Mahwah, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mahwah, New Jersey
Township
Ramapo College arch
Seal
Location of Mahwah in Bergen County highlighted in red (right). Inset map: Location of Bergen County in New Jersey highlighted in red (left).
Mahwah, New Jersey Location in Bergen County, New Jersey Show map of Bergen County, New Jersey Mahwah, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Mahwah, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Bergen
Incorporated	April 9, 1849 (as Hohokus Township)
Reincorporated	November 7, 1944 (as Mahwah)
Government
• Type	Faulkner Act (mayor–council)
• Body	Township Council
Area
• Total	25.88 sq mi (67.04 km2)
• Land	25.39 sq mi (65.76 km2)
• Water	0.49 sq mi (1.27 km2)  1.90%
Area rank	102nd of 565 in state 1st of 70 in county
Elevation	246 ft (75 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	25,487
• Estimate  (2023)	25,344
• Rank	102nd of 565 in state 12th of 70 in county
• Density	1,003.7/sq mi (387.5/km2)
• Density rank	385th of 565 in state 66th of 70 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07430, 07495
Area code(s)	201
FIPS code	3400342750
GNIS feature ID	0882312

Mahwah is the northernmost and largest municipality by geographic area (26.19 square miles (67.8 km²)) in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 25,487, a decrease of 403 (−1.6%) from the 2010 census count of 25,890, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,828 (+7.6%) from the 24,062 counted in the 2000 census. The name "Mahwah" is derived from the Lenape language word "mawewi" which means "Meeting Place" or "Place Where Paths Meet".

The area that is now Mahwah was originally formed as Hohokus Township on April 9, 1849, from portions of the former Franklin Township (now Wyckoff). While known as Hohokus Township, territory was taken to form Orvil Township (on January 1, 1886; remainder of township is now Waldwick), Allendale (November 10, 1894), Upper Saddle River (November 22, 1894), and Ramsey (March 10, 1908). On November 7, 1944, the area was incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature as the Township of Mahwah, based on the results of a referendum held that day, replacing Hohokus Township. New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Mahwah as its ninth best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.

History

The Lenape and ancestral Indigenous peoples were the original inhabitants of Mahwah (the meeting place) and surrounding area.

In 1849, Hohokus Township was established from the northern part of Franklin Township in Bergen County. It extended from the Saddle River on the east to the western boundary of Bergen County with Passaic County and north to the New York border. Hohokus Township was first subdivided in 1886 with the creation of Orvil Township on both sides of the Saddle River, consisting of the eastern portion of Hohokus Township and the western portion of Washington Township. 1894's outbreak of "Boroughitis" brought the creation of the boroughs of Allendale and Upper Saddle River, both of which were created from portions of Hohokus and Orvil Townships. Next to leave was Ramsey, which was created in 1908.

Hohokus Township ceased to exist on November 7, 1944, when a referendum was passed creating Mahwah Township from the remaining portions of Hohokus Township.

For twenty-five years, beginning in 1976, Mahwah hosted the A&P Tennis Classic, a tune-up for the U.S. Open tennis tournament held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City's Flushing Meadows–Corona Park.

The 75-room, three-story Crocker-McMillin Mansion, also known as Darlington, was built in 1901 for George Crocker, son of railroad magnate Charles Crocker. The estate, located at Crocker Mansion Drive, is one of New Jersey's historical landmarks.

Ford Motor Company operated the Mahwah Assembly plant from 1955, producing 6 million cars in the 25 years it operated before the last car rolled off the line on June 20, 1980. At the time of its completion, it was the largest motor vehicle assembly plant in the United States. The Ford plant, along with other businesses such as American Brake Shoe and Foundry Company, helped contribute to the economic development of the township and its reputation for low home property taxes. The Mahwah town sports teams remain named Thunderbirds in honor of the Ford plant.

Due to contractors' dumping of hazardous wastes at the Ringwood Mines landfill site before federal regulation, it has been designated as an EPA Superfund site which needs extensive environmental cleanup. In 2006, some 600 Ramapough Indians filed a mass tort claim against Ford for damages. Mahwah, and the closure of the Ford plant, is mentioned in the opening line of the 1982 Bruce Springsteen song "Johnny 99".

In July 2017, while holding the position of Bergen County prosecutor prior to becoming New Jersey Attorney General, Gurbir Grewal ordered the Mahwah police department not to enforce a ban on non-New Jersey residents using parks in Mahwah, stating his concern that a ban could lead to anti-Semitic religious profiling against the growing population of Orthodox Jews in Mahwah and those visiting from neighboring Rockland County, New York. On December 14, 2017, following the advice of legal counsel, the Mahwah council repealed the still-unenforced ban on out-of-state park users, and abandoned an attempt to amend the sign ordinance to bar "other matter" (the lechis) from being affixed to utility poles to form an Orthodox Jewish eruv.

Geography

Scarlet Oak Pond, Ramapo Valley County Reservation

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 25.88 square miles (67.04 km²), including 25.39 square miles (65.76 km²) of land and 0.49 square miles (1.27 km²) of water (1.90%). It is the largest municipality in Bergen County by area, more than 2½ times larger than the next-largest municipality, Paramus, and covering 10.6% of the total area of the entire county.

Franklin Turnpike in Mahwah with the Manhattan skyline 30 miles (48 km) distant.

Mahwah is near the Ramapo Mountains and the Ramapo River. Interstate 287 passes through Mahwah, but the only point of access is at the New Jersey–New York border, where 287 meets Route 17. U.S. Route 202 runs through Mahwah from Oakland to Suffern, across the state line.

Several county parks are located in Mahwah, including Campgaw Mountain Reservation, Darlington County Park and Ramapo Valley County Reservation, all operated by Bergen County. The Ramapo River runs through the western section of Mahwah.

Mahwah is bordered by the municipalities of Allendale, Franklin Lakes, Oakland, Ramsey, Upper Saddle River and Wyckoff in Bergen County; Ringwood in Passaic County; and Airmont, Hillburn, Ramapo and Suffern in Rockland County, New York.

	Ringwood	Hillburn, NY Ramapo, NY	Suffern, NY Airmont, NY
	Ringwood		Ramsey Upper Saddle River
		Mahwah Township
	Franklin Lakes Oakland	Wyckoff Township	Allendale

Unincorporated communities, localities, and place names located partially or completely within the township include the residential areas of Ackermans Mills, Bear Swamp, Bogerts Ranch Estates, Cragmere, Cragmere Park, Darlington, Fardale, Halifax, Havemeyers Reservoir, Masonicus, Mountainside Farm, Pulis Mills, Ramapo Farm and Wanamakers Mills, along with the mixed residential and commercial area of West Mahwah.

Climate

Mahwah has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa).

Economy

Corporate residents of Mahwah include:

Sheraton Crossroads

• Nuance Communications, voice, natural language understanding, reasoning and systems integration
• DialAmerica Marketing corporate headquarters.
• Inserra Supermarkets, a member of the ShopRite retail cooperative, operating approximately 22 stores. It is a family-owned business and is one of the 500 largest private companies in the United States.
• Jaguar Cars and Land Rover vehicles North American Headquarters.
• Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, book publisher.
• Maquet Datascope Corporation – manufacturer of intra-aortic balloon pumps and sterile collagen products.
• Mindray Medical North America headquarters – manufacturer of patient monitoring devices.
• New York – New Jersey Trail Conference headquarters, Darlington Schoolhouse
• New York Stock Exchange Data Center – one of the world's most robust and secure data centers.
• Radware Inc. North American headquarters.
• Radwin North American headquarters.
• Stryker Corporation's orthopedic business.
• UPS world technology headquarters.
• Volvo Cars North America headquarters.
• Mahwah Mall, which is to be built at the site of the Sheraton Crossroads Hotel. Many Mahwah citizens were against the mall being built because the mall would cause high congestion, increased crime rate, and increased pollution, but the planning board approved the plan in January 2014 for a mall that would include 600,000 square feet (56,000 m²) of selling space.

Parks and recreation

Campgaw Mountain Reservation is a Bergen County accredited park, covering 1,351 acres (547 ha) in Mahwah and portions of Oakland, that has campgrounds and ski slopes for skiing.

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 25,890 people, 9,505 households, and 6,245 families in the township. The population density was 1,007.7 per square mile (389.1/km²). There were 9,868 housing units at an average density of 384.1 per square mile (148.3/km²). The racial makeup was 85.67% (22,180) White, 2.62% (678) Black or African American, 0.56% (146) Native American, 7.81% (2,021) Asian, 0.01% (2) Pacific Islander, 1.40% (363) from other races, and 1.93% (500) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.26% (1,622) of the population.

Of the 9,505 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18; 54.1% were married couples living together; 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present and 34.3% were non-families. Of all households, 30.1% were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.05.

19.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 16.2% from 18 to 24, 20.3% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.4 years. For every 100 females, the population had 87.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 82.6 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $92,971 (with a margin of error of +/− $5,209) and the median family income was $107,977 (+/− $7,049). Males had a median income of $85,873 (+/− $6,728) versus $54,111 (+/− $3,935) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $53,375 (+/− $3,851). About 2.2% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Same-sex couples headed 49 households in 2010, an increase from the 27 counted in 2000.

Education

Public schools

The Mahwah Township Public Schools provides public education for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2019–20 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 2,913 students and 262.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.1:1. Schools in the district, with 2019–20 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics, are Lenape Meadows Elementary School with 328 students in grades Pre-K–3, Betsy Ross Elementary School with 241 students in grades K–3, George Washington Elementary School with 189 students in grades K–3, Joyce Kilmer Elementary School with 414 students in grades 4–5, Ramapo Ridge Middle School with 685 students in grades 6–8 and Mahwah High School with 900 students in grades 9–12.

The district's newest building, Lenape Meadows, was opened in 2002 and changed the way the district divided up grade levels. Since the K–3 grades are broken up by location in the township which determines the elementary school to attend, before Lenape Meadows was built, students of that section of town attended Commodore Perry School. Commodore Perry School, Betsy Ross, and George Washington originally only housed the K–2 grades and the entire 3rd grade class attended Joyce Kilmer. The construction of Lenape Meadows added enough room for 3rd grade students as well, allowing Betsy Ross and George Washington room to house their students for 3rd grade, too.

Public school students from the township, and all of Bergen County, are eligible to attend the secondary education programs offered by the Bergen County Technical Schools, which include the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, and the Bergen Tech campus in Teterboro or Paramus. The district offers programs on a shared-time or full-time basis, with admission based on a selective application process and tuition covered by the student's home school district.

Private school

Young World Day School serves students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade using Montessori and traditional educational methods.

Higher education

• Ramapo College is a public liberal arts college founded in 1969 with more than 6,000 students.

Vocational schools

• Lincoln Technical Institute

Transportation

View north along Interstate 287 and Route 17 in Mahwah, just south of the New York state line

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 110.29 miles (177.49 km) of roadways, of which 81.91 miles (131.82 km) were maintained by the municipality, 20.59 miles (33.14 km) by Bergen County and 7.79 miles (12.54 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Interstate 287 and Route 17 merge in Mahwah, and U.S. Route 202 also passes through. The northern terminus of County Route 507 is also in Mahwah. Interstate 87 (the New York State Thruway) is just outside the state in Suffern, New York.

Interstate 287 heads north from Franklin Lakes, continuing for 5.3 miles (8.5 km) to the New York State border. U.S. Route 202 heads north for 5.7 miles (9.2 km), running from Oakland to the New York State border.

Route 17 extends 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from Ramsey until it forms a concurrency where it merges with Interstate 287. County Route 507 runs 2.0 miles (3.2 km) across the northeastern portion of the township, from Ramsey to an intersection with U.S. Route 202 near the state line.

The 1913 Mahwah NJ Transit Station building is visible on the right.

Public transportation

NJ Transit rail service is available from the Mahwah station to Secaucus Junction, Hoboken Terminal, and Newark on the Main Line and Bergen County Line. Passengers may also take advantage of express service on the same line from the Ramsey Route 17 station located on Route 17 South and the Suffern station, just across the New York state line.

Short Line Bus offers service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan and intermediate locations.

State-recognized tribe

The State of Jersey named the Ramapough Mountain Indians, based in Mahwah, as a state-recognized tribe in 1980. They are not federally recognized.

Notable people

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