| Fairfield Township, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Township — | |
| Map of Fairfield Township in Essex County. Inset: Location of Essex County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Fairfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Essex |
| Incorporated | February 16, 1798 (as Caldwell Township) |
| Renamed | November 6, 1963 (as Fairfield Township) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) |
| • Mayor | James Gasparini |
| • Administrator | Joseph Catenaro[1] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 10.5 sq mi (27.1 km2) |
| • Land | 10.5 sq mi (27.1 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation[2] | 167 ft (51 m) |
| Population (2010)[3] | |
| • Total | 7,466 |
| • Density | 675.8/sq mi (260.9/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 07004 |
| Area code(s) | 973 |
| FIPS code | 34-22385[4][5] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1729722[6] |
| Website | http://www.fairfieldnj.org |
Fairfield is a township in far northwestern Essex County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 7,466. Fairfield is the least densely populated town in Essex County.
The first Europeans to settle in the area were Dutch and the place was called Gansegat. Later it was part of Horse Neck and officially part of Newark Township. What is now Fairfield was formed on February 16, 1798, as Caldwell Township from portions of Acquackanonk Township and Newark Township. The area was named for Rev. James Caldwell. It was incorporated as one of New Jersey's initial 104 townships by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken to create Livingston (February 8, 1813), Fairmount Township (March 11, 1862, now part of West Orange), Caldwell borough (February 10, 1892), Verona Township (February 17, 1892, now known and including what is now Cedar Grove), North Caldwell (March 31, 1898), Essex Fells (March 31, 1902) and West Caldwell (February 24, 1904). On November 6, 1963, Caldwell Township was renamed as Fairfield Township, based on the results of a referendum passed the previous day. Fairfield was reincorporated as borough on June 8, 1964.[7] In 1979, Fairfield again became a township to take advantage of federal revenue sharing policies.[8]
Essex County Airport is located in Fairfield.
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Fairfield is located at (40.879049, -74.293781).[9]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 10.4 square miles (27 km2), all of it land. Fairfield is the least dense municipality in Essex County.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 989 |
|
|
| 1940 | 1,392 | 40.7% | |
| 1950 | 1,906 | 36.9% | |
| 1960 | 3,310 | 73.7% | |
| 1970 | 6,884 | 108.0% | |
| 1980 | 7,987 | 16.0% | |
| 1990 | 7,615 | −4.7% | |
| 2000 | 7,063 | −7.2% | |
| 2010 | 7,466 | 5.7% | |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[10] | |||
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 7,063 people, 2,296 households, and 1,981 families residing in the township. The population density was 675.8 people per square mile (261.0/km2). There were 2,326 housing units at an average density of 222.5 per square mile (85.9/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 95.63% White, 0.52% African American, 0.10% Native American, 2.82% Asian, 0.40% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.45% of the population.
There were 2,296 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.7% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.7% were non-families. 10.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the township the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 28.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $83,120, and the median income for a family was $90,998. Males had a median income of $56,106 versus $39,032 for females. The per capita income for the township was $32,099. About 2.3% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.
Fairfield Township operates under a Mayor-Council form of New Jersey government under the Faulkner Act. The Mayor exercises executive power of the municipality, appoints department heads with Council approval, prepares the annual budget and has veto over ordinances subject to override by 2/3 of all members of Council. The Council exercises legislative power of municipality and approves appointment of department heads.[11][12]
Members of the Fairfield Township Council are Mayor James Gasparini, Council President Thomas Morgan, Joseph Cifelli, John LaForgia and Michael McGlynn.[11][13]
Fairfield is in the 11th Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 27th state legislative district.[14]
New Jersey's Eleventh Congressional District is represented by Rodney Frelinghuysen (R, Harding Township). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
27th Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Richard Codey (D, Roseland) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Mila Jasey (D, South Orange) and John F. McKeon (D, West Orange).[15] The Governor of New Jersey is Chris Christie (R, Mendham).[16] The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is Kim Guadagno (R, Monmouth Beach).[17]
Essex County's County Executive is Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr.[18] The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. The county's Board of Chosen Freeholders consists of nine members, four elected on an at-large basis and one from each of five wards, who serve terms of office on a concurrent basis.[19] As of 2011 Essex County's Freeholders are Freeholder President Blonnie R. Watson (at large)[20], Freeholder Vice President Ralph R. Caputo (District 5)[21], Rufus I. Johnson (at large)[22], Donald M. Payne, Jr. (at large)[23], Patricia Sebold (at large)[24], Samuel Gonzalez (District 1)[25], D. Bilal Beasley (District 2)[26], Carol Y. Clark (District 3)[27] and Linda Lordi Cavanaugh (District 4).[28][29]
On the national level, Fairfield leans toward the Republican Party. In 2008, Republican John McCain received 2797 votes here (about 70%), while Democrat Barack Obama received 1137 (about 28%).[30]
The Fairfield School District serves public school students in Pre-K through sixth grade. Schools in the district (with 2008–09 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[31]) are Adlai E. Stevenson Elementary School for pre-kindergarten through third grade (427 students) and Winston Churchill School for students in fourth through sixth grade (316).
Students in public school for grades 7–12 attend the West Essex Regional School District, a regional school district serving students from four municipalities in western Essex County, New Jersey. Communities served by the district's schools are Essex Fells, Fairfield, North Caldwell and Roseland.[32] Schools in the district (with 2008-09 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[33]) are West Essex Junior High School (grades 7–8; 569 students) and West Essex High School (grades 9–12; 1,014 students).
StenoTech Career Institute is a technical school in Fairfield that offers court reporting and medical transcription training.
Fairfield was part of the Horseneck Tract, which was an area that consisted of what are now the municipalities of Caldwell, West Caldwell, North Caldwell, Fairfield, Verona, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Roseland, and portions of Livingston and West Orange.
In 1702, settlers purchased the 14,000 acres (57 km2) Horseneck Tract — the reason for this name has never been determined, but historians agree that it is not because of its shape — from the Lenape Native Americans for goods equal to $325. This purchase encompassed much of western Essex County, from the First Mountain to the Passaic River.
U.S. Route 46, Route 159, Interstate 80 all pass through the Township.
Pharmaceutical firm Bradley Pharmaceuticals is headquartered here.
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