Piscataway, New Jersey
Piscataway is a township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of the New York metropolitan area, in the Raritan Valley. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 60,804, an increase of 4,760 from the 2010 census count of 56,044, which in turn reflected an increase of 5,562 from 50,482 at the 2000 census.
The name may be derived from the area's earliest European settlers who came from near the Piscataqua River, a landmark defining the coastal border between New Hampshire and Maine, whose name derives from peske and tegwe, or alternatively from pisgeu and awa or from a Lenape language word meaning "great deer". The area was appropriated in 1666 by Quakers and Baptists who had left the Puritan colony in New Hampshire.
Piscataway Township was formed on December 17, 1666, and officially incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, as part of the state's initial group of 104 townships. The community, the fifth-oldest municipality in New Jersey, has grown from Native American territory, through a colonial period and is one of the links in the earliest settlement of the Atlantic Ocean seacoast that ultimately led to the formation of the United States. Over the years, portions of Piscataway were taken to form Raritan Township, Dunellen, Middlesex and South Plainfield.
Rutgers University's main campus spills into the township. SHI Stadium, home field for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team, is in Piscataway as well as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
History
The earliest settlers of the area were the Lenape Native Americans; a group of four European settlers coming from New Hampshire acquired of land in 1666 that had been occupied by Native Americans.In 1666, the first proprietary Governor of the Province of New Jersey, Philip Carteret, granted 12 new settlers from Massachusetts a 100 square mile allotment of land that was later founded as the townships of Piscataway and Woodbridge. Similar types of settlements established by religious dissenters fleeing Puritan colonies in New England were being formed in other parts of New Jersey, notably the Elizabethtown Tract in Northern New Jersey near the mouth of the Raritan River and extending upwards into modern day Essex County, and the Monmouth Tract in Central New Jersey near the Raritan Bay and extending southward along the Jersey Shore to the Barnegat Inlet.
Additional settlers from the Piscataqua River area of New Hampshire moved to Piscataway, bringing the name. Coming from a lumbering, shipbuilding and fishing background, these settlers, consisting of mostly Baptists and Quakers, were comfortable with their new surroundings, and looking forward to starting a new life away from political and religious persecution in the north. They were also enterprising and pioneering families who were already experienced in wilderness settlement. Before the original settlers, there were pioneer scouts who surveyed these new lands and waterways. The town name of Piscataway came from these early pioneers who originally came from the town of Piscataqua. During the original land purchase, the pioneers had signed 12 Articles of Agreement with Governor Carteret, which served as the legal basis for the government of Piscataway and Woodbridge and which shaped the democratic development of self-government. In short, these articles were mainly designed to provide liberty and land ownership for new families and to allow them to establish their own government representatives and religious freedoms.
After a few line and boundary changes, Piscataway and its outer plantations were reported to total 40,000 acres, with 66 square miles of land in 1685. The Lenape Native Americans occupied the entire Piscataway area, but were dispelled as the encroachment of European settlers increased. Across multiple generations, the Lenape established defined trails that European settlers appropriated in order to traverse through the wilderness area and partition new lands. Over time, many of these primitive trails became the main routes of travel between communities and became the basis of roads that still exist today. The trails along the Raritan River were named after a local population of Native Americans called the Raritangs. Piscataway Township is the fifth-oldest municipality in New Jersey and among the fifty oldest municipalities in the United States.
On February 8, 1777, the Battle of Quibbletown, a running battle took place between approximately 2,000 British and Hessian troops under the command of British General Charles Lord Cornwallis and the local patriot militia led by Colonel Charles Scott and a separate militia commanded by Brigadier General Nathaniel Warner.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 18.96 square miles, including 18.79 square miles of land and 0.17 square miles of water.The township lies on the south side of the Raritan Valley, a line of cities in Central Jersey, along with New Brunswick, Highland Park and South Plainfield. Piscataway is 45 minutes southwest of New York City and 53 minutes northeast of Philadelphia.
Piscataway is bordered by nine municipalities: Dunellen, Edison, Highland Park, Middlesex, New Brunswick and South Plainfield in Middlesex County; Franklin Township and South Bound Brook in Somerset County; and Plainfield in Union County.
Piscataway is often segmented by local residents into unincorporated communities, localities and place names which include Arbor, Bound Brook Heights, Fellowship Farm, Fieldville, Johnson Park, Lake Nelson, New Brunswick Highlands, New Market, Newtown, North Stelton, Possumtown, Randolphville, Raritan Landing, Riverview Manor, Society Hill The original settlement of Piscatawaytown is located in present-day Edison.
Camp Kilmer, constructed starting in 1941 on of Piscataway and Edison, was activated in June 1942 by the United States Army as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation. Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in preparation for transport to the European Theater of Operations in World War II, ultimately becoming the largest processing center for troops heading overseas and returning from World War II, processing over 2.5 million soldiers. Following the failed 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Camp Kilmer was reactivated and used to process 30,000 refugees who were resettled in the area and across the country. The camp was officially closed in 2009.
Significant portions of Piscataway make up the Livingston and Busch Campuses of Rutgers University.
The Arbor and New Brunswick Highland sections of Piscataway were African American neighborhoods in the past.
The New Market section historically comprised the Quaker village of Quibbletown. The early name of the village originated from the fact that settlers of different religious denominations quibbled about whether the Sabbath should be observed on Saturday or on Sunday in the village.
Demographics
2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 56,044 people, 17,050 households, and 12,958 families in the township. The population density was. There were 17,777 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup was 38.46% White, 20.69% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 33.45% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.59% from other races, and 3.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.22% of the population.Of the 17,050 households, 35.0% had children under the age of 18; 59.9% were married couples living together; 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present and 24.0% were non-families. Of all households, 18.6% were made up of individuals and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.33.
20.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 17.8% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.0 years. For every 100 females, the population had 99.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 96.8 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that median household income was $88,428 and the median family income was $95,483. Males had a median income of $57,308 versus $48,606 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $31,254. About 2.5% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census there were 50,482 people, 16,500 households, and 12,325 families residing in the township. The population density was. There were 16,946 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the township was 48.81% White, 20.31% African American, 0.21% Native American, 24.80% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 3.08% from other races, and 2.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.93% of the population.As of the 2000 Census, 12.49% of Piscataway's residents identified themselves as being of Indian American ancestry, which was the fourth highest of any municipality in the United States and the third highest in New Jersey—behind Edison and Plainsboro Township —of all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.
There were 16,500 households, out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.6% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.4% 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 3.29.
In the township, the population was spread out, with 21.9% under the age of 18, 14.1% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $68,721, and the median income for a family was $75,218. Males had a median income of $47,188 versus $36,271 for females. The per capita income for the township was $26,321. About 2.7% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.