Ringwood, New Jersey

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Map of Ringwood in Passaic County
Map of Ringwood in Passaic County
Ringwood Manor, with a mortar and part of the Hudson River Chain
Ringwood Manor, with a mortar and part of the Hudson River Chain

Ringwood is a Borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 12,396. It is the home of Ringwood State Park which contains the State Botanical Garden, the Shepherd Lake Recreation Area, and Skylands and Ringwood Manors.

The Borough of Ringwood was incorporated by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 23, 1918, from a "portion of the Township of Pompton", as one of three boroughs formed from Pompton Township, joining Bloomingdale and Wanaque.[1] The first organizational meeting of the Borough Council took place in the existing Borough Hall on May 6, 1918

Contents

[edit] History

The original inhabitants of the area were the Lenape and Ramapough Native Americans.

Early in the 18th Century, iron was discovered in the area, and the Ogden family built a blast furnace in Ringwood in 1742. By 1765, Peter Hasenclever used Ringwood as the center of his ironmaking operations which included 150,000 acres in New Jersey, New York and Nova Scotia.

Iron mining was prominent in the area during the 1700-1900's. Mines such as the London Mine, Roomy Mine, Peters Mine and Hope mine were opened by Peter Hesenclever's London Company. Some were still operated well into the 1900's.

Ringwood Manor was home to a number of well-known ironmasters from the 1740s to the late 19th century. During the American Revolution, Robert Erskine managed ironmaking operations from Ringwood, and became George Washington's first geographer and Surveyor-General, producing maps for the Continental Army; Washington visited the Manor House several times. Ringwood iron was used in the famous Hudson River Chain, and for tools and hardware for the army. One of the Manor's last owners was Abram S. Hewitt, ironmaster, educator, lawyer, U.S. Congressman, and Mayor of New York City. The Manor is part of a National Historic Landmark District.

[edit] Toxic Waste Dump

A nearby toxic waste dump, created by the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, has resulted in continuing public health issues.[2]

The Ramapough Mountain Indians filed suit against Ford over the toxic contamination in 2006.[3] This is the largest environmental law suit ever in the state of New Jersey.

Lead has continued to spread to wildlife from the site.[4] The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services issued a warning in January to residents of the city of Ringwood that they should limit their intake of squirrel to no more than twice a week (children once a month) because the meat could be contaminated.[5]

[edit] Geography

Ringwood is located at 41°5′46″N, 74°15′36″W (41.096095, -74.260124)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 72.6 km² (28.0 mi²). 65.4 km² (25.2 mi²) of it is land and 7.2 km² (2.8 mi²) of it (9.92%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1930 1,038
–
1940 977 -5.9%
1950 1,752 79.3%
1960 4,182 138.7%
1970 10,393 148.5%
1980 12,625 21.5%
1990 12,623 -0.0%
2000 12,396 -1.8%
historical data source: [6]

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there are 12,396 people, 4,108 households, and 3,446 families residing in the borough. The population density is 189.5/km² (491.0/mi²). There are 4,221 housing units at an average density of 64.5/km² (167.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough is 93.87% White, 1.61% African American, 1.44% Native American, 1.19% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. 4.25% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 4,108 households out of which 42.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.5% are married couples living together, 7.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 16.1% are non-families. 12.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 3.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.00 and the average family size is 3.28.

In the borough the population is spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.3 males.

The median income for a household in the borough is $81,636, and the median income for a family is $85,108. Males have a median income of $60,097 versus $36,005 for females. The per capita income for the borough is $31,341. 2.8% of the population and 2.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 3.9% of those under the age of 18 and 2.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

[edit] Government

[edit] Local government

Members of the Ringwood Borough Council are Mayor Joanne Atlas (term as Mayor and on council ends December 31, 2007), Deputy Mayor William E. Marsala (2007 as Deputy Mayor; 2009 in Council), Donna S. Anderson (2009), Thomas MacAllen (2007), Bill O'Hearn (2007), Linda M. Schaefer (2009) and Wenke Taule (2007).[7]

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

Ringwood is in the Fifth Congressional Districtis part of New Jersey's 40th Legislative District.[8]

New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District, covering the northern portions of Bergen County, Passaic County and Sussex County and all of Warren County, is represented by Scott Garrett (R, Wantage Township). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 40th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Henry McNamara (R, Wyckoff) and in the Assembly by Kevin J. O'Toole (R, Wayne) and David C. Russo (R, Midland Park). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Passaic County's Board of Chosen Freeholders are Freeholder Director Elease Evans of Paterson, Freeholder Deputy Director Pat Lepore of West Paterson, Terry Duffy of West Milford, James Gallagher of Paterson, Bruce James of Clifton, Sonia Rosado of Ringwood and Tahesha Way of Wayne.

[edit] Education

Students in Kindergarten through eighth grade attend the schools of the Ringwood Public School District, which serves a total of about 1,400 students. Theare are two K-3 schools in the district — Peter Cooper, which was built in 1963, and serves about 314 students in grades K-3, and Robert Erskine, which was built in 1960 and serves about 321 students — E. G. Hewitt which was built in 1937 (with an annex built in 1952 and trailers added in 1959) and serves about 335 students in grades 4 and 5, and M. J. Ryerson which was built in 1970 and serves about 480 students in grades 6 - 8.

Students in grades 9 -12 attend Lakeland Regional High School, which serves students from the Boroughs of Ringwood and Wanaque. The high school is located in Wanaque and is part of the Lakeland Regional High School District.

There is also a regional Roman Catholic parochial school called St. Catherine of Bologna School. Grades kindergarten through eight grade attend, with part-time pre-school and pre-kindergarten sessions.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Points of interest

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 211.
  2. ^ A new toxic threat from Ford dump, The Record (Bergen County) by Jan Barry, December 5, 2006
  3. ^ Ramapough Mountain Indians Sue Ford Over Toxic Contamination. Environment News Service (2006-01-21). Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
  4. ^ Barry, Jan; Mary Jo Layton, Carol Fletcher (2006-12-29). More lead found in tests at Ford site. North Jersey Media.
  5. ^ Holl, John (2007-02-18). Don’t Eat the Squirrels? It’s No Laughing Matter. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
  6. ^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
  7. ^ Ringwood Staff - Mayor & Council, accessed March 8, 2007
  8. ^ League of Women Voters: 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, p. 63, accessed August 30, 2006

[edit] External links

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Municipalities of Passaic County, New Jersey
(County seat: Paterson)
Boroughs Bloomingdale | Haledon | Hawthorne | North Haledon | Pompton Lakes | Prospect Park | Ringwood | Totowa | Wanaque | West Paterson
Cities Clifton | Passaic | Paterson
Townships Little Falls | Wayne | West Milford
CDPs and
communities		 Haskell | Hewitt | Newfoundland | Oak Ridge | Pines Lake
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