Township Act of 1798
The Township Act of 1798 is an Act passed by New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, that formally incorporated 104 municipalities in 13 counties in New Jersey. It set standards on format for government of townships. The act was largely replaced by subsequent laws.
Township government
The Act created towns with a direct democracy form that resembled the early New England town meeting. At the annual town meeting, people were able to vote if they met all of the following criteria- white male
- over the age of 21
- citizens of New Jersey
- residents of the town for at least 6 months
- and for at least a year paid
- * taxes on an owned house or
- * $5 in taxes on a rented house
Original townships and counties
In the following list, the 104 original incorporated townships are provided, along with the original 13 counties which they were part of in 1798. 88 of the original townships still survive. Some of the townships are now in different counties. The number in the brackets indicate the year the township was originally founded or of its earliest mention.Bergen County">Bergen County, New Jersey">Bergen County
Burlington County">Burlington County, New Jersey">Burlington County
- Burlington
- Chester
- Chesterfield
- Evesham
- Little Egg Harbour
- Mansfield
- New Hanover
- Northampton
- Nottingham
- Springfield
- Willingborough
Cape May County">Cape May County, New Jersey">Cape May County
Cumberland County">Cumberland County, New Jersey">Cumberland County
Essex County">Essex County, New Jersey">Essex County
Gloucester County">Gloucester County, New Jersey">Gloucester County
- Deptford
- Egg-Harbour
- Galloway
- Gloucester
- Gloucestertown
- Greenwich
- Newton
- Waterford
- Weymouth
- Woolwich
Hunterdon County">Hunterdon County, New Jersey">Hunterdon County
Middlesex County">Middlesex County, New Jersey">Middlesex County
- East Windsor
- North Brunswick
- Perth Amboy
- Piscataway
- South Amboy
- South Brunswick
- West Windsor
- Woodbridge
Monmouth County">Monmouth County, New Jersey">Monmouth County
Morris County">Morris County, New Jersey">Morris County
Salem County">Salem County, New Jersey">Salem County
- Elsinboro
- Lower Alloway's Creek
- Lower Penn's Neck
- Mannington
- Pilesgrove
- Pittsgrove
- Salem
- Upper Alloway's Creek
- Upper Penn's Neck
Somerset County">Somerset County, New Jersey">Somerset County
Sussex County">Sussex County, New Jersey">Sussex County
- Byram
- Frankford
- Greenwich
- Hardwick
- Hardyston
- Independence
- Knowlton
- Mansfield
- Montague
- Newton
- Oxford
- Sandyston
- Vernon
- Walpack
- Wantage
Changes since 1798
New counties and towns
Since the act was passed, eight additional counties were created: Atlantic County in 1837, Camden County in 1837, Hudson County in 1840, Mercer County in 1838, Ocean County in 1850, Passaic County 1837, Union County in 1857, and Warren County in 1824, for a total 21 counties.Laws
The Township Act of 1899 provided sweeping changes. The town meeting, a staple of towns for the past 101 years, was eliminated in favor of consolidating in the hands of a greatly strengthened township committee, which were given policy-making power. The only provision left unchanged was regarding money. The people of a town keep the power to determine the direction of the power of the money, albeit through a ballot box instead of through a town meeting.The original provisions of the Township Act of 1798 have largely been replaced by several acts in the 20th century. Most of the modern New Jersey towns are incorporated under the 1911 Walsh Act, 1923 Municipal Manager Law and the 1950 Faulkner Act.