Hardyston Township, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hardyston Township, New Jersey
Township
Old Monroe School House
Seal
Map of Hardyston Township in Sussex County. Inset: Location of Sussex County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Hardyston Township, New Jersey
Hardyston Township, New Jersey Location in Sussex County, New Jersey Show map of Sussex County, New Jersey Hardyston Township, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Hardyston Township, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Sussex
Royal charter	February 25, 1762
Incorporated	February 21, 1798
Named for	Josiah Hardy
Government
• Type	Special charter
• Body	Township Council
Area
• Total	32.65 sq mi (84.56 km2)
• Land	31.99 sq mi (82.84 km2)
• Water	0.66 sq mi (1.72 km2)  2.03%
Area rank	74th of 565 in state 7th of 24 in county
Elevation	1,070 ft (330 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	8,125
• Estimate  (2023)	8,409
• Rank	289th of 565 in state 6th of 24 in county
• Density	254.0/sq mi (98.1/km2)
• Density rank	489th of 565 in state 14th of 24 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07419 – Hamburg 07460 – Stockholm
Area code(s)	973
FIPS code	3403729850
GNIS feature ID	0882269

Hardyston Township is a township in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 8,125, a decrease of 88 (−1.1%) from the 2010 census count of 8,213, which in turn reflected an increase of 2,042 (+33.1%) from the 6,171 counted in the 2000 census.

History

Hardyston Township was set off from portions of Newton Township by Royal charter on February 25, 1762. It was named after Josiah Hardy, who was royal governor of New Jersey from 1761 to 1763. The original British spelling of Hardiston was Americanized to Hardyston after the American Revolutionary War.

Hardyston was incorporated on February 21, 1798, by an act of the New Jersey Legislature as one of New Jersey's original group of 104 townships. Over the centuries, portions of the township were taken to form Vernon Township (April 8, 1793), Sparta (April 14, 1845), Franklin (March 18, 1913) and Hamburg (March 19, 1920).

Hardyston was serviced first by the New Jersey Midland Railway, which built the station in Stockholm. However, there was a dispute over the name as that area was known as Snufftown because of the snuff factory along the Pequannock River, which provide the water power. Through a series of events between the residents of Stockholm and the railroad, the area eventually changed the name from Snufftown to Stockholm. Later, it was the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway, who provided service into the early 1960s when a mud slide removed a large section of trackage in West Milford Township and coupled with low productivity, the line was not repaired and service was disconnected. Today, the New York Susquehanna and Western Railway runs freight through Hardyston. The main highways are Route 23 and Route 94.

A large eastern portion of the township is owned by the City of Newark, Essex County, for their Pequannock River Watershed, which provides water to the city from an area of 35,000 acres (14,000 ha) that also includes portions of Jefferson Township, Kinnelon, Rockaway Township, Vernon Township and West Milford.

Cemetery

The township contains North Church Cemetery / North Hardyston Cemetery. Notable burials there include:

• Samuel Fowler (1779–1844), who served in the House of Representatives from 1833 to 1837.
• Samuel Fowler (1851–1919), represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district from 1893 to 1895.
• Daniel Haines (1801–1877) 14th Governor of New Jersey, from 1843 to 1845, and from 1848 to 1851.
• John Linn (1763–1821) was a U.S. Representative from New Jersey from 1817 to 1821.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 32.65 square miles (84.56 km²), including 31.99 square miles (82.84 km²) of land and 0.66 square miles (1.72 km²) of water (2.03%).

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Beaver Lake, Beaver Run, Big Springs, Bradys Pond, Hamburg, Hardistonville, Holland, Lake Stockholm, Monroe, North Church, Rudeville, Rudstown, Silver Lake, Stockholm, Summit Lake and Tamarack Lake.

Postal ZIP Codes covering Hardyston Township include 07460 Stockholm, 07416 Franklin Borough, 07419 Hamburg Borough, and a small part of 07848 Lafayette Township.

The township borders the municipalities of Franklin, Hamburg, Lafayette Township, Ogdensburg, Sparta, Vernon Township and Wantage Township in Sussex County; Jefferson Township in Morris County; and West Milford in Passaic County.

In terms of physical geography, nearly all of Hardyston (excluding the portion of the township west of Hamburg along Route 94) lies within the New York – New Jersey Highlands, part of the greater Crystalline Appalachians that extend as far south as the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hardyston is home to portions of Hamburg Mountain (east of Franklin) and Pochuck Mountain (near Scenic Lakes) within this region. The remaining northwestern portion of the township lies within the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians. The prominent feature in the ridge-and-valley portion of the Township is the Wallkill Valley, through which the Wallkill River flows northeast to New York state.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 8,213 people, 3,255 households, and 2,376 families in the township. The population density was 256.9 per square mile (99.2/km²). There were 3,783 housing units at an average density of 118.3 per square mile (45.7/km²). The racial makeup was 91.65% (7,527) White, 2.61% (214) Black or African American, 0.17% (14) Native American, 3.01% (247) Asian, 0.01% (1) Pacific Islander, 1.21% (99) from other races, and 1.35% (111) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.56% (457) of the population.

Of the 3,255 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18; 59.9% were married couples living together; 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present and 27.0% were non-families. Of all households, 22.1% were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.97.

21.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 32.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.4 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.5 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 93.2 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $81,655 (with a margin of error of +/− $6,575) and the median family income was $93,657 (+/− $14,035). Males had a median income of $70,592 (+/− $9,771) versus $42,899 (+/− $4,944) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $38,383 (+/− $2,894). About 3.5% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.3% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public school students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade attend the schools of the Hardyston Township School District. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 593 students and 57.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.4:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Hardyston Township School with 318 students in grades Pre-K–5 and Hardyston Middle School with 274 students in grades 6–8.

For ninth through twelfth grades, public school students attend Wallkill Valley Regional High School which also serves students from Franklin Borough, Hamburg Borough and Ogdensburg Borough, and is part of the Wallkill Valley Regional High School District. As of the 2020–21 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 590 students and 52.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.3:1. Seats on the high school district's nine-member board of education are allocated based on the populations of the constituent municipalities, with four seats assigned to Hardyston Township.

Transportation

Route 23 northbound in Hardyston Township

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 63.53 miles (102.24 km) of roadways, of which 44.23 miles (71.18 km) were maintained by the municipality, 8.71 miles (14.02 km) by Sussex County and 10.59 miles (17.04 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Route 23 and Route 94 are the main highways serving Hardyston Township. County Route 515 and County Route 517 also traverse the township.

Wineries

• Cava Winery & Vineyard

Notable people

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

• A. L. A. Himmelwright (1865–1936), a civil engineer, author, adventurer and marksman who was the general manager of The Roebling Construction Company
• Christopher Sieber (born 1969), actor best known for his roles as Kevin Burke in Two of a Kind starring Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen, and Lord Farquaad in Shrek the Musical