West Milford is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...

in Passaic County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, United States. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, the township's population was 25,850, reflecting a decline of 560 (−2.1%) from the 26,410 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 980 (+3.9%) from the 25,430 counted in the 1990 Census. It is the largest in the county by total area, covering and more than 40% of the county.

History

West Milford started out as New Milford in what was then western

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Dutch from Milford, New Jersey (later renamed by the British as Newark). These same Dutch also built a town of New Milford in eastern Bergen County. When both New Milfords applied for post offices in 1828, a clerk in Washington, D.C. is said to have approved the other application first and assigned the name "West Milford" to the New Milford in western Bergen County in order to distinguish between the two locations. West Milford became a municipality 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 the ...

on March 10, 1834, when it was formed from the westernmost half of Pompton Township, while the area was still part of

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Essex County, with West Milford as the western end of the newly formed county.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 211. Accessed August 29, 2012. The township was named for

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between New Haven and Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the village of Devon and the borough of Woodmont. ...

. There are old place names in the township including Postville, Utterville, Corterville, Browns, Awosting, Echo Lake, Macopin, Charlottenburg (now under the Charlotteburg Reservoir, the community was named after Queen Charlotte), Clinton (or sometimes called Clinton Furnace, now under the Clinton Reservoir, and the furnace still stands), Moe Mountain, Oak Ridge (a nameplace, but town is under the Oak Ridge Reservoir), Newfoundland, Apshawa, New City, and Smith Mills.

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

is divided by the Pequannock River, which divides Passaic and Morris Counties; a small part of Newfoundland lies within Jefferson Township. A large part of the township, including the New City Village area, is reservoir property owned by the City of Newark in Essex County for its water supply. Prior to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the township was a resort area with trains coming from New York City to stations at Charlotteburg, Newfoundland, Oak Ridge in the south and Hewitt (also known as Sterling Forest station) and Awosting in the north. Railroad service in the south was from the New Jersey Midland starting around the 1850s and in the north around the 1870s from the Montclair Railroad, out of Montclair, New Jersey and later the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake ...

(before their merger with the Lackawanna Railroad).

Greenwood Lake Greenwood Lake is an interstate lake approximately long, straddling the border of New York and New Jersey. It is located in the Town of Warwick and the Village of Greenwood Lake, New York (in Orange County) and West Milford, New Jersey (in ...

is an interstate lake approximately long and covering , lying in both West Milford and

Greenwood Lake, New York Greenwood Lake is a village in Orange County, New York, United States, in the southern part of the town of Warwick. As of the United States 2010 Census, the village population was 3,154. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– M ...

, across the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

state line. It was originally called Long Pond. It was dammed up to increase the size of the lake for water power down stream. During the resort era, several steamboats operated on the lake, the most famous and grand was the two deck steamer, ''Montclair''. These steamboats met the trains and took passengers to the various resorts around the lake in both states. There is a seaplane area on Greenwood Lake, a few large marinas and lakeside restaurants with docks. A public airport called

Greenwood Lake Airport Greenwood Lake Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) east of the central business district of West Milford, in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The airport is owned by New Jersey Department of Tran ...

is located just south of the lake on top of a mountain ridge and has two landing strips; one is long enough to handle small jets. There is one private airport in the township on a private estate. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and for the next 20 years the area underwent a major change from a resort area to year-round residences. Before there were year-round houses, the summer residence of Cecil B. DeMille was West Milford. Road maps of the 1950s showing the population on the backside said 2,000 winter and 10,000 summer. In 1972,

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

opened up a wildlife theme park called

Jungle Habitat Warner Bros. Jungle Habitat, which was in West Milford, in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, was a Warner Bros.-owned theme park that opened in the summer of 1972, and closed in October 1976. By November 1972, the park had 500,000 pai ...

. This park consisted of a drive through safari and a small park with various shows. Initially, this brought huge tourist revenue to the township. Shortly after the park opened, a tourist being driven through the safari in a taxi was attacked by a lion on October 19, 1972, bringing negative publicity to the park. The park was plagued by problems, including reports of dangerous animals escaping into West Milford. Jungle Habitat was a mixed blessing due to the amount of summer and weekend traffic into this rural area made up of small two lane roads. Jungle Habitat wanted to expand and become a huge amusement park, but residents concerned with excessive traffic voted this proposal down in 1976, which resulted in an abrupt closing and exit. Some of the animals in the wildlife park were subsequently moved to the then-recently established drive through safari at Great Adventure in Jackson Township. The former site of Jungle Habitat in recent years has become a location for various Township activities such as the annual Fourth of July Fireworks display and is a popular regional mountain biking destination. Jeremiah "Jerry" Goodfellow, a white German shepherd and the senior canine member of the New Jersey Search and Rescue was inducted into the Animal Hall of Fame in 2009.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the township had a total area of 81.06 square miles (209.94 km²), including 75.93 square miles (196.66 km²) of land and 5.13 square miles (13.28 km²) of water (6.32%). Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Apshawa, Awosting, Bearfort Waters, Beaver Pond, Boy Scout Lake, Browns, Buckabear Pond, Camp Hope, Cedar Pond, Charlotteburg, Clinton, Clinton Reservoir, Cooper, Dunker Pond, Echo Lake, Forest Hill Lake, Fox Island, Gordon Lakes, Green Valley Park, Greenwood Lake, Greenwood Lake Glens, Hacks Pond, Henion Pond, Hewitt, Himes Pond, Lake Lockover, Lakeside, Lindy Lake, Littletown, Lower Mt. Glen Lake, Macopin, Matthews Lake, Moe, Mount Laurel Lake,

, Oak Ridge, Pettets Pond. Pine Crest Lake, Pinecliff Lake, Postville, Shady Lake, Smiths Mills, Surprise Lake, Terrace Pond, Upper Greenwood Lake, Upper Macopin, Upper Mt. Glen Lake, Uttertown, Vreeland Pond, West Milford Lakes, West Pond, Wonder Lake and Zeliff Pond. The township borders the municipalities of Bloomingdale and Ringwood in Passaic County;

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantry ...

, Jefferson Township,

Kinnelon Kinnelon () is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, located approximately west of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,966, a drop of 282 (-2.8%) from the 2010 census count of 1 ...

and

Rockaway Township Rockaway Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 25,341, reflecting an increase of 1,185 (+4.9%) from the 24,156 counted in the 2010 Census. Rockaw ...

in Morris County; Hardyston Township and Vernon Township in Sussex County; and

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orang ...

. Highlands Preserve is a county park that is located off Union Valley Road and adjacent to

Abram S. Hewitt State Forest Abram S. Hewitt State Forest is a state forest by Hewitt in northwestern New Jersey that is . It is on the Bearfort Ridge of unusual conglomerate between Greenwood Lake and Upper Greenwood Lake. Its forests are part of the Northeastern coasta ...

Pequannock River Watershed

Portions of the township are owned by the City of Newark, Essex County, for its Pequannock River Watershed, which supplies water to the city from an area of that also includes portions of Hardyston Township, Jefferson Township,

and Vernon Township. A small residential development known as "New City Village" or "New City Colony" was built on the property early in the 20th century to house workers of the Newark water supply system. It included a school and health facility. Proposed alternative uses for the village never materialized and the buildings were demolished after falling into disrepair. The land is still owned by the City of Newark.

Newfoundland and Green Pond

Newfoundland is a neighborhood of West Milford located along the

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (or New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad and also known as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna) is a Class II American freight railway operating over 400 miles (645 km) of track in t ...

(NYS&W) tracks (freight service only) and Route 23. It is also a mailing address for Green Pond (just north of the Picatinny Arsenal in

, Morris County), a private lake community owned by Green Pond Corporation and Lake End Corporation, which lies in Rockaway Township where the Pequannock River divides Passaic County from Morris County. The

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

film '' The Station Agent'' was set, and filmed, largely in Newfoundland. There was an early silent movie produced in the township at the Mine Hole in the Hewitt section of the township. A still photo of that movie is published in the township's 1984

sesquicentennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints ...

book entitled ''The Day the Earth Shook and the Sky Turned Red''.

Demographics

Census 2010

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...

showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars)

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal 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 ...

was $88,692 (with a margin of error of +/− $4,308) and the median family income was $102,410 (+/− $7,418). Males had a median income of $62,925 (+/− $3,467) versus $45,449 (+/− $2,738) for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the borough was $37,905 (+/− $2,289). About 1.7% of families and 3.1% 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 3.5% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over. Same-sex couples headed 63 households in 2010, an increase from the 58 counted in 2000.

Census 2000

As of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 c ...

there were 26,410 people, 9,190 households, and 7,186 families residing in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 350.1 people per square mile (135.2/km²). There were 9,909 housing units at an average density of 131.4 per square mile (50.7/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 95.08%

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

, 1.23%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.60% Native American, 1.02% Asian, 0.61% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 3.38% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for West Milford township, New Jersey
,

. Accessed August 29, 2012.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for West Milford township, Passaic County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed August 29, 2012. There were 9,190 households, out of which 39.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.3% were

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

living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.8% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.23. In the township the population was spread out, with 27.2% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.4 males. The median income for a household in the township was $74,124, and the median income for a family was $80,264. Males had a median income of $51,105 versus $37,159 for females. The

for the township was $28,612. About 2.6% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the

, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

West Milford businesses are represented by the West Milford Chamber of Commerce, an organization of business men and women that has worked to improve and enhance the business community in West Milford since it was established in 1949. The Abby Theater opened in 1976 and was designed by Milton Herson for Music Makers Theaters, with a seating capacity of 1,400. The theater was named for Abby Leigh, wife of Mitch Leigh, then board chairman of Music Makers.Staff
"Impressive Score; Music Makers Composes Showstopper: Five-fold Screen Growth in Six Years."
'' Boxoffice Magazine'', August 23, 1976. Accessed January 28, 2015. The Abby Theater closed down in 2009 after several unsuccessful business attempts, as the township did not have enough residents to keep the business in operation. It was slated to be demolished in order to make room for an expansion of the ShopRite supermarket in 2012. In May 2009, Eden Farms, an floral farm on Union Valley Road, became the first "preserved farm" in Passaic County. County officials used money from the Farmland Preservation Funds to purchase development rights to the farm. Owners George and Diana Cluff initially began working on the agreement in 2007. The deal prevents the farm from being built upon.

Sports

West Milford sports are overseen by the township department of Community Services and Recreation. The township has individual organizations that run each youth sports program, including: Junior wrestling, Youth Lacrosse,

Little League Baseball Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationPolice Athletic League (PAL) Basketball, PAL Soccer, West Milford-Star Athletics Cheerleading, Midget Football Association (WMMFA) Football, WMMFA Cheerleading, Amateur Baseball Association (WMABA) Baseball, and Girls Softball Association softball (WMGSA).

Government

Local government

The Township of West Milford operates under the

Faulkner Act The Optional Municipal Charter Law or Faulkner Act (, et seq.) provides New Jersey municipalities with a variety of models of local government. This legislation is called the Faulkner Act in honor of the late Bayard H. Faulkner, former mayor ...

, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Mayor-Council-Administrator plan adopted as of January 1, 2004. This plan is described as a "Faulknerized" version of the borough form of government, which was added to the Faulkner Act as the fourth optional form of municipal government in 1981 by the

.Government
West Milford Township. Accessed July 1, 2008. The township is one of three (of the 564) municipalities statewide that use this form of government. The voters of West Milford Township adopted the Mayor-Council-Administrator Plan at a special election held on December 10, 2002. Under the mayor-council-administrator plan, the governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the Township Council, with all positions elected

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 than ...

on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. The Township Council is comprised of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year. A municipal administrator is appointed to oversee the day-to-day operation of the township. The Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office.''2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'',

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2006, p. 121. , the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of West Milford Township is Republican Michele A. Dale, whose term of office ends December 31, 2023.Mayor
Township of West Milford. Accessed April 29, 2022. Members of the Township Council are Council President Michael Chazukow (R, 2023), Ada Erik (R, 2024), Patricia M. Gerst (R, 2020), Kevin L. Goodsir (R, 2022), Warren W. Gross (R, 2022), Marilyn Lichtenberg (R, 2024) and David S. Marsden (R, 2023).''Passaic County 2021 Directory''

Passaic County, New Jersey Passaic County ( ) 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 population of Passaic County was enumerated at 524,118, an increase of 22,892 (4.6%) from ...

, updated as of April 2021. Accessed April 29, 2022.2021 General Election November 2, 2021 Official Results
Passaic County, New Jersey, updated November 18, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.November 3, 2020 Summary Report Official Results
Passaic County, New Jersey, updated November 20, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.2019 General Election November 5, 2019 Summary Report Passaic County Official Results

, updated November 18, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020. In December 2019, the Township Committee unanimously passed a non-binding resolution declaring West Milford to be a " second amendment sanctuary" that opposes the enforcement of

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with onl ...

on the local level, becoming the first municipality in the state to do so.

Federal, state and county representation

West Milford is located in the 5th Congressional DistrictPlan Components Report
New Jersey Redistricting Commission, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020. and is part of New Jersey's 26th 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 artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as ...

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

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

. Accessed October 30, 2019. Passaic County is governed by

Board of County Commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...

, comprised of seven members who are elected

to staggered three-year terms office on a partisan basis, with two or three seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle. At a reorganization meeting held in January, the board selects a Director and Deputy Director from among its members to serve for a one-year term. , Passaic County's Commissioners are Director Bruce James ( D,

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People * Clifton (surname) * Clifton (given name) Places Australia *Clifton, Queensland, a town ** Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong * Clifton, Western Australia Canada * Clifton, Nova Sc ...

, term as commissioner ends December 31, 2023; term as director ends 2022), Deputy Director Cassandra "Sandi" Lazzara (D, Little Falls, term as commissioner ends 2024; term as deputy director ends 2022), John W. Bartlett (D, Wayne, 2024), Theodore O. "T.J." Best Jr. (D, Paterson, 2023), Terry Duffy (D, West Milford, 2022), Nicolino Gallo ( R, Totowa, 2024) and Pasquale "Pat" Lepore (D, Woodland Park, 2022).Board of County Commissioners
Passaic County, New Jersey. Accessed June 21, 2022. "Passaic County is governed by a seven-member Board of County Commissioners. Each County Commissioner is elected at large for a three-year term. The board is headed by a director, who is selected for a one-year term at the board's annual reorganization meeting (at the first meeting of the year in January)."''Passaic County 2021 Directory''
Passaic County, New Jersey, updated as of April 2021. Accessed April 29, 2022.2021 General Election November 2, 2021 Official Results
Passaic County, New Jersey, updated November 18, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.November 3, 2020 Summary Report Official Results
Passaic County, New Jersey, updated November 20, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.2019 General Election November 5, 2019 Summary Report Passaic County Official Results
Passaic County, New Jersey, updated November 18, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020. Constitutional officers, elected on a countywide basis are County Clerk Danielle Ireland-Imhof ( D, Hawthorne, 2023), Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik (D, Clifton, 2022) and Surrogate Zoila S. Cassanova (D, Wayne, 2026).

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 17,588 registered voters in West Milford, of which 3,397 (19.3% vs. 31.0% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 5,070 (28.8% vs. 18.7%) were registered as Republicans and 9,111 (51.8% vs. 50.3%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 10 voters registered as Libertarians or Greens.Voter Registration Summary - Passaic

Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed January 16, 2013. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 68.0% (vs. 53.2% in Passaic County) were registered to vote, including 87.7% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 70.8% countywide). In the 2012 presidential election, Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...

received 58.4% of the vote (7,003 cast), ahead of Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

with 40.3% (4,832 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (154 votes), among the 12,074 ballots cast by the township's 18,268 registered voters (85 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 66.1%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

received 7,672 votes (56.5% vs. 37.7% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 5,515 votes (40.6% vs. 58.8%) and other candidates with 161 votes (1.2% vs. 0.8%), among the 13,575 ballots cast by the township's 18,016 registered voters, for a turnout of 75.3% (vs. 70.4% in Passaic County). In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 7,920 votes (60.9% vs. 42.7% countywide), ahead of Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

with 4,783 votes (36.8% vs. 53.9%) and other candidates with 109 votes (0.8% vs. 0.7%), among the 13,000 ballots cast by the township's 16,932 registered voters, for a turnout of 76.8% (vs. 69.3% in the whole county). In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

received 69.3% of the vote (5,380 cast), ahead of Democrat

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

with 29.2% (2,264 votes), and other candidates with 1.6% (122 votes), among the 7,885 ballots cast by the township's 18,420 registered voters (119 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 42.8%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 5,261 votes (60.8% vs. 43.2% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 2,720 votes (31.5% vs. 50.8%), Independent Chris Daggett with 525 votes (6.1% vs. 3.8%) and other candidates with 84 votes (1.0% vs. 0.9%), among the 8,646 ballots cast by the township's 17,322 registered voters, yielding a 49.9% turnout (vs. 42.7% in the county).

Education

The West Milford Township Public Schools serve 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, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

at its six elementary schools (grades K–5), one middle school (grade 6–8) and one high school (grades 9–12). As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of eight schools, had an enrollment of 3,309 students and 291.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 11.4:1.District information for West Milford Township Public School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district financ ...

. Accessed April 1, 2020. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the

) are Apshawa Elementary School (244 students in grades K–5), Maple Road Elementary School (299; Pre-K–6), Marshall Hill Elementary School (271; K–5), Paradise Knoll Elementary School (273; K–5), Upper Greenwood Lake Elementary School (308; Pre-K–5), Westbrook Elementary School (301; K–5), Macopin Middle School (533; 6–8) and West Milford High School (1,040; 9–12). Our Lady Queen of Peace was a Catholic school located in the community of Hewitt until it was closed in June 2010 by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson in the face of declining enrollment. OLQP School celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009, and had its Fourth Grade teacher, Lorraine Ford, named as a finalist for the 2008 New Jersey Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year award. High school students also have the option of attending Passaic County Technical Institute, a public vocational high school that serves selected students throughout Passaic County. The old Newfoundland, two-room schoolhouse was the Village Square Inn Restaurant until it closed in 2010. The old Hillcrest School was formerly the township's community center. The few one-room schoolhouses are all gone; the last one was the Hewitt School, destroyed by fire set by vandals (it had been the former

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

church before a new, larger church was built).

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Passaic 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 transportat ...

. The main highway serving West Milford is New Jersey Route 23. Other significant roads passing through the township include County Route 511 and County Route 513. The stoplight at the intersection of Clinton Avenue and Route 23 has been identified by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as the longest red cycle in the United States. Drivers can wait up to 5 minutes and 33 seconds to turn onto Route 23 from Clinton Avenue.

Railroad

The

New Jersey Midland Railway The New Jersey Midland Railway was a 19th-century predecessor to the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) that operated in Northern New Jersey and Orange County, New York. Formation and construction The New Jersey Midland Railway c ...

ran a trackage right-of-way through West Milford in 1872 developing the Newfoundland station, which and later served passengers on the

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (or New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad and also known as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna) is a Class II American freight railway operating over 400 miles (645 km) of track in t ...

(NYS&W), which still serves freight along the line

Public transportation

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

provides bus service between the township and the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 bus ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...

on the 194 and 196 routes, with seasonal service to Mountain Creek in Vernon Township on the

304 Year 304 ( CCCIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. It was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, year 1057 ''Ab ...

route. The township provides its own bus service, on two routes. One that runs by Upper Greenwood Lake, and operates Monday-Friday, and one that runs between Oak Ridge & Newfoundland, which runs Wednesdays only.

In popular culture

Portions of the 2015 made-for-television comedy ''Simpler Times''—starring Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, and written / directed by Steve Monarque—were filmed in West Milford. In 2019, the film ''Clinton Road'', starring Ice-T, was made based on the infamous stretch of supposedly "haunted" road in the Newfoundland and Hewitt sections of West Milford.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with West Milford include: * Charles L. Banks (1914–1988), Marine Corps general and Navy Cross recipient *

Chuck Burgi Charles Arnold Burgi III (, born August 15, 1952, Montclair, New Jersey) is an American drummer. He has performed with many rock bands and musicians, ranging from local New Jersey/New York-area artists to international groups, throughout his pr ...

(born 1952), drummer and session musician * Jasper Francis Cropsey (1823–1900), Hudson River School landscape painter, referred to as "America's Painter of Autumn" * Lennie Friedman (born 1976), offensive lineman with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...

* Sam Garnes (born 1974), former safety 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

and

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

Jeremy Glick Jeremy Logan Glick (September 3, 1970 – September 11, 2001) was an American passenger on board United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked and crashed as part of the September 11 attacks. Aware of the earlier attacks at the World Trade Cente ...

(1970–2001), passenger/hero of

United Flight 93 United Airlines Flight 93 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda attackers aboard the plane on the morning of September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The plane eventually crashed in So ...

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

* Larry Hand (born 1940),

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

and

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

who played for the

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) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

from 1965 to 1977 * Billy Howerdel (born 1970), founding member, guitarist, songwriter, and producer for the bands

A Perfect Circle A Perfect Circle is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s ...

and Ashes Divide *

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees ...

(born 1974), shortstop for the New York Yankees * Carol-Lynn Parente (born 1963), executive producer of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

'' and winner of seven

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s for her work on the program *

Laurene Powell Jobs Laurene Powell Jobs ( Powell; born November 6, 1963)United States birth records is an American billionaire businesswoman and executive. She is the founder and chair of Emerson Collective and XQ Institute. Powell Jobs resides in Palo Alto, Cali ...

(born 1963), widow of

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; ...

and founder and chair of Emerson Collective *

Danielle Rose Russell Danielle Rose Russell (born October 31, 1999) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Hope Mikaelson in the fifth and final season of The CW supernatural drama series '' The Originals'' and as the star of the spinoff series, '' Legac ...

(born 1999), actress who has played supporting roles in films such as '' A Walk Among the Tombstones'' (2014), ''

Aloha ''Aloha'' ( , ) is the Hawaiian word for love, affection, peace, compassion and mercy, that is commonly used as a simple greeting but has a deeper cultural and spiritual significance to native Hawaiians, for whom the term is used to define a f ...

'' (2015), ''

Pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of in ...

'' (2016) and '' Wonder'' (2017), and has since starred in '' The Originals'' and it's spin-off, '' Legacies'' * Dale Soules (born 1946), actress who appeared in ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a ...

'' * Scott Terry (born 1976), songwriter and singer who has been lead singer of Red Wanting Blue * Kevin Walker (born 1965), former linebacker for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

Donna Weinbrecht Donna L. Weinbrecht (born April 23, 1965) won the first gold medal awarded in the first Olympic mogul competitions in freestyle skiing, which were held at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. Weinbrecht grew up in West Milford, New J ...

(born 1965), First woman to win the first gold medal awarded in the first Olympic mogul competitions * Tom Wopat (born 1951), actor who played Luke Duke in '' The Dukes of Hazzard''via ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

''
"''Hazzard'' actor Tom Wopat faces DUI"
''

Today.com ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It wa ...

'', March 17, 2006. Accessed July 1, 2008. "Wopat, 54, of West Milford, was released into the custody of his girlfriend, Maer said."

References

External links

*
West Milford Township Public Schools
*
School Data for the West Milford Township Public Schools

West Milford Chamber of Commerce website

The West Milford Messenger (local newspaper)

Upper Greenwood Lake Property Owner's Association
{{Authority control 1834 establishments in New Jersey Faulkner Act (mayor–council–administrator) Populated places established in 1834 Townships in Passaic County, New Jersey