Mantua Township was formed as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 23, 1853 from portions of Greenwich Township. Portions of the township were taken to form East Greenwich Township (February 10, 1881) and Pitman (May 24, 1905).[21] The township is named after Mantua, in Italy[22] or for a Mantua sub-tribe of the Lenape Native Americans.[23][24]

The Norfolk Southern Railway’s Lehigh Line (formerly the mainline of the Lehigh Valley Railroad with a mix of mainline trackage combined long leased to the Central Railroad of New Jersey by its builder Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company), runs through Phillipsburg on its way cross river to Easton, Pennsylvania. The Belvidere Delaware Railroad was leased in 1871 and later acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad, connecting the lower Poconos to Trenton, New Jersey and Philadelphia.

Under the terms of an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 23, 1865, Haddon Township was incorporated from portions of Newton Township. The following communities were subsequently created from the Haddon Township: Haddonfield (April 6, 1875), Collingswood (May 22, 1888), Woodlynne (March 19, 1901), Haddon Heights (March 2, 1904), Audubon (March 13, 1905) and Oaklyn (also March 13, 1905).[20] The township was named for early settler Elizabeth Haddon.[21]

The first European settlers in Tenafly were Dutch immigrants, who began to populate the area during the late 17th century. The name “Tenafly” is derived from the early-modern Dutch phrase “Tiene Vly” or “Ten Swamps” which was given by Dutch settlers in 1688.[22][23] Other derivations cite a Dutch-language connection to its location on a meadow.[24][25]

What is now Robbinsville Township was originally incorporated as Washington Township (named for George Washington[24]) by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1859, from portions of East Windsor Township.[25] On November 6, 2007, voters approved by a vote of 1,816 to 693[26] a measure that changed the township’s name from Washington Township (the name of five other municipalities in New Jersey) to Robbinsville, named after a settlement within the township. The official changeover took place January 1, 2008, as signs and other items with “Washington” on them began to be changed.[27]

The territory that would become Clark was originally a part of several early settlements. The Robinson Plantation House[18][19] and The Squire Hartshorne House, buildings from the late 17th century,[20] are remnants of the era. The Homestead Farm at Oak Ridge was the site of a skirmish preceding the Battle of Short Hills.[21] In 1858, after the City of Rahway was incorporated, the area of present-day Clark was designated as the 5th Ward of Rahway. Clark was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 23, 1864, from portions of Rahway.[22] The township was named for Abraham Clark, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.[23] Portions of the township were taken to form Cranford Township (March 14, 1871) and Winfield Township (August 6, 1941).[22]

The name “Pequannock”, as used in the name of the township and of the Pequannock River, is thought to have been derived from the Lenni Lenape Native American word Paquettahhnuake, meaning “cleared land ready or being readied for cultivation”.[21][22][23][24][25] The name “Pompton” has been cited by some sources to mean “a place where they catch soft fish”.[26][27]

In July 2009, CNNMoney.com ranked Warren sixth in the nation on its list of “Best Places to Live” in the United States, citing in particular its schools, June carnival (the Lions Club’s annual “Expo”), “wide open spaces” (generally 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) per house), 74 “working farms” (“taxed-as-farmland” tracts, but rural, nevertheless), and proximity to New York City.[20]

What is now South River was originally formed as the town of Washington within East Brunswick Township on February 23, 1870. South River was incorporated as an independent borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 28, 1898, replacing Washington town.[21][22] It was named after the South River, which marks the borough’s eastern and northeastern boundary.[23][24]

Created by Royal charter of King George II, “Reading” Township was formed on July 15, 1730, from portions of Amwell Township. It was the first new township created after Hunterdon was established as an independent county.[22] The township was incorporated as Readingtown Township, one of New Jersey’s initial group of 104 townships, on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were annexed by Tewksbury Township in 1832 and 1861.[23] The township was named for John Reading, the first native-born governor of the British Province of New Jersey.[24][25]