Fairfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fairfield Township, New Jersey
Township
Township of Fairfield
Location in Essex County and the state of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Fairfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey
Fairfield Township, New Jersey Location in Essex County, New Jersey Show map of Essex County, New Jersey Fairfield Township, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Fairfield Township, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
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 Small Municipality
• Body	Township Council
Area
• Total	10.35 sq mi (26.80 km2)
• Land	10.13 sq mi (26.23 km2)
• Water	0.22 sq mi (0.57 km2)  2.14%
Area rank	207th of 565 in state 4th of 22 in county
Elevation	174 ft (53 m)
Population  (2010 Census)
• Total	7,466
• Estimate  (2019)	7,474
• Rank	307th of 566 in state 19th of 22 in county
• Density	725.1/sq mi (280.0/km2)
• Density rank	411th of 566 in state 22nd of 22 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07004
Area code(s)	973
FIPS code	3401322385
GNIS feature ID	1729722

Fairfield is a township in far northwestern Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 7,466, reflecting an increase of 403 (+5.7%) from the 7,063 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 552 (-7.2%) from the 7,615 counted in the 1990 Census. 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. In 1978, the borough passed a referendum reincorporating itself as a township, becoming the second of more than a dozen Essex County municipalities to reclassify themselves as townships in order take advantage of federal revenue sharing policies that allocated townships a greater share of government aid to municipalities on a per capita basis.

History

The Dutch initially settled the area near the bottomlands of the Passaic River in 1669 after purchasing it from the Native Americans naming it Gansegat which is Dutch for duck's pond.

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.

The Van Ness House, constructed in 1720, is a historic home added in 1977 to the National Register of Historic Places. The Fairfield Dutch Reformed Church dates back to 1720, and its current structure is another historic site, built in 1804.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 10.460 square miles (27.093 km²), including 10.296 square miles (26.667 km²) of land and 0.164 square miles (0.426 km²) of water (1.57%). Fairfield has the lowest population density of any municipality in Essex County. Fairfield Township is located in the northwest corner of Essex County. The township is bisected by Interstate 80 and Route 46.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Clinton and Clinton Park.

Great Piece Meadows is a swamp covering 1,170 acres (470 ha).

Demographics

Census 2010

As of the census of 2010, there were 7,466 people, 2,645 households, and 2,103 families residing in the township. The population density was 725.1 per square mile (280.0/km²). There were 2,723 housing units at an average density of 264.5 per square mile (102.1/km²)^*. The racial makeup of the township was 94.84% (7,081) White, 0.68% (51) Black or African American, 0.28% (21) Native American, 2.53% (189) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.74% (55) from other races, and 0.92% (69) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.14% (384) of the population.

There were 2,645 households out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.0% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.5% were non-families. 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% 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 3.22.

In the township, the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 21.4% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.5 years. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 91.8 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $97,361 (with a margin of error of +/- $11,797) and the median family income was $117,004 (+/- $7,881). Males had a median income of $69,081 (+/- $15,627) versus $51,198 (+/- $6,668) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $41,615 (+/- $5,217). About 0.5% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000

As of the 2000 United States Census 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.

Transportation

Roads and highways

View west along I-80 in Fairfield

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 62.10 miles (99.94 km) of roadways, of which 40.18 miles (64.66 km) were maintained by the municipality, 13.14 miles (21.15 km) by Essex County and 8.78 miles (14.13 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

U.S. Route 46, Route 159 and Interstate 80 all pass through the Township.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides bus service to Newark on the 29 and 71 routes.

Lakeland Bus Lines offeres service to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on its Route 46 route.

Essex County Airport, managed by the Essex County Improvement Authority, is located in Fairfield.

Economy

Corporate residents of Fairfield Township include:

• Pharmaceutical firm Bradley Pharmaceuticals was headquartered here until the company was acquired by Nycomed in 2008.
• Cricket Hill, microbrewer of American Ale, Hopnotic IPA, and East Coast Lager.
• Telebrands, the direct marketing firm best known for its "As Seen on TV" products.

Education

The Fairfield School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 669 students and 63.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.5:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Adlai E. Stevenson Elementary School with 402 students in pre-Kindergarten through third grade and Winston S. Churchill School with 268 students in fourth through sixth grade.

Students in public school for seventh through twelfth grades attend the West Essex Regional School District, a regional school district in western Essex County serving students from Essex Fells, Fairfield, North Caldwell and Roseland. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are West Essex Middle School with 564 students in grades 7-8 and West Essex High School with 1,123 students in grades 9-12. Seats on the nine-member board of education of the high school district are allocated based on population, with three seats assigned to Fairfield.

StenoTech Career Institute is a technical school in Fairfield, established in 1988, that offers court reporting and medical transcription training.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Fairfield include:

• Robert Egan (born 1958, class of 1976), restaurateur and an interlocutor between the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the United States.
• David Greczek (born 1994), professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper, most recently for Swope Park Rangers in the United Soccer League.
• Gurbir Grewal (born 1973), Attorney General of New Jersey.
• John LoCascio (born 1991), defenseman for the Rochester Rattlers in Major League Lacrosse.
• James F. Post (1818–1899), architect, builder, and contractor who designed and oversaw the construction of over 60 buildings, beast known for his buildings in Wilmington, North Carolina.
• Jake Siciliano (born 1998), actor.
• Michelle Vizzuso (born 1977), field hockey player recognized by The Star-Ledger as the sport's top athlete of the 20th century.

See also

In Spanish: Fairfield (condado de Essex, Nueva Jersey) para niños