Rockaway Township, New Jersey


Rockaway Township is a township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 25,341, an increase of 1,185 from the 2010 census count of 24,156, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,226 from the 22,930 counted in the 2000 census.
Rockaway Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 8, 1844, from portions of Hanover Township and Pequannock Township. Portions of the township were taken to form Rockaway Borough, Port Oram and Denville Township. Portions of the township were annexed to Boonton Township in 1906 and to Rockaway Borough in 1908.
The township shares its name with the Rockaway River and the neighboring borough. The name is derived from a Native American term, variously said to mean "place of sands", "creek between two hills" or "bushy" / "difficult to cross".
A large part of the township consists of Picatinny Arsenal, a United States Army base that covers nearly of the township, used mainly for the development of new weapons technologies.
WWW rockawaytownship.org

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 45.89 square miles, including 41.73 square miles of land and 4.16 square miles of water.
Rockaway Township and its sister community, Rockaway Borough, and the area around the two municipalities are home to some scenic areas. These areas include lakes, rivers, and expansive ranges of mountains, covered with trees and wildlife and hiking trails, including Farny State Park, Wildcat Ridge WMA, Mount Hope Historical Park and Splitrock Reservoir.
Portions of the township are owned by the City of Newark, Essex County, for their Pequannock River Watershed, which provides water to the city from an area of that also includes portions of Hardyston Township, Jefferson Township, Kinnelon, Vernon Township and West Milford. Newark's Pequannock Watershed is administered by the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corporation. The river keeper for the Pequannock River is the Pequannock River Coalition.
Two sites on the National Register of Historic Places are in Rockaway Township. Split Rock Furnace is a Civil War era iron ore furnace which is still intact. The Ford-Faesch Manor House, is a 1768 stone mansion that figured prominently during the Revolutionary War and in the 250-year history of Morris County iron industry.
Hibernia, Lake Telemark, Mount Hope, and White Meadow Lake are unincorporated communities and census-designated places located within Rockaway Township.
Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Beach Glen, Deer Pond, Denmark, Bowlbyville, Durham Pond, Foxs Pond, Green Pond, Hickory Hill, Hilltown, Lyonsville, Marcella, Meriden, Middle Forge, Middletown, Picatinny, Spicertown and Split Rock.
Splitrock Reservoir is of wilderness in Rockaway Township that straddles the township's border with Kinnelon. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection spent $3 million in 2015 to acquire a buffer area around the reservoir, as part of an agreement under which Jersey City retains rights to use water from the reservoir and is responsible for maintenance of the dam at the site.
Rockaway Township borders the municipalities of Boonton Township, Denville Township, Dover, Jefferson Township, Kinnelon, Randolph, Rockaway and Wharton in Morris County; and West Milford in Passaic County.
Despite being the largest municipality in terms of area in Morris County and being the fourth-largest in population, Rockaway Township does not have its own designated ZIP code. The township is served by eight ZIP codes, seven from the surrounding municipalities and one of an unincorporated area within Rockaway Township. The ZIP codes for Rockaway Township are 07005, 07405, 07435, 07438, 07801, 07842, 07866 and 07885.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 24,156 people, 8,983 households, and 6,701 families in the township. The population density was. There were 9,587 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup was 86.43% White, 2.55% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 6.67% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.24% from other races, and 1.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.20% of the population.
Of the 8,983 households, 34.4% had children under the age of 18; 62.9% were married couples living together; 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 25.4% were non-families. Of all households, 21.3% 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 2.69 and the average family size was 3.14.
23.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 30.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 95.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 91.5 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that median household income was $95,530 and the median family income was $111,053. Males had a median income of $75,475 versus $52,586 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $41,757. About 0.8% of families and 1.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.1% of those under age 18 and 2.0% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census there were 22,930 people, 8,108 households, and 6,380 families residing in the township. The population density was. There were 8,506 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the township was 88.86% White, 2.46% African American, 0.10% Native American, 5.65% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.60% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.28% of the population.
There were 8,108 households, out of which 40.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.5% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.3% were non-families. 17.0% of all households 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 2.82 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the township the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $80,939, and the median income for a family was $89,281. Males had a median income of $58,027 versus $40,038 for females. The per capita income for the township was $33,184. About 1.4% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Rockaway Townsquare is a super-regional mall anchored by Macy's, JCPenney, and Raymour & Flanigan with a gross leasable area of, placing it in the top ten among the largest shopping malls in New Jersey.
Picatinny Arsenal, a military research and manufacturing facility, dates back to 1880 when it was established as the Dover Powder Depot, before being renamed just days later as the Picatinny Powder Depot. With 5,000 employees and covering, Picatinny Arsenal is the Joint Center of Excellence for Armaments and Munitions for the United States Armed Forces.

Sports

In 2011, the North Jersey Lakers began playing in the Eastern Basketball Alliance, a now-defunct semi-professional men's winter basketball league.

Government

Local government

Rockaway Township is governed within the Faulkner Act under the Mayor-Council system of municipal government, implemented based on the recommendations of a Charter Study Commission as of January 1, 1968. The township is one of 71 municipalities statewide that use this form of government. The governing body is comprised of the mayor and the township council. The mayor is directly elected by the voters. The township council is comprised of nine members, with one member elected from each of six wards and three elected on an at-large basis. The members of the governing body are elected to staggered four-year terms of office on a partisan basis in odd-numbered years as part of the November general election, with the six ward seats up for vote together and then the three at-large and the mayoral seat up for vote together two years later.
, the Mayor of Rockaway Township is Republican Joseph Jackson, whose term expires on December 31, 2027. Members of the Township Council are Council President Howard Morrison, Council Vice President Jonathan Sackett, Sophia E. Freire, Emanuel "Manny" Friedlander, Tucker Kelley, John "Jack" Quinn, Susan Fahrman Royek, Adam Salberg and Pawel Wojtowicz.

Federal, state, and county representation

Rockaway Township is located in the 11th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 25th state legislative district.

Education

The Rockaway Township Public Schools serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade. As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 2,386 students and 248.2 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 9.6:1. Schools in the district are
Birchwood Elementary School with 279 students in grades K-5,
Catherine A. Dwyer Elementary School with 322 students in grades K-5,
Katherine D. Malone Elementary School with 259 students in grades K-5,
Dennis B. O'Brien Elementary School with 275 students in grades PreK-5,
Stony Brook Elementary School with 391 students in grades K-5 and
Copeland Middle School with 853 students in grades 6-8.
Public school students in ninth through twelfth grades attend either Morris Hills High School or Morris Knolls High School. Morris Hills also serves students from Wharton and some from Rockaway Borough ; Morris Knolls serves all students from Denville and portions of Rockaway Borough. As of the 2022–23 school year, Morris Hills High School had an enrollment of 1,187 students and 117.3 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 10.1:1, while Morris Knolls had an enrollment of 1,447 students and 130.9 classroom teachers and a student–teacher ratio of 11.1:1. The Academy for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering, a magnet high school program that is part of the Morris County Vocational School District is jointly operated on the Morris Hills campus. The two high schools are part of the Morris Hills Regional High School District.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Morris County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Interstate 80 passes through the township, including exits 35 and 37. U.S. Route 46 cuts through the southernmost area of the township, while Route 15 clips the southwestern portion of the township. County Route 513 traverses a total of north-south across the township.

Public transportation

NJ Transit train service does not stop in the township, but is accessible at the Denville station on both the Morris & Essex Lines and the Montclair-Boonton Line.
NJ Transit bus service is provided on the 880 local route, which replaced service that had been provided up to 2010 on the MCM10 route.
NJ Transit eliminated service on the MCM5 and MCM7 routes as part of budget cuts.
Lakeland Bus Lines offers bus service from the Rockaway Townsquare Mall to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.

Fire department

There are five companies of the Rockaway Township Fire Department. Each company is all-volunteer and provides emergency medical services in addition to fire protection. The five stations are:
  • Hibernia Company #1
  • Mount Hope Company #2
  • Marcella Company #3, covering the northern portion of the township
  • Birchwood Company #4 covers the area around the Rockaway Townsquare Mall
  • White Meadow Lake Company #5, covers the southern portion of the township

Popular culture

  • The 2003 independent film, The Station Agent, was filmed at various locations in the northern part of the township and elsewhere in the surrounding Morris County area.

Notable people

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