township
A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
in
Passaic County
Passaic County ( or ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county,
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, United States, that existed from 1797 until it was dissolved in 1918.
Passaic County, New Jersey
Passaic County ( or ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county,
was established on February 7, 1837, it included Pompton Township.
The borough of
Pompton Lakes, New Jersey
Pompton Lakes is a borough in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,127, an increase of 30 (+0.3%) from the 2010 census count of 11,097, which in turn reflected an ...
was formed on February 26, 1895, during the peak of the "
Boroughitis
Boroughitis (also borough fever or borough mania) was the creation in the 1890s, usually by referendum, of large numbers of small boroughs in the U.S. state of New Jersey, particularly in Bergen County. Attempts by the New Jersey Legislature to ...
" phenomenon, as the second municipality to split from the township. The township was divided on February 23, 1918, into three
boroughs
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
: Bloomingdale, Ringwood and Wanaque, with the remaining portion passing to Pompton Lakes. This ended the existence of the township.
According to news accounts at the time of the split, local leaders from the various communities felt that the population growth within the township was a hindrance to the ability of the Township Committee to govern. Citizens of
Haskell
Haskell () is a general-purpose, statically typed, purely functional programming language with type inference and lazy evaluation. Designed for teaching, research, and industrial applications, Haskell pioneered several programming language ...
(now part of Wanaque) had begun to discuss the formation of their own borough and this prompted citizens in the other sections to follow their lead. A significant portion of the land was sparsely populated and the split off of one community would leave a larger tax burden on those that remained.
A meeting was called for January 12, 1918, to discuss the pros and cons of splitting the township. From that, a committee representing the various sections was formed and eventually three boroughs were agreed on, the boundaries established and finances settled (share of debt, distribution of assets). In addition, the township school district was similarly divided into the separate districts for each borough. The vote to split was approved in all three sections in February.
The final Township Committee meeting took place on May 14, 1918, in Midvale to finalize the disbursement of cash in the township treasury to the three boroughs and pay off remaining debt owed to the county.
Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the combined population of the five municipalities that were formed from Pompton Township—Bloomingdale (7,656), Pompton Lakes (11,097), Ringwood (12,228), Wanaque (11,116) and West Milford (25,850) -- was 67,947, which would have made Pompton the 16th largest municipality in the state (and fourth largest in Passaic County, not far behind
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...