highways
, the township had a total of 89.39 mi of roadways, of which 75.06 mi were maintained by the municipality, 11.95 mi by Union County and 2.38 mi by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

The two major roads that pass through are Route 28 for a brief stretch in the central part and U.S. Route 22 in the north.

The township is accessible from major limited access highways in neighboring communities, such as Interstate 78 in both Watchung and Berkeley Heights, the Garden State Parkway in Clark and Interstate 287 in Edison Township.

Public transportation
Scotch Plains is bisected by NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line, formerly the mainline of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. A passenger station is located in Fanwood. Another rail line, the Lehigh Line, carries freight trains through the southernmost tip of the township.

New Jersey Transit offers service on the 112, 113, 114 and 117 routes to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, and service to Newark on the 59, 65 and 66 (Limited) routes.

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 14 mi east of Scotch Plains, most conveniently reached via Route 22, and Linden Airport, a general aviation facility is in nearby Linden, New Jersey. Newark Liberty International Airport is also accessible via New Jersey Transit train by transferring from the Raritan Valley Line to the Northeast Corridor Line at Newark Penn Station.

Scotch Plains also has access to Amtrak service, by taking the Raritan Valley Line to Newark Penn Station. This gives Scotch Plains rail access to destinations along the entire east coast.

News coverage
The township falls in the New York media market, with daily news being based in New York City. Its weekly newspaper of record is the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times, also publisher of the neighboring town's newspaper of record, The Westfield Leader.

Points of interest

 * The Aunt Betty Frazee House is a farmhouse of a colonial-era couple Gershom and Elizabeth Frazee, the latter of whom was approached by British generals in 1777 who sought to buy bread she'd been baking that day. Aunt Betty's famous retort ("I offer this bread not in love but in fear"—whereupon the generals courteously abandoned their effort to buy) puts her in company with Betsy Ross, Molly Pitcher and other women who distinguished themselves in the American Revolution. Her house is on state and national historic registers, and many in the community are seeking a way of restoring the house (at 1451 Raritan Road) to honor Betty's story and secure it in American history.
 * Osborn-Cannonball House Museum is a historic home located at 1840 Front Street that is operated by The Historical Society of Scotch Plains and Fanwood New Jersey.
 * Hillside Cemetery is the burial site of Dudley Moore and Senator James Edgar Martine.
 * The Stage House Inn was constructed in 1737 and is still in use as a bar/restaurant. It was a primary meeting place for troop messengers and officers during the Revolutionary War; in fact, General Lafayette is known to have stopped at the inn while General George Washington was nearby.
 * John's Meat Market is the site of Mr. T's reality TV show for TV Land.
 * John H. Stamler Police Academy trains officers and volunteers throughout Union County and is located on Raritan Road.
 * The Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey has its Jewish Community Center and offices on Martine Avenue.

Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Scotch Plains include:

 * Audrey Assad (born 1983), contemporary Christian music artist with Sparrow Records
 * Alan Augustine (1928–2001), politician who served as Mayor of Scotch Plains, councilman, freeholder and in the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 22nd Legislative District
 * Thomas J. Barr (1812–1881), politician who represented New York's 4th congressional district from 1859 to 1861
 * Hank Beenders (1916–2003), early professional basketball player
 * Carol Bellamy (born 1942), former executive director of UNICEF and director of the Peace Corps
 * David Blitzer (born 1970), senior executive at the Blackstone Group, part-owner of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League, Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association
 * Judy Blume (born 1938), author, lived in Scotch Plains while writing the classic Fudge series of children's books
 * Derrick Caracter (born 1988), power forward/center for the University of Texas-El Paso Miners team who was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2010 NBA Draft
 * Abraham Coles (1813–1891), physician, translator, author and poet
 * Ezra Darby (1768–1808), politician who represented New Jersey's at-large congressional district from 1805 until his death
 * Donald DiFrancesco (born 1944), former Governor of New Jersey and Senate President
 * Pat DiNizio (1955–2017), singer/songwriter for The Smithereens
 * Jerome Epstein (born 1937), politician who served in the New Jersey Senate and then went to federal prison for pirating oil
 * John Gano (1727–1804), chaplain who baptized George Washington
 * Rashan Gary (born 1997), defensive tackle for the Michigan Wolverines football team
 * Ashton Gibbs (born 1990), starting point-guard for the Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team
 * Sterling Gibbs (born 1993), professional basketball player for Kolossos Rodou of the Greek Basket League
 * Scott Goldblatt (born 1979), swimmer who won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and a silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, with both medals earned in the 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay
 * Jeffrey Hammonds (born 1971), former MLB outfielder who had one all-star appearance in his 13 seasons
 * Isaac Heller (1926–2015), toy manufacturer who co-founded Remco
 * Jerome Hines (1921–2003), opera singer
 * Tom Jackson (born 1948), former football player and coach who was head football coach at the University of Connecticut from 1983 to 1993
 * Nate Jones (born 1982), cornerback for the Denver Broncos.
 * Hillary Klimowicz (born 1987), basketball player who has played for Limoges ABC
 * Christian J. Lambertsen (1917–2011), environmental medicine and diving medicine specialist who developed the United States Navy frogmen's rebreathers in the early 1940s and created the acronym "SCUBA"
 * Mary LeSawyer (1917–2004), opera singer
 * Joseph Malchow (born 1985), technology executive and venture capital investor
 * Bryan Meredith (born 1989), goalkeeper who has played for the Seattle Sounders FC and San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS
 * James Murphy (born 1997), soccer player who currently plays as a midfielder for USL Championship club Rio Grande Valley FC
 * John Murphy (born 2000), soccer player who last played as a midfielder for USL Championship club Loudoun United FC
 * Renaldo Nehemiah (born 1959), track star who set world record in the 110 meter hurdles, NFL wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers and the only four-time winner of ABC's Superstar competition
 * Louise Townsend Nicholl (1890–1981), poet and editor
 * Amy Ellis Nutt (born 1955), journalist and New York Times bestselling author, who was the recipient of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for her reporting at The Star-Ledger
 * Thomas W. Osborn (1833–1898), Union Army officer who represented Florida in the United States Senate
 * John Pak (born 1998), golfer
 * Joe J. Plumeri (born 1944), Chairman and CEO of Willis Group and owner of the Trenton Thunder
 * John F. Rague (1799–1877), architect who designed and built the 1837 Old Capitol of Illinois and the 1840 Territorial Capitol of Iowa
 * Cynthia Sayer (born 1956), jazz banjoist
 * Joe Scarpati (born 1943), holder for Tom Dempsey's record 63 yd field goal in 1970
 * Alan Sepinwall (born 1973), television reviewer and writer.
 * Marc Shaiman (born 1959), composer and arranger who has worked on the musical Hairspray and the film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
 * John Shippen (1879–1968), first American golf professional and first African American to compete in the U.S. Open
 * John H. Stamler (1938–1990), Union County, New Jersey prosecutor, who was New Jersey's first three-term County Prosecutor
 * Enzo Stuarti (1919–2005), tenor, musical theater performer
 * Samuel Swan (1771–1844), physician and politician who represented New Jersey's at-large congressional district from 1821 to 1831
 * Lance Thomas (born 1988), power forward / center for the New York Knicks
 * Frank Thorne (born 1930), comic book artist and writer best known for popularizing the Marvel Comics character Red Sonja
 * Troi Torain (born 1964), radio host and "Star" of Star and Bucwild
 * David S. Ware (born 1949), jazz musician
 * Melissa Murphy Weber (born 1969), attorney and politician who served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2003 to 2004.
 * Drew Wesche (born 1955), Actor who portrayed Lt Harry Witkin in the 1977 Robert Aldrich Thriller Twilight's Last Gleaming.

title: Scotch Plains, New Jersey