Talk:Piscataway Township, New Jersey

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[edit] Origin of name

According to one site, the name "is from an Algonquian term meaning 'fork river.' [1] I don't know how authoritative that is. There's a Piscataway tribe of Native Americans in the Chesapeake Bay area, but that fact raises more questions -- if "Piscataway" really means "fork river", why was that the name of a tribe? Why was a town in New Jersey named for a tribe centered in Maryland? I haven't found any of this informaton substantial enough to add to the article, but it would be great if someone could track down the origin of this unusual (but now widely known) name. JamesMLane 06:02, 24 August 2005 (UTC)

I don't know the answer to your question, but Piscataway is very similar to name of a river in New Hampshire and Maine, the Piscataqua River. Piscataqua is an Abenaki word which means fork river. I wonder if the Abenaki tribe inhabited Central Jersey at some time? Somewhere I have a book of Piscataway history (having been raised there.) and I know it discusses the Native American tribe once living there. I will look for it. Anne 23:06, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
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