Newton, New Jersey
Newton, officially the Town of Newton, is an incorporated municipality in and the county seat of Sussex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated approximately northwest of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 8,374, its highest decennial population ever, an increase of 377 from the 2010 census count of 7,997, which in turn reflected a decrease of 247 from the 8,244 counted in the 2000 census.
One of 15 municipalities in the state organized as a town, the municipal government operates under a council-manager structure provided by the Faulkner Act, or Optional Municipal Charter Law. Newton was incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 11, 1864, from portions of Newton Township, which was also partitioned to create Andover Township and Hampton Township, and was then dissolved. Additional land was acquired from Andover Township in 1869 and 1927, and from Fredon Township in 1920.
History
In the eighteenth century
Newton is located near the headwaters of the east branch of the Paulins Kill, a tributary of the Delaware River. In October 1715, Colonial surveyor Samuel Green plotted a tract of at the head of the Paulins Kill, then known as the Tohokenetcunck River, on behalf of William Penn. This tract, which would not be settled for approximately 30–35 years, was part of the survey and division of the last acquisition of Native American land by the West Jersey Board of Proprietors. At the time of Green's survey, northwestern New Jersey was populated with bands of the Munsee, the northern branch of the Lenape Native Americans.The first recorded European settler within the boundaries of present-day Newton was a German Palatine immigrant named Henry Hairlocker who arrived sometime before 1751 when he appears in Morris County records as receiving a tavern license. The Newtown Precinct, a large township, was created in 1751, and Sussex County was created from Morris two years later on June 8, 1753. The township would be named Newtown after the colonial village of Newtown in Queens, New York from where the Pettit family originated or from its status as a "new town".
In 1762, Jonathan Hampton, of Elizabethtown, surveyed the location for a county courthouse and town green at the intersection of a military supply road he built during the French and Indian War and a major north–south artery called the King's Highway. The construction of the courthouse was completed in 1765 and the village that developed around it became known as Sussex Court House. The county courthouse was the site of a raid by British partisan Lieutenant James Moody during the American Revolution.
In 1797, the village's post office was renamed Newtown and later, in 1825, the spelling was altered to Newton. Newton Township would cede land to create new townships on several occasions in the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries, until a final division dissolved the township on April 11, 1864, through a legislative act of New Jersey Legislature that created the village of Newton as an incorporated town and two rural townships—Hampton and Andover.
Historic district
The Newton Town Plot Historic District is a historic district encompassing the Town Plot section of Newton, along Church, High, Main, Moran, and Spring Streets; and Park Place. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 12, 1992, for its significance in architecture, commerce, community planning, settlement, and politics from 1762 to 1941. The district includes 51 contributing buildings, three contributing objects, and two contributing sites. It includes the Sussex County Courthouse, which was added individually to the NRHP in 1979 and the Hill Memorial, added in 1985. The Sussex and Merchants National Bank was built in 1927 with Georgian Revival style and some Beaux Arts ornamentation. The Old Newton Burial Ground, established 1762, is a contributing site. It features a bas relief of Father Time on the cast-iron entrance gates.Geography
Geological features
Newton is located in the Kittatinny Valley, a segment of the Great Appalachian Valley. The Great Appalachian Valley is a gigantic trough—a chain of valley lowlands that stretches about from Quebec to Alabama and is the easternmost edge of Ridge and Valley Appalachians physiographic province. This physiographic province, one of five in New Jersey, occupies approximately two-thirds of the county's area dominated by Kittatinny Mountain and the Kittatinny Valley. This province's contour is characterized by long, even ridges with long, continuous valleys in between that generally run parallel from southwest to northeast. The features of the Ridge and Valley province were created approximately 300–400 million years ago during the Ordovician period and Appalachian orogeny—a period of tremendous pressure and rock thrusting that caused the creation of the Appalachian Mountains. This region is largely formed by sedimentary rock.Newton's land area drains into the watersheds of the Paulins Kill and Pequest River—two rivers that are tributaries of the Delaware River. These watersheds are separated by slate ridges that are part of the Martinsburg Formation. These slate ridges were quarried for slate for roofs and other industrial purposes beginning with a quarry opened by Elijah Blackwell in 1859 that operated under a series of different owners and commercial entities until 1930.
Political geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town had a total area of, including of land and of water.The Town of Newton is bordered to the north and east by Hampton Township, to the west by Fredon Township, and to the south by Andover Township.
Climate and weather
Because of its location in the higher elevations of northwestern New Jersey's Appalachian mountains, Newton, as well as the rest of Sussex County, has a cooler humid continental climate or microthermal climate which indicates patterns of significant precipitation in all seasons and at least four months where the average temperature rises above This differs from the rest of the state which is generally a humid mesothermal climate, in which temperatures range between during the year's coldest month. Sussex County is part of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6.During winter and early spring, New Jersey in some years is subject to "nor'easters"—significant storm systems that have proven capable of causing blizzards or flooding throughout the northeastern United States. Hurricanes and tropical storms, tornadoes, and earthquakes are relatively rare. The Kittatinny Valley to the north of Newton, part of the Great Appalachian Valley, experiences a snowbelt phenomenon and has been categorized as a microclimate region known as the "Sussex County Snow Belt." This region receives approximately of snow per year and generally more snowfall that the rest of Northern New Jersey and the Northern Climate Zone. This phenomenon is attributed to the orographic lift of the Kittatinny Ridge which impacts local weather patterns by increasing humidity and precipitation.
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Newton have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.
According to the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service soil survey, the area receives sunshine approximately 62% of the time in summer and 48% in winter. Prevailing winds are typically from the southwest for most of year; but in late winter and early spring come from the northwest. The lowest recorded temperature was −26 °F on January 21, 1994. The highest recorded temperature was on September 3, 1953. The heaviest one-day snowfall was recorded on January 8, 1996. The heaviest one-day rainfall—— was recorded on August 19, 1955.
Demographics
2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 7,997 people, 3,170 households, and 1,842 families in the town. The population density was. There were 3,479 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup was 85.04% White, 4.88% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 2.98% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.34% from other races, and 2.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.34% of the population.Of the 3,170 households, 27.2% had children under the age of 18; 40.1% were married couples living together; 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present and 41.9% were non-families. Of all households, 36.1% were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 3.06.
21.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.9 years. For every 100 females, the population had 91.5 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 87.6 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that median household income was $48,702 and the median family income was $72,266. Males had a median income of $57,369 versus $29,676 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $25,296. About 10.9% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.2% of those under age 18 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census there were 8,244 people, 3,258 households, and 1,941 families residing in the town. The population density was. There were 3,425 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the town was 91.97% White, 2.80% African American, 0.13% Native American, 1.97% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.16% from other races, and 1.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.80% of the population.There were 3,258 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $44,667, and the median income for a family was $56,484. Males had a median income of $41,089 versus $30,016 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,577. About 6.9% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 11% of those age 65 or over.