Rahway, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rahway, New Jersey
City
The historic Merchants and Drovers Tavern
Flag Seal
Location of Rahway in Union County, New Jersey (left). Inset map: Location of Union County in New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Rahway, New Jersey <mapframe text="Interactive map of Rahway, New Jersey" zoom="8" width="250" height="250"> { "type": "ExternalData", "service": "geoshape", "ids": "Q1003082" } </mapframe>
Rahway, New Jersey Location in Union County, New Jersey Show map of Union County, New Jersey Rahway, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Rahway, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Union
Incorporated	April 19, 1858
Government
• Type	Faulkner Act (mayor–council)
• Body	City Council
Area
• Total	4.04 sq mi (10.47 km2)
• Land	3.90 sq mi (10.09 km2)
• Water	0.14 sq mi (0.38 km2)  3.59%
Area rank	295th of 565 in state 12th of 21 in county
Elevation	23 ft (7 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	29,556
• Estimate  (2023)	29,813
• Rank	81st of 565 in state 6th of 21 in county
• Density	7,586.2/sq mi (2,929.0/km2)
• Density rank	58th of 565 in state 7th of 21 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern Standard Time (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07065
Area code(s)	732
FIPS code	3403961530
GNIS feature ID	0885363
Website

Location map of Rahway from 1922. The present-day ride to New York by train is typically 38 minutes.

An engraving from 1857 of Main Street in Rahway from Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion.

The Rahway rail station as it was depicted by an artist in 1857. Flatt's carriage warehouse is at left and Degraw's Hotel is center.

Elm Avenue, looking west, c. early 1900s

Rahway (/ˈrɔːweɪ/) is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Manhattan and 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Staten Island.

Built on the navigable Rahway River, it was an industrial and artisanal craft city for much of its history. The city has increasingly reinvented itself in recent years as a diverse regional hub for the arts and biological sciences, with a new global headquarters for Merck & Co.

As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 29,556, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 2,210 (+8.1%) from the 27,346 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 846 (+3.2%) from the 26,500 counted in the 2000 census.

History

The old Rahway library. Built in 1869, the building is now home to an art gallery, The Gallery Space.

Indigenous presence

Rahway and the surrounding area were once the home of the Lenape Native Americans, and tradition states that the city was named after Rahwack (or Ra-wa-rah), a local tribal chief.

English colonization

Formal European colonization began in 1664 with the purchase by the English from the Lenape of the Elizabethtown Tract, which encompassed lands from the mouth of the Raritan River and included all of present-day Union County as well as parts of Somerset, Middlesex, Morris and Essex counties. The early settlers of Elizabethtown and Woodbridge were the founders of Rahway which began as outlying acreage and plantations. The Seventeenth Century Clark House is one of the oldest buildings in the state.

By the 18th century, Rahway consisted of four distinct communities: Upper Rahway, Bridge Town (or Lower Rahway), Leesville, and Milton.

Revolutionary War and the Battle of Spanktown

Rahway saw action during the American Revolutionary War because of its proximity to Staten Island, Elizabethtown and Perth Amboy. In January 1777, rebels were victorious against the British in the Battle of Spanktown, which resulted in the death of some 100 British troops. The battle was named this after Rahway's original name given to it by the first settlers, Spanktown, which is said to have been chosen "because an early settler publicly took his spouse across his knee and chastised her". Spanktown was mentioned in Revolutionary War military dispatches from January 5, 1777, through March 14, 1782.

The Merchants and Drovers Tavern is located at the corner of St. Georges and Westfield Avenues. The earliest buildings at the site date to 1795 and the property remains one of Rahway's most prominent historical landmarks. George Washington visited Rahway during his travel to New York City prior to his presidential inauguration in 1789. A marker across the street from the tavern reads:

Here, on April 23, 1789, on his way to New York City, Washington was received by troops from Elizabethtown and Newark. He was entertained at the inn kept by Samuel Smith by gentlemen of the town.

Following the Revolution, Rahway became the home of the first national mint to create a coin bearing the inscription E pluribus unum. A United States Post Office established in Rahway was one of only six in the entire state in 1791.

Various historical place markers in town document Rahway Revolutionary War history.

Stagecoach era and corporate growth

The Wheatena breakfast cereal plant in 1923, with the Rahway River at left. The brand promoted a popular radio series starring Raymond Knight: "Wheatenaville, the Rahway factory complex, transformed into Wheatenaville, the 1930s radio serial about a perfect family in a perfect town that ate Wheatena for strength and prosperity."

The title page of a work by Henry Drummond and published by the Mershon Company of Rahway, which began as bookbinder W. L. Mershon & Co. in 1877 and became a book publisher in the 1890s.

Rahway grew due to its location along the major stagecoach and railroad lines between New York City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The navigable Rahway River, which flows through the city, also aided the city's commercial growth.

As immigrants from Britain, Ireland and Germany streamed into what was then Rahway Township in the 1850s, Rahway became incorporated as a city by an act of the State Legislature on April 19, 1858, from portions of Rahway Township in Union and Woodbridge Township in Middlesex County. In 1860, the portion of Rahway that had been part of Middlesex County was transferred to Union. On March 13, 1861, the remainder of Rahway Township became part of Rahway City. Clark Township was formed from portions of the city on March 23, 1864.

The first municipal elections for the mayor and council were conducted on April 19, 1858, and the council held its first meeting on May 3, 1858. The city's police department and its initial group of four constables were created at that first council meeting.

The city became home to dozens of major manufacturers, including the Regina Music Box Company, Wheatena, Mershon Bros. and, most importantly, Merck & Co., which was established in Rahway in 1903, when George W. Merck moved his small chemical company to Rahway from New York City.

Postwar era

The national decline in industry after World War II led to the closure of most of Rahway's major manufacturing facilities (except for Merck) and a general deterioration of the city's central business district.

Revitalization

The Regina Music Box Company at 54 Cherry Street Rahway in 1895. The former factory building has been converted to the Heritage Square condos.

Beginning in the late 1990s, the city launched a plan to revitalize the downtown area and authorized the construction of hundreds of new market-rate housing units, a hotel, art galleries and additional retail space.

Geography

The Rahway welcome sign

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 4.04 square miles (10.47 km²), including 3.90 square miles (10.09 km²) of land and 0.15 square miles (0.38 km²) of water (3.59%).

Rahway is bordered by the municipalities of Clark to the northwest and Linden to the northeast in Union County; and by Woodbridge Township to the south in Middlesex County.

Rahway River and water tower

The Rahway River travels through Rahway, entering from Clark at Rahway River Parkway. The river receives the waters of Robinsons Branch at Elizabeth Avenue between West Grand Avenue and West Main Street, and then receives the waters of the South Branch at East Hazlewood Avenue and Leesville Avenue. The river leaves Rahway at the city limits of Linden and Woodbridge before flowing into the Arthur Kill.

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include Inman Heights and North Rahway.

Demographics

The current Rahway Public Library

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 27,346 people, 10,533 households, and 6,815 families in the city. The population density was 7,016.8 per square mile (2,709.2/km²). There were 11,300 housing units at an average density of 2,899.5 per square mile (1,119.5/km²). The racial makeup was 52.30% (14,301) White, 30.93% (8,457) Black or African American, 0.31% (84) Native American, 4.30% (1,175) Asian, 0.02% (5) Pacific Islander, 8.37% (2,288) from other races, and 3.79% (1,036) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.52% (6,433) of the population.

Of the 10,533 households, 28.1% had children under the age of 18; 42.4% were married couples living together; 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present and 35.3% were non-families. Of all households, 29.5% were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.23.

21.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.8 years. For every 100 females, the population had 91.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 87.1 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $58,551 (with a margin of error of +/− $3,355) and the median family income was $77,268 (+/− $9,506). Males had a median income of $56,572 (+/− $3,375) versus $47,832 (+/− $3,542) for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,855 (+/− $1,981). About 5.4% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Downtown

Main Street in 1920. The red storefront third down from the right is now cigar lounge Sticks Cigars. The building across the street at the corner of Cherry (1510 Main) is now a seafood market.

The Rahway National Bank, built in 1900 and renovated for office, retail, and restaurant space in the 2020s as The National building.

In 2020, downtown Rahway received accolades as a Great Downtown by the American Planning Association:

"Downtown Rahway is a great place. It is a place that emphasizes livability, walkability, shopping, food, art, diversity and a destination. Centered in the heart of the bustling City of Rahway, next to the NJ Transit Station, Rahway's downtown is the building block for this diverse city."

In 2019, the Watt Hotel opened across from the train station, with 100 rooms managed by Hilton on the third and fourth floors of a 17-story building, a lobby cocktail lounge and a rooftop terrace with a seasonal bar offering views of the city, river and outwards to the Watchung Mountains.

Beginning in the early 1990s and continuing through the present day, the City of Rahway has rebounded as its downtown began to see the construction of new restaurants, art galleries, market-rate housing and the old Rahway Theatre reopening as the Union County Performing Arts Center. The theater underwent a $6.2-million renovation and expansion project, completed in 2007. As part of the expansion, the facility was purchased by the County of Union for $1.3 million and leased back for $1 a year.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Rahway

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Rahway, formerly Rahway Hospital, is a 122-bed non-profit, public, research and academic teaching hospital located in Rahway. The medical center is a part of the RWJBarnabas Health System. It is affiliated with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. It also has an emergency department for area residents.

Merck & Co.

In 2021, Merck & Co. announced that it would be returning its global headquarters to its Rahway research campus (currently the largest private employer in Rahway) and former headquarters. In 2024, Merck completed the move of headquarters to Rahway.

Arts and culture

Local news media

The Gallery Space, an art gallery in Rahway. The building was erected in 1869 as the Rahway library and is the second oldest building in New Jersey specifically built as a library.

• TAPInto Rahway is a local news site covering Rahway news exclusively, part of the TAPinto network of news in Central and Northern New Jersey.
• Rahway Rising is a longstanding news site run by the former editor of the now-defunct newspaper The Rahway Progress and covering city council meetings with a focus on redevelopment.
• Rahway Is Happening! is the news release arm of the Rahway Special Improvement District, announcing and promoting the arts, festivals, dining, shopping, new and established local businesses, and other downtown culture.
• Our Town Rahway is a free monthly community newspaper mailed out to residents and published by Renna Media.
• Union News Daily. A news outlet covering Union County news, it has a dedicated Rahway section. It is part of LocalSource and published by Worrall Community Newspapers of Union.
• Remaining multi-community newspapers that cover Rahway include the Courier News, a daily newspaper based in Bridgewater Township, and The Star-Ledger and the Suburban News based in Newark.

Library and other media

The book bindery room at Quinn & Boden Company in Rahway in the early 1920s.

In September 1999, remnants of Hurricane Floyd swept across New Jersey and caused severe damage. The Rahway Public Library was on a flood plain and suffered over US$1 million in flood damage. The building was demolished in October 2001 and a new library was constructed and opened on March 22, 2004, behind the city's municipal building along a less flood-prone area of the Rahway River. The site of the former Rahway Public Library now contains tennis courts and a small playground. The new library opened in 2004.

Historian and Rahway native Eva Bridges opened the city's Black-owned bookstore, Bridges Book Center Afro-American Research Library & Museum, located at 1480 Main Street, in 1970.

Performing and visual arts

Hamilton Stage for the Performing Arts at UCPAC in Rahway

As of the early 2020s, downtown Rahway has become a regional hub in the performing and visual arts.

The landmarked Rahway Theatre building is home to the Union County Performing Arts Center.

Houses of worship

The First Presbyterian Church of Rahway in an engraving from 1857, looking much the same as it does today.

An engraving from 1857 of St. Paul's Church at 80 Elm Street, erected in 1842. The church is the present-day home to the Word of Life congregation.

• The First Presbyterian Church of Rahway was established in 1741 and its current church on Grand and Church Street was built in 1832. It was extensively remodeled in 1876.
• Divine Mercy Parish is a Roman Catholic community of faith in Rahway. Its church on Central Avenue was built in 1888 by Irish architect Jeremiah O'Rourke. It was formerly known as St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, which was merged by the Archdiocese with the former St. Mark's German Catholic Church around 2010 to form Divine Mercy Parish.
• Built in 1865, the Seventh-day Adventist Church stands at the intersection of Main Street and West Emerson (1221 New Brunswick Avenue). It was formerly the Second Presbyterian, but that congregation merged with the First Presbyterian in 2012.
• Established in 1826, the Ebenezer AME Church in Rahway is one of the oldest African Methodist Episcopal church in the country
• Trinity Methodist. Founded in 1849, this Methodist group was called Second Methodist. In 1893, the group changed its name to Trinity United Methodist and built the large brick, Romanesque-styled church on the corner of E. Milton Avenue and Main Street.

Parks and recreation

City parks

The city is home to more than ten parks. The best-known is Rahway River Park, which is maintained by Union County, and is also partially located in Clark. The Robinson's Branch Reservoir abuts the city at the Madison Hill Bridge on the Clark-Rahway border.

The pool at Rahway River Park

The Walter E. Ulrich swimming pool in Rahway River Park was extensively renovated and retiled in 2021. A beach-style splash feature for children, with an "ocean-like" sloping entry without stairs, was added to the pool that year. The pool is available to Union County residents and their guests for a daily fee. Built in 1929, it was documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in 1985.

Education

The Rahway Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 4,056 students and 325.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.5:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Grover Cleveland Elementary School with 513 students in grades PreK-6, Franklin Elementary School with 618 students in grades PreK-6, Madison Elementary School with 341 students in grades PreK-6, Roosevelt Elementary School with 578 students in grades PreK-6, Rahway 7th & 8th Grade Academy with 730 students in grades 7-8 and Rahway High School with 1,124 students in grades 9-12.

Trivia

Marquis de Lafayette

From July 1824 to September 1825, the French Marquis de Lafayette, the last surviving major general of the American Revolutionary War, made a tour of the 24 states in the United States, stopping at the Peace Tavern in Rahway.

Nikola Tesla

In the 1880s, Nikola Tesla opened Tesla Electric Light & Manufacturing in Rahway.

Legends of pirate treasure

According to recently resurfaced 19th century lore, Captain William Kidd buried treasure in the Rahway area, alongside the body of one of his men he had just murdered.

The location of this pirate treasure was said to be on the southern banks of the Rahway River at a spot called Price's or Post's Woods, said to be midway between Rahway and the Arthur Kill.

The murder and burial of treasure was witnessed secretly from a tree, allegedly, by a Lenape chieftain known as Ra-wa-rah who is the namesake of the city of Rahway. Ra-wa-rah allegedly witnessed the murder and burial of treasure while returning from a fishing journey.

East Jersey State Prison

East Jersey State Prison, formerly known as Rahway State Prison, actually is located in Woodbridge Township at the border with Rahway. The prison's mailing address is in Rahway, leading many to believe the facility was located there. The prison's official name was changed to East Jersey State Prison as of November 30, 1988, at the request of the citizens of Rahway. East Jersey State Prison is seen at the beginning of the movie Ocean's Eleven, starring George Clooney. The 1978 documentary Scared Straight was filmed there, as was the 1989 movie Lock Up, starring Sylvester Stallone. The prison was briefly mentioned in John Sayles City of Hope (1991).

The Unknown Woman

The Rahway murder of 1887 was the unsolved murder of an unidentified young woman whose body was found in the city on March 25, 1887, garnering attention from the press and the public.

Transportation

U.S. Route 1/9 northbound in Rahway

Roads and highways

As of 2010, the city had a total of 73.67 miles (118.56 km) of roadways, of which 59.18 miles (95.24 km) were maintained by the municipality, 10.45 miles (16.82 km) by Union County and 4.04 miles (6.50 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Rahway is served by U.S. Route 1/9, Route 27, and Route 35. The city is sandwiched between the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike, which are each located about two miles outside of the city limits. There are several crossings of the Rahway River in the city.

Public transportation

The Rahway Station of NJ Transit

NJ Transit 115 route provides local service and interstate service to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, with service on the 48 line to Elizabeth and Perth Amboy.

Rahway Train Station serves NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line and Northeast Corridor Line. The City of Rahway and NJ Transit helped fund a $16 million renovation for the station in 1999 and a public plaza in front of the station was completed in 2001, changes that have spurred cleanup and revitalization downtown. A new US$11.2 million 524-space parking deck opened across the street from the station in January 2005, helping train commuters and allowing the city to transform old parking lot space into new buildings and residences. A typical train ride to New York City's Pennsylvania Station takes 38 minutes.

Airport

Newark Liberty International Airport is 10.2 miles (16.4 km) northeast of Rahway, approximately a 20-minute drive by car, or approximately 16 minutes by Coast or Northeast Corridor Line.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Rahway has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Notable people

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

Marquis de Lafayette

Nikola Tesla

Juliette Atkinson

Milton Friedman

Carl Sagan

Antonio Garay

Dion Dawkins

See also

In Spanish: Rahway para niños