Rockaway Township, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rockaway Township, New Jersey
Township
Ford-Faesch House
Seal
Rockaway Township, New Jersey Location in Morris County, New Jersey Show map of Morris County, New Jersey Rockaway Township, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Rockaway Township, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Morris
Incorporated	April 8, 1844
Government
• Type	Faulkner Act (mayor–council)
• Body	Township Council
Area
• Total	45.89 sq mi (118.85 km2)
• Land	41.73 sq mi (108.09 km2)
• Water	4.16 sq mi (10.77 km2)  9.06%
Area rank	39th of 565 in state 1st of 39 in county
Elevation	673 ft (205 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	25,341
• Estimate  (2023)	26,368
• Rank	103rd of 565 in state 4th of 39 in county
• Density	607.2/sq mi (234.4/km2)
• Density rank	429th of 565 in state 32nd of 39 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07866(Rockaway) 07435 (Newfoundland) 07842 (Hibernia)
Area code(s)	973
FIPS code	3402764080
GNIS feature ID	0882209
Website

Rockaway Township is a township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 25,341, an increase of 1,185 (+4.9%) from the 2010 census count of 24,156, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,226 (+5.3%) from the 22,930 counted in the 2000 census.

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). Portions of the township were annexed to Boonton Township in 1906 and to Rockaway Borough in 1908.

The township shares its name with the Rockaway River and the neighboring borough. The name is derived from a Native American term, variously said to mean "place of sands", "creek between two hills" or "bushy" / "difficult to cross".

A large part of the township consists of Picatinny Arsenal, a United States Army base that covers nearly 6,500 acres (2,600 ha) of the township (a portion of the facility is located in Jefferson Township), used mainly for the development of new weapons technologies, especially concerning anti-terrorism.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 45.89 square miles (118.85 km²), including 41.73 square miles (108.09 km²) of land and 4.16 square miles (10.77 km²) of water (9.06%).

Rockaway Township and its sister community, 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, Mount Hope Historical Park and Splitrock Reservoir.

Portions of the township are 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 Hardyston Township, Jefferson Township, Kinnelon, Vernon Township and West Milford. Newark's Pequannock Watershed is administered by the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corporation. The river keeper for the Pequannock River is the Pequannock River Coalition.

Two sites on the National Register of Historic Places are in Rockaway Township. Split Rock Furnace is a Civil War era iron ore furnace which is still intact. The Ford-Faesch Manor House, is a 1768 stone mansion that figured prominently during the Revolutionary War and in the 250-year history of Morris County iron industry.

Lake Telemark (with a 2010 Census population of 1,255) and White Meadow Lake (with 8,836 as of 2010 ) are unincorporated communities and census-designated places (CDPs) located within Rockaway Township.

Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Beach Glen, Deer Pond, Denmark, Bowlbyville, Durham Pond, Foxs Pond, Green Pond (a lake and an accompanying residential community, though it uses a Newfoundland address in West Milford), Hibernia (site of the Hibernia mines), Hickory Hill, Hilltown, Lyonsville, Marcella, Meriden, Middle Forge, Middletown, Mount Hope, Picatinny, Spicertown and Split Rock.

Splitrock Reservoir is 625 acres (2.53 km²) of wilderness in Rockaway Township that straddles the township's border with Kinnelon. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection spent $3 million in 2015 to acquire a 1,500-acre (610 ha) buffer area around the reservoir, as part of an agreement under which Jersey City retains rights to use water from the reservoir and is responsible for maintenance of the dam at the site.

Rockaway Township borders the municipalities of Boonton Township, Denville Township, Dover, Jefferson Township, Kinnelon, Randolph Township, Rockaway and Wharton in Morris County; and West Milford in Passaic County.

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 24,156 people, 8,983 households, and 6,701 families in the township. The population density was 583.4 per square mile (225.3/km²). There were 9,587 housing units at an average density of 231.6 per square mile (89.4/km²). The racial makeup was 86.43% (20,878) White, 2.55% (616) Black or African American, 0.12% (28) Native American, 6.67% (1,611) Asian, 0.02% (4) Pacific Islander, 2.24% (541) from other races, and 1.98% (478) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.20% (2,705) of the population.

Of the 8,983 households, 34.4% had children under the age of 18; 62.9% were married couples living together; 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 25.4% were non-families. Of all households, 21.3% were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.14.

23.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 30.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 95.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 91.5 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $95,530 (with a margin of error of +/− $5,122) and the median family income was $111,053 (+/− $5,557). Males had a median income of $75,475 (+/− $5,327) versus $52,586 (+/− $4,837) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $41,757 (+/− $1,898). About 0.8% of families and 1.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.1% of those under age 18 and 2.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Rockaway Townsquare

Rockaway Townsquare is a super-regional mall anchored by Macy's, JCPenney, and Raymour & Flanigan with a gross leasable area of 1,248,000 square feet (115,900 m²), placing it in the top ten among the largest shopping malls in New Jersey.

Picatinny Arsenal, a military research and manufacturing facility, dates back to 1880 when it was established as the Dover Powder Depot, before being renamed just days later as the Picatinny Powder Depot. With 5,000 employees and covering 6,500 acres (2,600 ha), Picatinny Arsenal is the Joint Center of Excellence for Armaments and Munitions for the United States Armed Forces.

Sports

In 2011, the North Jersey Lakers began playing in the Eastern Basketball Alliance, a now-defunct semi-professional men's winter basketball league.

Education

The Rockaway Township Public Schools serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade. As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 2,386 students and 248.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.6:1. Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Birchwood Elementary School with 279 students in grades K-5, Catherine A. Dwyer Elementary School with 322 students in grades K-5, Katherine D. Malone Elementary School with 259 students in grades K-5, Dennis B. O'Brien Elementary School with 275 students in grades PreK-5, Stony Brook Elementary School with 391 students in grades K-5 and Copeland Middle School with 853 students in grades 6-8.

Public school students in ninth through twelfth grades attend either Morris Hills High School (those living in the White Meadow Lake section and other southern portions of the township) or Morris Knolls High School (the remainder of the township). Morris Hills (located in Rockaway Borough) also serves students from Wharton and some from Rockaway Borough (those mostly north of Route 46); Morris Knolls (located in Denville) serves all students from Denville and portions of Rockaway Borough (those mostly south of Route 46). As of the 2022–23 school year, Morris Hills High School had an enrollment of 1,187 students and 117.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.1:1, while Morris Knolls had an enrollment of 1,447 students and 130.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis) and a student–teacher ratio of 11.1:1. The Academy for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering, a magnet high school program that is part of the Morris County Vocational School District is jointly operated on the Morris Hills campus. The two high schools are part of the Morris Hills Regional High School District.

Transportation

Interstate 80 eastbound in Rockaway Township

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 122.69 miles (197.45 km) of roadways, of which 101.06 miles (162.64 km) were maintained by the municipality, 3.53 miles (5.68 km) by Morris County and 2.19 miles (3.52 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Interstate 80 passes through the township, including exits 35 and 37. U.S. Route 46 cuts through the southernmost area of the township, while Route 15 clips the southwestern portion of the township. County Route 513 traverses a total of 14 miles (23 km) north-south across the township.

Public transportation

NJ Transit train service does not stop in the township, but is accessible at the Denville station on both the Morris & Essex Lines and the Montclair-Boonton Line.

NJ Transit bus service is provided on the 880 local route, which replaced service that had been provided up to 2010 on the MCM10 route.

NJ Transit eliminated service on the MCM5 and MCM7 routes as part of budget cuts.

Lakeland Bus Lines offers bus service from the Rockaway Townsquare Mall to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.

Fire department

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. The five stations are:

• Hibernia Company #1
• Mount Hope Company #2
• Marcella Company #3, covering the northern portion of the township
• Birchwood Company #4 covers the area around the Rockaway Townsquare Mall
• White Meadow Lake Company #5, covers the southern portion of the township

Notable people

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

• Lou Benfatti (born 1971), former defensive tackle for the New York Jets (1994–1996)
• William E. Bishop (1932–2003), politician who served as mayor of Rockaway Township and represented the 25th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1982 to 1984
• Neal Casal (1968–2019), musician/photographer, member of Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
• Silas Duncan (1788–1834), recognized for his service in the United States Navy during the War of 1812 for his actions at the Battle of Lake Champlain
• Harry L. Ettlinger (1926–2018), one of the Monuments Men during World War II whose efforts were portrayed on film in The Monuments Men
• Russ Flanagan (1974–2008), journalist
• Frank Herbert (1931–2018), English teacher and politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1978 to 1982
• Thomas J. Hillery (1871–1920), President of the New Jersey Senate
• Lawrence Low (1920–1996), sailor who received a gold medal in the star class with the boat Kathleen at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.
• E. Bertram Mott (1879–1961), Chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee from 1927 to 1934 who served as County Clerk of Morris County for more than 50 years
• Raymond T. Odierno (1954–2021), Lieutenant General, United States Army and Commander US III Corps. A key officer in Operation Iraqi Freedom Former Chief of Staff of the Army.
• Robert A. Roe (1924–2014), politician who represented New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1993

Bordering municipalities

			West Milford Township Kinnelon
	Jefferson Township		Parsippany-Troy Hills Township
		Rockaway Township
	Wharton	Dover Rockaway Denville Township	Boonton

See also

In Spanish: Municipio de Rockaway para niños