Westfield is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Union County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

, located southwest of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 31,032, an increase of 716 (+2.4%) from the 2010 census count of 30,316, which in turn reflected an increase of 672 (+2.3%) from the 29,644 counted in the 2000 census. In March 2018,

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

ranked Westfield as the 99th highest-income place in the United States, and the 18th highest-income location in New Jersey. According to a 2014 nationwide survey, Westfield was ranked as the 30th-safest city to live in the United States. The town has been one of the state's highest-income communities. Based on data from the

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

for 2013–2017, Westfield residents had a

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

of $159,923, ranked 8th in the state among municipalities with more than 10,000 residents, more than double the statewide median of $76,475.

History

History says that Westfield took its name from the rich "fields west of Elizabeth Town, and hence for over one hundred years went by the name of West Fields." Town records say that "the settlement of Westfield dates back to the last year (1699) of the seventeenth century. It was the result of the 'Clinker Lot Division.' Almost immediately after the division emigration from the older parts of the town of Elizabeth began to set towards the interior,—especially to the territory lying between the Rahway river, on the east, and the mountains, on the west. It was not, however, until 1720 that the settlers became numerous enough to constitute a distinct community." The old village area, now the downtown district, was settled in 1720 as part of the

Elizabethtown Tract The Elizabethtown Tract was a property that was purchased on October 28, 1664, by John Baily, Daniel Denton and Luke Watson from the Native Americans that is in the area of (and surrounding) present-day Elizabeth, New Jersey. The Native American w ...

Westfield was originally formed as a

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 ...

on January 27, 1794, from portions of Elizabeth Township, while the area was still part of Essex County, and was incorporated on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships by an act of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

. It became part of the newly formed Union County on March 19, 1857. Portions of the township have been taken to form Rahway Township (February 27, 1804), Plainfield Township (April 5, 1847), Cranford Township (March 14, 1871), Fanwood Township (March 6, 1878; now known as Scotch Plains) and Mountainside (September 25, 1895). The Town of Westfield was incorporated on March 4, 1903, replacing Westfield Township.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 242. Accessed May 30, 2024. The name of the town is derived from its location in the western, undeveloped fields of the Elizabethtown tract.

Geography

According to the

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 ...

, the town had a total area of 6.74 square miles (17.46 km²), including 6.72 square miles (17.42 km²) of land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km²) of water (0.28%). Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Germantown and Tamaques Reservation Mill. Six municipalities border the town of Westfield: Mountainside to the north, Springfield Township to the northeast, Garwood and Cranford to the east, Clark to the southeast, and Scotch Plains to the west and southwest. The upper reaches of the Rahway River Parkway run through the township along tributaries of the

Rahway River The Rahway River is a river in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex, Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex, and Union County, New Jersey, Union Counties, New Jersey, United States, The Rahway flows into the Arthur Kill, the tidal channel between ...

. The Robinson's Branch of the

additionally flows through the southern portion of Westfield en route to the

Robinson's Branch Reservoir The Robinson's Branch Reservoir is a decommissioned water reservoir in Clark, New Jersey. It is the largest body of water in Union County, New Jersey, Union County. Other names for the reservoir include the Clark Reservoir and the Middlesex R ...

, also known as the Clark Reservoir. It is located about one hour from Manhattan.

Community

Library

The Westfield Memorial Library was founded in 1873 as the "Every Saturday Book Club" and has evolved over the past century into the Westfield Memorial Library of today. The Library is located in a large, modern, Williamsburg-style building at 550 East Broad Street. The library's collection consists of over 250,000 books, two dozen public computers, a wide array of multimedia options, a large youth services area with a vivid mural depicting Westfield history, and multiple tables and carrels for studying. The library offers classes for adults and children, storytimes for children, and computer instruction.

Downtown

Westfield's downtown features many local and national stores and several landmarks that were shown and used in the NBC network television show '' Ed'' such as the Rialto Theater. There are over 40 restaurants and casual dining establishments throughout the downtown. Downtown is located mostly north of the Westfield train station. The downtown area has a mix of independent stores and boutiques as well as national stores. Over one-third of the retailers and restaurants have existed for 25 years or more. Downtown Westfield, with over 200 retail establishments and 400 commercial enterprises, is a regional destination in New Jersey. The Downtown Westfield Corporation (DWC) manages the Special Improvement District (SID) area's growth and enhancement. The DWC participates in the National Main Street program associated with the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...

. It is funded by a SID assessment on downtown properties and operates as the district's management agency. The DWC sponsors marketing efforts and promotions, special event planning, urban design and building improvement projects. The DWC works closely with the town government and volunteer groups to improve the downtown area. In 2004, Westfield won the Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust. In 2010, Westfield was the winner of the America in Bloom contest for communities with a population of 25,001–50,000 against the other two towns entered in their category. Shopping and dining in Westfield attracts citizens from other communities across the state. Several war memorials (including ones dedicated to the Korean War, World War II, Spanish–American War, and the Vietnam War) are located in a plaza near the downtown. The plaza is also home to the September 11 Memorial Park, which pays special tribute to the residents of Westfield who died in the

September 11 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. Downtown Westfield hosts events and festivals throughout the year. Throughout the summer, jazz groups perform live, outdoors, every Tuesday night. October 2018 saw the first annual AddamsFest, honoring Westfield resident Charles Addams. The festival featured exhibits, lectures, film screenings, and a masquerade ball, among other things. Other festivals include the Spring Fling and FestiFall. In August 2020, Le Tote announced that

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was an American department store chain founded in 1826 by Samuel Lord. It had 86 full-line stores in the Northeastern United States at its peak in the 2000s, and 38 locations at the time of its liquidation in 2021. The Lord & Tay ...

, the town's only department store and the chain's only freestanding location in New Jersey, would close as part of a plan to shut down 38 Lord & Taylor store nationwide. Efforts are being made to redevelop the site.

Parks and recreation

Parks in the town include: *Brightwood Park *Gumbert Park * Lenape Park, is a wildlife reserve and park that is part of Union County's Rahway River Parkway. The park also includes portions of Cranford,

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Coventry and north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of t ...

and Springfield Township. An approximately 4.5-mile off-road paved pedestrian path stretches eastbound from Mountainside Police Headquarters in Mountainside, through Echo Lake Park in Westfield, Lenape Park in Westfield and Cranford, Black Brook Park in Kenilworth, and ending near 505 North Michigan Avenue in Kenilworth. *Mindowaskin Park *Tamaques Park *Gary Kehler Stadium is named in honor of Gary Kehler (1931–2007), the former Westfield High School football coach and long-time town resident.

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 31,032 people and 10,426 households in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 11,095 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 78.23% (24,275)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.62% (812) Black or African American, 0.14% (43) Native American, 8.85% (2,747) Asian, 0.01% (1)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.80% (560) from other races, and 8.36% (2,594) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.24% (2,247) of the population. Of the 10,426 households, 42.5% had children under the age of 18; 71.7% were married couples living together; 17.5% had a female householder with no spouse present and 7.8% had a male householder with no spouse present. Of all households, 18.5% were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.37. 28.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 19.5% from 25 to 44, 32.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.4 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.3 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 97.3 males.

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 30,316 people, 10,566 households, and 8,199 families in the town. The

was . There were 10,950 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 88.17% (26,729)

, 3.25% (984) Black or African American, 0.12% (36) Native American, 5.67% (1,718) Asian, 0.03% (10)

, 0.79% (241) from other races, and 1.97% (598) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.92% (1,492) of the population. Of the 10,566 households, 43.1% had children under the age of 18; 68.0% were married couples living together; 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 22.4% were non-families. Of all households, 19.2% were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.31. 30.0% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.0 years. For every 100 females, the population had 92.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 87.2 males. The Census Bureau's 2006–2010

showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars)

was $127,799 (with a margin of error of +/− $10,580) and the median family income was $150,797 (+/− $11,480). Males had a median income of $111,762 (+/− $7,767) versus $71,217 (+/− $5,624) for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $63,498 (+/− $4,577). About 0.9% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 2.0% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the 2000 United States census there were 29,644 people, 10,622 households, and 8,178 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 10,819 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 89.98%

, 3.88%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.09% Native American, 4.08% Asian, 0.01%

, 0.62% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.82% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Westfield town, New Jersey
,

. Accessed March 1, 2012.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 – Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Westfield town, Union County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed December 5, 2012. There were 10,622 households, out of which 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.0% were non-families. Of all households, 19.3% were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.20. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $98,390, and the median income for a family was $112,145. Males had a median income of $82,420 versus $45,305 for females. The

for the town was $47,187. About 1.7% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the

, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Westfield is governed under a special charter granted by an act of the

. The town is one of 11 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that operate under special charters. The governing body is comprised of a mayor and an eight-member Town Council, with all positions filled in partisan elections. The mayor is elected directly by the voters

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

to a four-year term of office. The Town Council consists of eight members, with two members elected from each of four wards. Town Council members are elected to serve four-year terms on a staggered basis, with one seat in each ward coming up for election every other year.''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'',

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, March 2013, p. 94. The Town Council holds meetings every two weeks where it discusses legislation under consideration, and which are open to the public. , the mayor of Westfield is Democrat Michelle W. "Shelley" Brindle, whose term of office ends on December 31, 2025. Members of the Westfield Town Council are Michael Armento (Ward 2; R, 2027), David M. Contract (Ward 3; D, 2025), Michael J. Dardia (Ward 2; D, 2025), Michal D. Domogala (Ward 3; R, 2027), Linda S. Habgood (Ward 1; D, 2025), David Kiefer (Ward 4; D, 2027), Dawn Mackey (Ward 4; D, 2025), and Todd B. Saunders (Ward 1; R, 2027).Town Council
Town of Westfield. Accessed May 28, 2024.''Union County Elected Officials''

Union County, New Jersey Union County is a County (United States), county in the northern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's List of counties in New Jersey, seventh-most-populous county

Clerk. Accessed May 28, 2024.General Election November 7, 2023 Official Results

, updated November 22, 2023. Accessed January 3, 2024.General Election November 8, 2022 Official Results

, updated November 21, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023.General Election November 2, 2021 Official Results

, updated November 15, 2021. Accessed January 3, 2022. In April 2022, the Town Council selected Emily Root from a list of three alternatives submitted by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the Ward 1 seat expiring in December 2023 that had been held by James Boyes until he resigned from office earlier that month. Root served on an interim basis until the November 2022 general election, when voters then selected her to serve the balance of the original term of office.

Emergency services

= Police

= The Westfield Police Department (WPD) has provided police protection to the town since 1903. The chief of police is Christopher Battiloro, who was appointed to the position in December 2018, after serving for four months on an interim basis. The department operates a Patrol Division, Traffic Safety Bureau, Records Bureau, Detective Bureau and its own Emergency Services Unit. Westfield's Parking Services also falls under the jurisdiction of the WPD, and is responsible for monitoring parking and traffic safety within Westfield's Central Business District and near schools. The WPD also has a Law Enforcement Explorers Post, Post #90. Each division of the WPD operates different vehicles, most with a black-and-white paint scheme.

= Fire

= The Westfield Fire Department was formed in 1875 following a fire that destroyed a city block on East Broad Street. The WFD is a combination department with 36 paid/career firefighters and 15 volunteer firefighters. There are four platoons of eight (a Battalion Chief, two Lieutenants and five Firefighters) working a 24-/72-hour work schedule out of two fire stations. Administrative members include the Chief of Department, the Deputy Chief of Operations, and the Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention. The Fire Safety Inspector position in the Fire Prevention Bureau was eliminated in January 2009 due to budget cuts. The Chief of Department is Anthony Tiller. Westfield Fire Headquarters, located at 405 North Avenue West, is staffed 24 hours a day by a Battalion Chief (Shift Commander), a lieutenant and three firefighters. These personnel make up the engine company, first due on the north side of town, and the ladder company. A reserve engine company and a utility pick-up are also housed at fire headquarters. The office of the Chief of Department and the Deputy Chief of Operations are located here as well. Station 2, located at 1029 Central Avenue, is staffed 24 hours a day by a lieutenant and two firefighters. These personnel make up the engine company, first due on the south side of town. A reserve engine company, a utility pick-up, and a spare SUV are also housed at Station 2. The Fire Prevention Bureau is located at Station 2 and houses the office of the Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention. The WFD in operates a fleet of four E-One Engines (2 x 2,000 GPM & 2 x 1,500 GPM) and 1 Pierce Arrow XT 100' Rearmount Ladder, one support SUV, and three staff 4x4 vehicles. The paint scheme for the older apparatus (Engine 4) is yellow, with the newer apparatus (Ladder 1, Engines 2, 3 & 5) being red bodies with white cabs. The support vehicles, a Ford Pick-Up (Utility 7), a Chevy Pick-Up (Utility 8), and a Jeep Cherokee (Car 9) are red with white striping and the remaining staff vehicles, for Chief Officers, are unmarked Dodge Durangos (Car 1,11,12). The WFD responds annually to approximately 2,000 calls for service. The WFD serves as a backup EMS agency for the town if the Westfield Volunteer Rescue Squad is not readily available. All members are CPR-Defib certified with 27 members currently New Jersey certified EMTs with the remaining members trained to the first responder level. Both stations are staffed with FF/EMTs 24 hours a day. The WFD is also a partner in the Union County Fire Mutual Aid agreement, responding to numerous requests for aid to any of the other 20 municipalities in Union County. The career firefighters (excluding the Chief and Deputy Chiefs) are members of New Jersey Firefighter's Mutual Benevolent Association (NJ FMBA) Local 30.

= Rescue squad

= The Westfield Volunteer Rescue Squad is staffed around the clock by volunteer certified EMTs. Shifts range from 5 hours in the morning and afternoon to 14 hours overnight. The Squad has three ambulances with a crew every shift. Members are paged in the event that another emergency arises and the original crew is answering a medical call. Dispatchers are also volunteers, answering phones directly from the police line.

Federal, state and county representation

Westfield is located in the 7th Congressional DistrictPlan Components Report

New Jersey Redistricting Commission The New Jersey Redistricting Commission is a constitutional body of the government of New Jersey tasked with redrawing the state's Congressional election districts after each decade's census. Like Arizona, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, and Washington ...

, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020. and is part of New Jersey's 21st state legislative district.Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District

New Jersey Department of State The secretary of state of New Jersey oversees the Department of State, which is one of the original state offices. The Secretary is responsible for overseeing New Jersey State Council on the Arts, artistic, cultural, and New Jersey Historical Com ...

. Accessed February 1, 2020.''2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
New Jersey

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

. Accessed October 30, 2019.

Politics

Westfield New Jersey Mindowaskin park with buildings and trees and frozen lake

As of March 2011, there were a total of 20,684 registered voters in Westfield, of which 6,485 (31.4% vs. 41.8% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 5,244 (25.4% vs. 15.3%) were registered as Republicans and 8,942 (43.2% vs. 42.9%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 13 voters registered as either

Libertarians Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

or Greens.Voter Registration Summary – Union

Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed May 24, 2013. Among the town's 2010 Census population, 68.2% (vs. 53.3% in Union County) were registered to vote, including 97.5% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 70.6% countywide). In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

received 8,080 votes (50.9% vs. 66.0% countywide), ahead of Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

with 7,555 votes (47.6% vs. 32.3%) and other candidates with 147 votes (0.9% vs. 0.8%), among the 15,866 ballots cast by the town's 21,797 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.8% (vs. 68.8% in Union County). In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 9,345 votes (54.5% vs. 63.1% countywide), ahead of Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

with 7,541 votes (44.0% vs. 35.2%) and other candidates with 154 votes (0.9% vs. 0.9%), among the 17,141 ballots cast by the town's 21,251 registered voters, for a turnout of 80.7% (vs. 74.7% in Union County). In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

received 8,442 votes (50.6% vs. 58.3% countywide), ahead of Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

with 8,037 votes (48.2% vs. 40.3%) and other candidates with 110 votes (0.7% vs. 0.7%), among the 16,683 ballots cast by the town's 20,441 registered voters, for a turnout of 81.6% (vs. 72.3% in the whole county). In the 2017 gubernatorial election, Democrat

Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American politician, diplomat, and financier serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was elected governor i ...

received 6,491 votes (55.8% vs. 65.2% countywide), ahead of Republican

Kim Guadagno Kimberly Ann Guadagno (; ''née'' McFadden; born April 13, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the first lieutenant governor and 33rd secretary of state of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Guadagno was the Republican nominee ...

with 4,978 votes (42.8% vs. 32.6%), and other candidates with 171 votes (1.5% vs. 2.1%), among the 12,007 ballots cast by the town's 22,504 registered voters, for a turnout of 53.4%. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...

received 64.1% of the vote (6,303 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 34.5% (3,394 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (131 votes), among the 10,053 ballots cast by the town's 21,513 registered voters (225 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 46.7%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 6,070 votes (51.0% vs. 41.7% countywide), ahead of Democrat

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006, and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran f ...

with 4,776 votes (40.2% vs. 50.6%), Independent Chris Daggett with 900 votes (7.6% vs. 5.9%) and other candidates with 58 votes (0.5% vs. 0.8%), among the 11,893 ballots cast by the town's 20,982 registered voters, yielding a 56.7% turnout (vs. 46.5% in the county).

Education

Public school students in

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

s attend the Westfield Public Schools. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of 10 schools, had an enrollment of 6,304 students and 500.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio The student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio refers to the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers or staff in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that ...

of 12.6:1.District information for Westfield Public School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

. Accessed April 1, 2020. The district has a central kindergarten, six neighborhood elementary schools (grades 1–5), two middle schools (grades 6–8) divided by a "North Side / South Side" boundary, and one high school (grades 9–12). The schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the

) are Lincoln Early Childhood Center (with 310 students; in grades Pre-K–K), Franklin Elementary School (580; 1–5 – North), Jefferson Elementary School (442; 1–5 – South), McKinley Elementary School (341; 1–5 – South), Tamaques Elementary School (401; 1–5 – South), Washington Elementary School (309; 1–5 – North), Wilson Elementary School (355; 1–5 – North), Roosevelt Intermediate School (777; 6–8 – North), Thomas Alva Edison Intermediate School (844; 6–8 – South) and Westfield High School (1,865; 9–12). For high school, public school students from Westfield and all of Union County are eligible to apply to attend the Union County Vocational Technical Schools, which include Union County Magnet High School, Union County Academy for Information Technology, Union County Academy for Allied Health Sciences, Union County Vocational Technical High School and Union County Academy for Performing Arts. Holy Trinity School is a Middle States-accredited Catholic school run by the three parishes of Holy Trinity and St. Helen's in Westfield along with Our Lady of Lourdes in Mountainside, which offers education from pre-kindergarten to 8th grade and operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the town had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Union County and by the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transport ...

. The main road serving Westfield is Route 28, which runs for about two miles alongside the commuter railroad that marks the boundary between the town's North and South Sides. Westfield can also be accessed by Exits 135 and 137 of the nearby

Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a Controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May, New Jersey, Cape May north to the New York ...

, or by the Lawrence, Mountain, or Springfield Avenue exits of U.S. Route 22.

Public transportation

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...

(NJT) provides passenger rail service from the Westfield train station. Commuter rail service is offered on the

Raritan Valley Line The Raritan Valley Line is a commuter rail service operated by New Jersey Transit (NJT) which serves passengers in municipalities in Union, Somerset, Middlesex, Essex, and Hunterdon counties in the Raritan Valley region, primarily in centra ...

to Newark Penn Station with connecting service to

New York Penn Station Pennsylvania Station (also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station) is the main intercity railroad station in New York City and the busiest transportation facility in the Western Hemisphere, serving more than 600,000 passengers ...

. Westfield riders are able to make a one-seat ride (no transfer necessary) into NY Penn Station during weekday off-peak hours, which was made possible by upgrades of the NJT train equipment to operate into New York City. Westfield's position and schedule on the Raritan Valley Line make it desirable for commuters, as several times in the morning and evening rush hours a non-stop service operates to/from Newark Penn Station. On these non-stop services, the one-way journey time to/from NY Penn Station is 50 minutes, or 20 minutes to/from Newark Penn Station. The NJ Transit

113 113 may refer to: *113 (number), a natural number *AD 113, a year *113 BC, a year *113 (band), a French hip hop group *113 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *113 (New Jersey bus), Ironbound Garage in Newark and run to ...

bus route provides one-seat service to New York City's

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus station, bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving ab ...

seven days per week from the town center, taking approximately one hour to NYC, with additional service available along Route 22 on the northern edge of the town (NJT bus routes

114 114 may refer to: *114 (number) *AD 114 *114 BC *114 (1st London) Army Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, an English military unit *114 (Antrim Artillery) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers, a Northern Irish military unit *114 (MBTA bus) *114 (New Je ...

and 117), taking approximately 45 minutes. The 59 route provides local bus service between Plainfield and Newark.

Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and E ...

is approximately 20 minutes away, most conveniently reached via Route 22 or NJT trains. Linden Airport, a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

facility, is in nearby

Linden, New Jersey Linden is a City (New Jersey), city in southeastern Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area, located about southwest of Manhattan and bordering Staten Island, a boro ...

Services

Residential telephone service is provided by

Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...

. Westfield

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

is supplied by

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

br>
which also delivers Westfield Community Television (channel 36),

News 12 New Jersey News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. ...

(channel 62), and Scotch Plains Local Access Channel (channel 34) Verizon FiOS is also offered in Westfield, which gives the option of digital cable, high-speed internet and telephone service. Power is supplied through the Public Service Electric and Gas Company. Gas is supplied by Elizabethtown Gas and water by American Water of New Jersey. Recycling is collected curbside by private haulers contracted by the Department of Public Works on a biweekly basis, while trash is collected by private haulers hired by residents.

Media

Westfield is served by the locally published weekly newspaper, ''The Westfield Leader''. ''The Record-Press'' had served the community until it ended publication in 2008. Westfield is also served by multi-community newspapers including the ''

Courier News The ''Courier News'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Somerville, New Jersey, that serves Somerset County and other areas of Central Jersey. The paper has been owned by Gannett since 1927. Notable employees *John Curley, former presi ...

'', a daily newspaper based in Bridgewater Township, and ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'' based in Newark. ''Westfield Patch'' is an online news source dedicated strictly to local Westfield news that is updated around the clock by a small staff of paid editors and volunteer contributors. Likewise, ''TAPInto Westfield'' is an online news source dedicated to local Westfield news. ''Westfield + Cranford Local'' is a monthly magazine covering the two towns that launched in the early 2020s.

Westfield Community Television (WCT)

The local community access channel 36 operates out of the Municipal Building on Broad Street in Westfield on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and half of every Sunday. WCT provides limited community-related programming, coverage of town council meetings, and operates the WCT Bulletin Board. WCT shares time on channel 36 with Blue Devil Television, which originates from Westfield High School and produces nearly 200 original productions each academic year.

Culture

The

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOArch; ), headquartered in New York City, is an eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Its current Primate (bishop), primate is Archbishop Elpidophoros of America. The Greek Orthodox ...

Metropolis of New Jersey is headquartered in Westfield.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Westfield include: * Marc Acito (born 1966), playwright, novelist and humorist * Charles Addams (1912–1988), cartoonist for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' magazine, most famous for his cartoons of ''

The Addams Family The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...

'' * Kim Alsop (born ), former head coach of the Samford Bulldogs football team * Steve Angeli,

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

* Charles E. Apgar (1865–1950), business executive and

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...

operator best known for making early recordings of German radio transmissions at the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

* Virginia Apgar (1909–1974), creator of the

Apgar score The Apgar score is a quick way for health professionals to evaluate the health of all newborns at 1 and 5 minutes after birth and in response to resuscitation. It was originally developed in 1952 by an anesthesiologist at Columbia University, ...

for assessing health of newborns * Billy Ard (born 1959), former NFL guard for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

and

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

* H. W. Ambruster (1879–1961), football coach, chemical engineer, actor and lecturer * Omar Ashmawy, staff director and chief counsel of the Office of Congressional Ethics * Richard Bagger (born 1960), former mayor, who served as

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

for

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

* Robert L. Barchi (born 1946), twentieth president of

, 2012-2020 * Cheryl Barnes, singer and actress best known for her role in

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech Americans, Czech-American film film director, director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the Uni ...

's 1979 film adaptation of ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

'', where she played the mother of Hud's little son * Florence Hague Becker (1886–1971), 16th President General of the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

* Carolyn Beebe (1873–1950), pianist who was a founder of the New York Chamber Music Society * Bryan Beller (born 1971), bass guitarist known for his work with Mike Keneally,

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai ( ; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a Transcription (music), transc ...

, Dethklok, James LaBrie of

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). Dream Theat ...

and

Dweezil Zappa Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Zappa develo ...

* Jon Bramnick (born 1953), member of the New Jersey General Assembly who has represented the 21st Legislative District since 2003 * Brock Brower (1931–2014), novelist, magazine journalist and TV writer * Dave Brown (born 1970), NFL quarterback who played for the

and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

* Steve Brozak (born 1961), Managing Partner and President of WBB Securities, LLC, a Democratic congressional candidate in the 2004 election cycle and the chairman and CEO of StormBio, Inc. * Robert N. Buck (1914–2007), aviator and author who broke 14 junior airspeed records in the 1930s, started his flying career at the Westfield Airport * Alan Bunce (1900–1965), radio and television actor * Devin Caherly (born 2001, class of 2019), social media personality * Chris Campbell (born 1954), wrestler who won a bronze medalist in

Freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

* Gil Chapman (born 1953), running back and return specialist for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

* Steve Cheek (born 1977), NFL punter, 2001–2005 (

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

) *

Michael Chertoff Michael Chertoff (born November 28, 1953) is an American attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security to serve under President George W. Bush. Chertoff also served for one additional day under President Barack Obama. ...

(born 1953),

United States Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the ...

and former

United States district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district. Each district cov ...

Judge * John Chironna (1928–2010), head coach of the

Rhode Island Rams football The Rhode Island Rams football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Rhode Island located in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) an ...

team in 1961 and 1962 *

(born 1962), Governor of New Jersey, who lived in Westfield for a year while his home in Mendham was under constructionWaters, Sharon
"The Westfield Five: A course of politics, with a side of laughs"
''NJBIZ'', September 26, 2011. Accessed March 3, 2012. "Only one now-prominent politician seems to have looked at Westfield as a short stay — Christie, who rented in town for about a year while his Mendham house was being built." * Bob Clotworthy (1931–2018), diver who competed in the 3 m springboard at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics and won a bronze and a gold medal, respectively * Grover Connell (1918–2018), rice trader and longtime member of the ''

Forbes 400 The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is ...

'' * Pat Cosquer (born 1975), college squash coach * John Cuneo (born 1957),

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

, whose work has appeared in ''

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' and ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' * Nicholas Delpopolo (born 1989),

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

ka who has represented the United States at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

* Robert S. Dietz (1914–1995), marine geologist, geophysicist and oceanographer who conducted pioneering research concerning

seafloor spreading Seafloor spreading, or seafloor spread, is a process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and then gradually moves away from the ridge. History of study Earlier theories by Alfred Wegener ...

* Tamecka Dixon (born 1975), former USA national team and WNBA player who played for the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

and

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Fever compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was founded for ...

* Alexander Wilson Drake (1843–1916), artist, collector and critic * Sara Driver (born 1955), independent filmmaker * Michael DuHaime (born 1974), Republican strategist and public affairs executive * Geoff Edwards (1931–2014), actor and game show host * Edward Einhorn (born 1970), children's author, director and playwright *

Mike Emanuel Mike Emanuel (born December 10, 1967) is the Chief Washington Correspondent and a former White House Correspondents' Association journalist for Fox News. He has worked for the network since July 1997. He hosts ''Fox News Live'' on Sunday at 1 p. ...

(born 1967), Washington correspondent for

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

* Gail Falkenberg (born 1947), professional

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player, who may be the oldest tournament tennis player of all time, having competed in ITF Women's World Tennis Tour tournaments as recently as 2021, at age 74 * Thomas Farley, pediatrician who served as the commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Health *

Kevin Feige Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer. He has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a co ...

(born 1973), film producer and President of

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...

* Michael Fennelly (born 1949), rock guitarist, singer and songwriter who performed with The Millennium and Crabby Appleton * Gerald Foster (1900–1987), painter who competed in the painting event in the art competition at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

William Chapman Foster William Chapman Foster (April 27, 1897 – October 15, 1984) was an American businessman and high-ranking government official. He served as United States Under Secretary of Commerce and United States Deputy Secretary of Defense under President ...

(1897–1984), businessman and high-ranking government official who negotiated multiple arms control treaties * Nona Garson (born 1958), equestrian who competed in team jumping and individual jumping at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

* GH057ayame (gamer tag of Eric Hewitt), retired professional ''

Major League Gaming Major League Gaming Corp. (MLG) was a professional esports organization based in New York City. Founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso, MLG held official video game tournaments throughout the United States and Canada. The ''Boos ...

'' gamer who works for

343 Industries Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) is an American video game developer based in Redmond, Washington, part of Xbox Game Studios. Headed by Pierre Hintze, the studio is responsible for the Halo (franchise), ''Halo'' science fiction franchise, ...

working on future ''

Halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

'' games * Gina Glantz (born ), political strategist, campaign manager, field director and consultant * John Duval Gluck (1878–1951), philanthropist, customs broker and con artist who is best known for popularizing the practice of sending and answering letters to Santa Claus in New York City *

Dan Graham Daniel Graham (March 31, 1942 – February 19, 2022) was an American visual artist, writer, and curator in the writer-artist tradition. In addition to his visual works, he published a large array of critical and speculative writing that spanned ...

(born 1942), artist, writer, and curator * Joseph Greenspan (born 1992),

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player for the

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference (USL), Eastern Conferenc ...

of the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

* Robert Greifeld (born 1957),

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of NASDAQ-OMX * Matt Gutman (born 1977), ABC News correspondent * Harry Hanan (1916–1982), cartoonist of the syndicated

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

''Louie'' * Kenneth Hand (1899–1988), politician and judge who served in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

* Walt Hansgen (1919–1966), race car driver * Chuck Hardwick (born 1941), politician and business leader who served as Speaker of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

and was a candidate for Governor of New Jersey * Langston Hughes (1902–1967), poetMule Bone: Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston's Dream Deferred of an African-American Theatre of the Black Word.
''

African American Review ''African American Review'' is a scholarly aggregation of essays on African-American literature, theatre, film, the visual arts, and culture; interviews; poetry; fiction; and book reviews. It is the official publication of the Modern Language Ass ...

'', March 22, 2001. Accessed March 7, 2008. "In February 1930, Hurston headed north, settling in Westfield, New Jersey. Godmother Mason (Mrs. Rufus Osgood Mason, their white protector) had selected Westfield, safely removed from the distractions of New York City, as a suitable place for both Hurston and Hughes to work." *

Clark Hulings Clark Hulings (November 20, 1922 – February 2, 2011) was an American realist painter. He was born in Florida and raised in New Jersey. Clark also lived in Spain, New York, Louisiana, and throughout Europe before settling in Santa Fe, New ...

(1922–2011), realist artist *

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and documentary filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-20th-century American South and published research on Hoodoo ...

(1891–1960), folklorist * Jared Isaacman (born 1983), entrepreneur, pilot, philanthropist and commercial astronaut * Scott Jacobs (born 1958), painter known for his photorealistic work of

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with i ...

motorcycles, who became the company's first official licensed artist in 1993 * Robert Kaplow (born 1954), teacher and novelist whose coming-of-age novel was made into a film titled '' Me and Orson Welles'' * Thomas Kean Jr. (born 1968), New Jersey State Senator and son of former

Thomas Kean * Mary Jo Keenen, actress who appeared on ''

Nurses Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

'' * Kevin Kelly (born 1952), founder of ''

Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

'' magazine * Robert Kirsch (born 1966),

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. gover ...

* Martin Kunert (born 1970), film director and TV writer/producer of '' Voices of Iraq'', '' MTV's Fear'' and '' Campfire Tales'' * Christian J. Lambertsen (1917–2011), "the father of the Frogmen" * Marilyn Lange (born 1952),

Playboy Playmate A Playmate is a female Model (person), model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biograph ...

for May 1974 and Playmate of the Year for 1975 * Margaret Carver Leighton (1896–1987), children's author * Ira Lewis (1932–2015), actor and playwright, whose works included '' Chinese Coffee'' * John List (1925–2008), murderer convicted in the deaths of his wife, mother and three children. Known as the "Boogeyman of Westfield" * Matt Loughlin, sportscaster who is the radio

play-by-play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

voice of the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

on WFAN * Andrew McCarthy (born 1962), actor who appeared in ''

Weekend at Bernie's ''Weekend at Bernie's'' is a 1989 American black comedy film directed by Ted Kotcheff, written by Robert Klane, and starring Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Catherine Mary Stewart, and Terry Kiser. It tells the story of two young in ...

'' and is currently starring in '' The Family'' * Sy Montgomery (born 1958),

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, author and scriptwriter *

Patrick Morrisey Patrick James Morrisey (born December 21, 1967) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 37th governor of West Virginia since 2025. He served as the 34th attorney general of West Virginia from 2013 to 2025. A member of the Repub ...

(born 1967), elected as Attorney General of West Virginia in 2012 * Rebecca Morse (born 1992),

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defender, currently playing for the Metropolitan Riveters of the

National Women's Hockey League The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) was a women's professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada that operated from March 2015 until June 2023. The league was established in 2015 as the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), com ...

* Laura Overdeck, entrepreneur and philanthropist who is the founder and president of Bedtime Math * Bill Palatucci (born 1958), attorney who is a member of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

and the New Jersey Apportionment Commission, and led the selection of staff for the first presidential transition of Donald Trump * John S. Penn (1926–2013), politician who represented the 16th Legislative District in the

from 1984 to 1994 * Randolph Perkins (1871–1936), mayor of Westfield from 1903 to 1905, and represented

New Jersey's 6th congressional district New Jersey's 6th congressional district is represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Frank Pallone, who has served the district in Congress since 1993. The district includes the northern and eastern portions of Middlesex County, ...

from 1921 to 1936 * Dave Perkowski (born 1947), former competition

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who represented the United States in the 100-meter breaststroke event at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

in Mexico City * Arthur N. Pierson (1867–1957), businessman and politician who served as Speaker of the

and President of the

* Anne Revere (1903-1990), actress who won the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performanc ...

for '' National Velvet'' and a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for her performance in

Lillian Hellman Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, Prose, prose writer, Memoir, memoirist, and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway as well as her communist views and political activism. She was black ...

's play '' Toys in the Attic'' in 1960 *

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

(1898–1976), athlete, actor, singer, political activist, NFL guard from 1920 to 1922 for the

Akron Pros The Akron Pros were a professional American football, football team that played in Akron, Ohio, Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-professional, semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros ...

and

Milwaukee Badgers The Milwaukee Badgers were a professional American football team, based in Milwaukee, that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Milwaukee ...

* Andrew K. Ruotolo (1952–1995), politician who served as the

, prosecutor * John Rzeznik (born 1965), lead singer of the

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band based in Buffalo, New York, composed of lead vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, bassist and vocalist Robby Takac, as well as several rotating members since its formation in 1986. After starting ...

* Bret Schundler (born 1959), former mayor of

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

and former New Jersey gubernatorial candidate * Amos Scudder (1779–1856), architect and builder * Ephraim Scudder (1819–1872), builder''Amos Scudder: A Yankee in Savannah'', Shelley Carroll, Armstrong State College (1994) * John Scudder (1815–1869), builder * Coleen Sexton (born 1979), actress who made her Broadway debut at age 20 in '' Jekyll & Hyde'' in 2000 *

Matthew Sklar Matthew Sklar (born October 7, 1973) is an American composer for musical theatre, television, and film. His works have appeared on Broadway theatre, Broadway, the West End theatre, West End, and theatres worldwide. Sklar has written primarily wi ...

(born 1973),

and

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

-nominated composer of Broadway musicals '' The Prom'', '' Elf the Musical'', and ''

The Wedding Singer ''The Wedding Singer'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Christine Taylor, and tells th ...

'' * Jessica St. Clair (born 1976), actress and improvisational comedian * Dan Soucek (born 1969), North Carolina state senator *

Jeff Torborg Jeffrey Allen Torborg (November 26, 1941 – January 19, 2025) was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers and California Angels from 1964 to 1973. He managed th ...

(born 1941),

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player and manager * P. Roy Vagelos (born 1929), former chairman and CEO of Merck & Co. * Jeffrey A. Warsh (born 1960), former member of the

and Executive Director of

* Dave Weinstein (born 1988), appointed by

in 2016 to serve as the state's Chief Technology Officer * Roger Welch (born 1946), conceptual artist * Harrison A. Williams (1919–2001), U.S. Senator who was forced to resign in the face of expulsion due to his involvement in the Abscam case * Malinda Williams (born 1975), actress * Alfred M. Wolin (born 1932), former

of the

* Glen Everett Woolfenden (1930–2007),

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

, known for his long-term study of the

Florida scrub jay The Florida scrub jay (''Aphelocoma coerulescens'') is one of the species of scrub jay native to North America. It is the only species of bird endemic to the U.S. state of Florida and one of only 15 species endemic to the continental United Stat ...

population at Archbold Biological Station near Lake Placid, Florida * Harold "Butch" Woolfolk (born 1960), NFL running back from 1982 to 1988 who played for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Trivia

As recently as 2017, the Broaddus family living in Westfield received letters from a supposed stalker who referred to himself as "The Watcher," causing a national sensation. The Broaddus family's experience, along with the 1971 John List family murders that also occurred in Westfield, were later adapted into the 2022

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series '' The Watcher''.

References

External links

*
Westfield Area Chamber of Commerce
* * {{Authority control 1798 establishments in New Jersey Populated places established in 1798 Special charters in New Jersey Towns in New Jersey Towns in Union County, New Jersey