| Rockaway Township, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Township — | |
| Rockaway Township highlighted in Morris County. Inset map: Morris County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Rockaway Township, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Morris |
| Incorporated | April 8, 1844 |
| Government[1] | |
| • Type | Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) |
| • Mayor | Louis S. Sceusi (term ends 2011)[2] |
| • Administrator | Gregory V. Poff[3] |
| Area[4] | |
| • Total | 45.99 sq mi (119.1 km2) |
| • Land | 42.82 sq mi (110.9 km2) |
| • Water | 3.17 sq mi (8.2 km2) 6.89% |
| Elevation[5] | 745 ft (227 m) |
| Population (2010 Census)[6] | |
| • Total | 24,156 |
| • Density | 525.2/sq mi (202.8/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | Various |
| Area code(s) | 862/973 |
| FIPS code | 34-64080[7][8] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0882209[9] |
| Website | http://www.rockawaytownship.org/ |
Rockaway Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 24,156.[6]
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 (June 19, 1894), Port Oram (June 26, 1895, now Wharton) and Denville Township (April 14, 1913).[10]
A large part of the township consists of Picatinny Arsenal, a United States Army base, used mainly for the development of new weapons technologies, especially concerning anti-terrorism.
Contents |
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 45.99 square miles (119.1 km2), of which, 42.82 square miles (110.9 km2) of it is land and 3.17 square miles (8.2 km2) of it (6.89%) is water.[4]
Rockaway Township and its sister town, 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, and Mount Hope Historical Park and Splitrock Reservoir.[11] Newark's Pequannock Watershed is administered by the Newark Watershed Development Corporation. The river keeper for the Pequannock River is the Pequannock River Coalition.[12]
In addition, two sites on the National Register of Historic Places can be found in Rockaway Township: Split Rock Furnace, a Civil War era iron ore furnace which is still intact, and the Ford-Faesch Manor House, a 1768 stone mansion that figured prominently during the Revolutionary War and in the 250-year history of Morris County iron industry.
Lake Telemark (2000 Census population of 1,202) and White Meadow Lake (9,052) are census-designated places and unincorporated areas located within Rockaway Township.[4] Hibernia, site of the Hibernia mines, is an unincorporated community within the township. Green Pond is a lake and an accompanying residential community in the township. Splitrock Reservoir is 625 acres (2.53 km2) of wilderness located on the borders of Rockaway Township and Kinnelon.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 3,178 |
|
|
| 1940 | 2,423 | −23.8% | |
| 1950 | 4,418 | 82.3% | |
| 1960 | 10,356 | 134.4% | |
| 1970 | 18,955 | 83.0% | |
| 1980 | 19,850 | 4.7% | |
| 1990 | 19,572 | −1.4% | |
| 2000 | 22,930 | 17.2% | |
| 2010 | 24,156 | 5.3% | |
| Population sources: 1930-1990[13] 2000[14] 2010[6] |
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As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 22,930 people, 8,108 households, and 6,380 families residing in the township. The population density was 535.5 people per square mile (206.8/km²). There were 8,506 housing units at an average density of 198.7 per square mile (76.7/km²). 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.[14]
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.[14]
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.[14]
The median income for a household in the township was $80,939, and the median income for a family was $89,281 (these figures had risen to $87,076 and $101,236 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[15]). 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.[14]
| W. Milford Twp Kinnelon |
||||
| Jefferson Twp | Parsippany Troy Hills Twp | |||
| Rockaway Twp | ||||
| Wharton | Dover, Rockaway and Denville Twp |
Boonton |
Rockaway Township is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government. The government consists of a mayor and a nine-member council who are elected to four-year terms of office. Once Council member is elected from each of the six wards and three are elected on an at-large basis.[1]
As of 2011[update], the Mayor of Rockaway Township is Louis S. Sceusi.[16] Members of the Township Council are Daniel Anello (Ward 5), Stephen Antonelli (Ward 6), Frank Berman (Ward 3), Michael Dachisen (Ward 1), John DiMaria, Jr., (At-Large), Alexander Gellman (Ward 4), Paul Minenna (At-Large), John J. Quinn (Ward 2) and Max Rogers (At-Large).[17]
Rockaway Township is in the 11th Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 25th state legislative district.[18] The township was relocated to the 26th state legislative district by the New Jersey Apportionment Commission based on the results of the 2010 Census.[6] The new district is in effect for the June 2011 primary and the November 2011 general election, with the state senator and assembly members elected taking office in the new district as of January 2012.[18]
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).
25th Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Anthony Bucco (R, Boonton) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Michael Patrick Carroll (R, Morris Plains) and Tony Bucco (R, Boonton).[19] The Governor of New Jersey is Chris Christie (R, Mendham).[20] The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is Kim Guadagno (R, Monmouth Beach).[21]
Morris County is governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, who are elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with two or three seats coming up for election each year.[22] As of 2011, Morris County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director William J. Chegwidden (Wharton),[23] Deputy Freeholder Director Douglas R. Cabana (Boonton Township),[24] Gene F. Feyl (Denville),[25] Ann F. Grassi (Parsippany-Troy Hills),[26] Thomas J. Mastrangelo (Montville),[27] John J. Murphy (Morris Township)[28] and Margaret Nordstrom (Washington Township).[29][30]
On the national and state levels, Rockaway Township leans toward the Republican Party. In the 2008 Presidential Election, Republican John McCain received 52.5% of the vote, ahead of Democrat Barack Obama, who received around 46.3%.[31] In the 2009 Gubernatorial Election, Republican Chris Christie received 55.9% of the vote, outpolling Democrat Jon Corzine, who received around 33.8%.[32]
The Rockaway Township Public Schools serves students in Kindergarten through eighth grade. Schools in the district (with 2009-10 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[33]) are five elementary schools serving students in Kindergarten through 5th grade — Birchwood (346 students), Catherine A. Dwyer (302), Dennis B. O'Brien (339), Katherine D. Malone (293) and Stony Brook (404) — along with Copeland Middle School for grades 6 through 8 (921).
Public school students in grades 9 - 12 attend Morris Hills High School, located in Rockaway Borough, and Morris Knolls High School, located in Denville.[34][35] The 2009-10 enrollment at Morris Hills and Morris Knolls were 1,117 and 1,689 students, respectively.[36][37] Both schools are part of the Morris Hills Regional High School District.[38]
Route 15, Route 23 (in Newfoundland), U.S. Route 46, and Interstate 80 all pass through the township.
New Jersey Transit bus service is provided on the 880 local route.[39] Local service is provided on the MCM5, MCM7 and MCM10 routes.[40]
Lakeland Bus Lines offers bus service from the Rockaway Townsquare Mall to the New York City Port Authority Bus Terminal.
New Jersey Transit train service does not stop in the Township, but is accessible at the Denville station on both the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line.
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.[42] The five stations are as follows:
Notable current and former residents of Rockaway Township include: