Category Archives: NJ Cities Gates services

What is now Mansfield Township was formed on May 30, 1754, as Mansfield-Woodhouse Township from portions of Greenwich Township, while the area was still part of Sussex County, and was incorporated as Mansfield Township on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey’s initial group of 104 townships by an act of the New Jersey Legislature. The township became part of the newly formed Warren County on November 20, 1824. Portions of the township were taken to form Franklin Township (April 8, 1839) and Washington Township (April 9, 1849).[20] The township was named after William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield.[3]

Bloomingdale’s Federal Hill was the site of the 1781 Pompton Mutiny, a winter revolt of Continental Army troops that was crushed by General Robert Howe on direct orders of General George Washington.[20]

Butler was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 13, 1901, from portions of Pequannock Township.[21][22]

Plumsted Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 11, 1845, from portions of Jackson Township, while the area was still part of Monmouth County. Plumsted Township became part of the newly created Ocean County on February 15, 1850.[21] The township was named for Clement Plumstead, an English Quaker who bought a large parcel of land, but never set foot in the area.[22][23]

Northfield was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 21, 1905, from portions of Egg Harbor Township.[21] A portion of Egg Harbor Township was transferred to Northfield in 1931, and then reverted to Egg Harbor Township in 1933.[22]

Kenilworth was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 13, 1907, from portions of Cranford and Union Township, based on the results of a referendum held on June 18, 1907.[20]

Jacob Fisler, who purchased much of the area that is now Clayton, acquired 6,500 acres (2,600 ha) of land after the American Revolutionary War. A settlement called Fislertown developed that had grown to 36 families by 1812.[21] The establishment of a glass factory in the 1850s by one of Fisler’s descendants led to the growth of Fislertown.[22]

Until August 2014, Pitman was a dry town. Though the borough still does not allow liquor stores or bars, patrons can purchase wine by the bottle from local vineyards at select licensed establishments under the terms of a state law that bypasses municipal oversight.[24] In 2016, a pair of local breweries opened in Pitman’s Uptown business district under the terms of a state law that allows the sale of beer by the glass in tasting rooms.[25]

Bogota was formed on November 14, 1894, from portions of Ridgefield Township, based on the results of a referendum held that day.[21] The borough was formed during the “Boroughitis” phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed during 1894 alone.[22] Portions of Bogota were taken in 1895 to form part of the newly created Township of Teaneck. Bogota was named in honor of the Bogert family, which had been the first European settlers to occupy the area,[23] and may also be a blend of Bogert and Banta, another early family, with an “O” added to ease pronunciation.[24][25][26]

Prior to being called West Long Branch, the area had been called Mechanicsville from the 18th century through the Civil War, and then Branchburg in the 1870s. The name West Long Branch appears in the 1889 Wolverton Atlas of Monmouth County, and seems to have derived its name from its proximity to a section of the Shrewsbury River.[21]