Union County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the northern part of the U.S. state of

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 ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's seventh-most-populous countyTable1. New Jersey Counties and Most Populous Cities and Townships: 2020 and 2010 Censuses
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed December 1, 2022. with a population of 575,345, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 38,846 (+7.2%) from the 2010 census count of 536,499. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Elizabeth,New Jersey County Map
New Jersey Department of State. Accessed December 22, 2022. which is also the most populous municipality in the county, with a 2020 census population of 137,298, and the largest by area, covering . The county serves as a transition point between the

Central Jersey Central Jersey, or Central New Jersey, is the middle region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation Central Jersey is a distinct administrative toponym. While New Jersey is often divided into North Jersey and South Jersey, many resi ...

and North Jersey regions of the state. In 2015, the county had a per capita personal income of $60,089, the seventh-highest in New Jersey and ranked 152nd of 3,113 counties in the United States. The

Bureau of Economic Analysis The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the United States Department of Commerce is a U.S. government agency that provides official macroeconomic and industry statistics, most notably reports about the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United ...

ranked the county as having the 119th-highest

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 ...

of all 3,113 counties in the United States (and the eighth-highest in New Jersey) in 2009. A study by Forbes.com determined that Union County residents pay the second-highest property taxes of all U.S. counties, based on 2007 data. With a population density of in 2000, Union County was the 15th-most densely populated county in the United States as of the 2010 Census, and third-densest in New Jersey, behind

Hudson County Hudson County is a List of counties in New Jersey, county in the U.S. state of New Jersey, its smallest and most densely populated. Lying in the northeast of the state and on the west bank of the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River, the No ...

(ranked 6th nationwide at 9,754 per square mile) and Essex County (ranked 11th at 6,126).

History

Etymology

Established in 1857 as the last county created in New Jersey, it was named after the Union threatened by slavery dispute during this period, which would erupt into civil war in 1861.

History

All of present-day Union County was part of the Elizabethtown Tract, which was purchased in 1664, by English colonists from the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

Native Americans that lived in the area of present-day

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 237. Accessed January 21, 2013. Many historic places and structures are to be found in the county, including on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Union County, New Jersey. In the fall, Union County holds its annual "Four Centuries in a Weekend" festival for the public, celebrating and touring historic buildings, museums and sites in the county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of the 2020 Census, the county had a total area of , of which was land (97.5%) and was water (2.5%).2020 Census Gazetteer File for Counties in New Jersey

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 ...

. Accessed April 1, 2023. Much of Union County is relatively flat and low-lying. Only in the northwestern corner does any significant relief appear as the Watchung Mountains cross the county. It is there that highest elevations, two areas approximately above sea level, are found in Berkeley Heights. The lowest elevation is sea level along the eastern shore at the Arthur Kill.

Rivers, lakes and streams

* Arthur Kill *

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 ...

* Elizabeth River * Nomahegan Brook * Marshes Creek * Morses Creek * Peach Orchard Brook * Robinson's Brook * Robinson's Branch Reservoir

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Elizabeth have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1934 and a record high of was recorded in July 1993. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in July. In Berkeley Heights average monthly temperatures range from 29.4 °F in January to 74.7 °F in July. The climate in the county is hot-summer humid continental (''Dfa'') in the west and humid subtropical (''Cfa'') in the east. The

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

is 7a west of the Garden State Parkway and 7b to the east

Demographics

Union County is ethnically diverse. Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, Berkeley Heights, Clark, Roselle Park, 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 ...

, Linden, New Providence, Scotch Plains, Springfield,

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

, Union and Westfield have high percentages of

Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

residents. Elizabeth, Plainfield, Rahway, Roselle and Union all have large

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 ...

communities. Roselle Park has a notably large

Indian American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the United States, who ar ...

community, while Roselle Park, Roselle, Linden, Rahway, Plainfield and particularly Elizabeth have fast-growing

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 ...

and Portuguese populations. The county's

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

population was 35,000 as of 2004, with notable communities located in Cranford, Elizabeth, Hillside, Linden, Scotch Plains, Springfield, Union, and Westfield.

2020 census

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 536,499 people, 188,118 households, and 134,692 families in the county. The population density was . There were 199,489 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 61.33% (329,052)

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 ...

, 22.05% (118,313) Black or African American, 0.39% (2,080) Native American, 4.63% (24,839) Asian, 0.03% (163)

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 ...

, 8.48% (45,496) from other races, and 3.09% (16,556) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 27.34% (146,704) of the population. Of the 188,118 households, 34.4% had children under the age of 18; 50.1% were married couples living together; 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 28.4% were non-families. Of all households, 23.6% 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 2.82 and the average family size was 3.32. 24.5% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 90.7 males.

Government

County government

The Union County Courthouse prior to 1900

Union County is governed by a nine-member Board of County Commissioners. The members are 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 tha ...

in partisan elections to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with three seats coming up for election each year. The board sets policies for the operation of the county. The Commissioners perform the county's legislative and executive functions. In their legislative role, they formulate and adopt a budget and set county policies and procedures. In their executive role, they oversee county spending and functioning. Many of the administrative duties are delegated by the Board of County Commissioners to the County Manager. Each of the commissioners serves on various committees and boards as a part of their duties. These include committees on Economic Development, Parks and Recreation, and Public Works and Policy. In addition, the board oversees the county's Open Space Trust Fund. Day-to-day operation of the county and its departments is supervised by an appointed County Manager, Edward Oatman. In 2016, freeholders were paid $30,692, while the Freeholder vice chairman received $31,732 and the Freeholder chairman had an annual salary of $32,773. The County Manager is Edward Oatman. No Republican has been elected to countywide office since 1995. Union County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners, whose nine members are elected

to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis with three seats coming up for election each year, with an appointed County Manager overseeing the day-to-day operations of the county. At an annual reorganization meeting held in the beginning of January, the board selects a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. , Union County's County Commissioners are (with terms for Chair and Vice-Chair ending every December 31):
Union County, New Jersey. Accessed December 7, 2022. Constitutional officers elected on a countywide basis are: Union County constitutes Vicinage 12 of the New Jersey Superior Court and is seated at the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth, with additional facilities also located in Elizabeth; the Assignment Judge for Vicinage 12 is Karen M. Cassidy. Law enforcement at the county level includes the Union County Police Department, the Union County Sheriff's Office, and the Union County Prosecutor's Office. Union County's Acting Prosecutor is Michael A. Monahan.

Notable events in county government

In 2023, Union County agreed to honor the site in North Jersey of what local activists described as the public execution by burning at the stake of three enslaved New Jerseyans in 1741. In 2023, the county worked to revise its logo, which has had what has been described as the only county seal in the nation that depicts a woman being killed. The logo depicted Hannah Caldwell being shot by a British

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

man during the Battle of Connecticut Farms. In 2023, Union County moved to revise its county seal, asking residents to participate in an online poll to choose between two alternatives, both of which eliminate the depiction of Caldwell's death. In 2022, controversy erupted over the county's deletion of negative social media comments made about the opening of Tëmike Park, an LGBTQ-inclusive playground, in Cedar Brook Park. In 2022, a state court found the county illegally circumvented the public bidding process in awarding contracts for the construction of a proposed Union County government building in Elizabeth. In 2015, the county was forced to pay legal fees after losing a trademark claim it brought against a frequent county government critic who used the County of Union seal on her blog. In 2011, an investigation found mismanagement of county funds in association with MusicFest, a free annual concert. In 2009, following a First Amendment challenge by the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

, the county commissioners agreed to issue a public apology for cutting off speech by a resident who was addressing the board about possible nepotism on the county payroll.

Federal representatives

Four Congressional Districts cover the county, including portions of the 7th, 8th, 10th and 12th districts.

State representatives

The 21 municipalities of Union County are represented by four legislative districts.

Law enforcement

The Union County Sheriff's Office is located in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

in New Jersey history. There are two top deputies, known as undersheriffs, and they are Dennis Burke and Amilcar Colon. A 1981 investigation of the Union County Jail reviewed issues relating to overcrowding, escapes, escape attempts and suicides in the detention facility. On July 1, 2021, the Sheriff's Office regained control of the Union County Jail and made it a division within the organization; the Division of Corrections. The New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association Local 108 is the official

labor union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

and the collective bargaining agent for the Sheriff's Officers of Union County. This body is subdivided into Local 108 for the line officers and Local 108A for the supervisors (sergeants, lieutenants, and captains). The Union County Police Department operates independently of the Sheriff's office. The Union County Police Department originally began as the Union County Park Police. The Union County Police are tasked with patrolling Union County's properties. They also supplement the local municipalities with police presence and patrol when requested.Division of Police
Union County, New Jersey. Accessed July 3, 2023. Martin H. Mogensen, Chief of Police" Martin Mogensen has been the Chief of Police since February 2023. The Union County Police have several divisions and are relied upon for their multiple services. Currently assigned are Patrol, Detective Bureau, Emergency Services Unit, and the Marine Unit. Union County Regional 911 and Dispatch is one of the many services that the County Police provide. They are the primary PSAP for multiple municipalities, provide police/fire/EMS dispatch, dispatch medics, and Union County Fire Mutual Aid. The PD belongs to the New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association, Local 73.

Politics

Union County is a strongly Democratic county. In the 2020 election, Democrat

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

received the highest share of the vote for a Democrat in the county's history. As of October 1, 2021, there were a total of 362,501 registered voters in Union County, of whom 178,449 (49.2%) were registered as Democrats, 57,878 (16.0%) were registered as Republicans and 121,478 (33.5%) were registered as unaffiliated. There were 4,696 voters (1.3%) registered to other parties. Among the county's 2010 Census population, 53.3% were registered to vote, including 70.6% of those ages 18 and over.Voter Registration Summary – Union
New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed May 26, 2013.

Education

Tertiary education

Kean University, a co-educational, public research university dating back to 1855 is located in Union and Hillside, serving nearly 13,000 undergraduates. Kean University educates its students in the liberal arts, the sciences and the professions; it is best known for its programs in the humanities and social sciences and in education, graduating the most teachers in the state of New Jersey annually, along with a physical therapy program which it holds in conjunction with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Union College is the two-year

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

for Union County, one of a network of 19 county colleges in New Jersey. Union College was founded in 1933 as Union County College and has campuses in Cranford, Elizabeth, Plainfield and Scotch Plains.

School districts

Most municipalities have their own public high schools, exceptions being Garwood, whose students attend Arthur L. Johnson High School in Clark; Winfield, whose students attend David Brearley High School in Kenilworth; and Mountainside, whose students attend Governor Livingston High School in Berkeley Heights. Fanwood is mostly merged with Scotch Plains educationally and the two towns have one high school. The county has the following school districts: ;K-12: * Berkeley Heights Public Schools * Clark Public School District * Cranford Township Public Schools * Elizabeth Public Schools * Hillside Public Schools * Kenilworth Public Schools * Linden Public Schools * New Providence School District * Plainfield Public School District * Rahway Public Schools * Roselle Park School District * Roselle Public Schools * Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional School District * Springfield Public Schools * Summit Public Schools * Union Public School District * Westfield Public Schools ;Elementary (K-8) * Garwood Public Schools * Mountainside School District * Winfield Township School District The county also has Union County Vocational Technical Schools, which has both full-time magnet programs that students must apply to, and split-time vocational programs.

Economy

The

calculated that the county's

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

was $34.4 billion in 2021, which was ranked eighth in the state and was a 2.4% increase from the prior year. The top employers in 2011, according to the Union County Economic Development Corporation, were:

Transportation

The county is served by rail, air, highways and ports.

Roads and highways

, the county had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the local 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 ...

, by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and by the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

. Major highways which traverse the county include the New Jersey Turnpike ( I-95), the

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 ...

, I-78, I-278, Route 1/9, Route 22, Route 24, Route 27, Route 28, Route 35 (only in Rahway), Route 82, Route 124, Route 439, and the Goethals Bridge. At 0.15 miles, Route 59, located entirely in Union County, is the shortest state highway in New Jersey.

Public transportation

Passenger rail service is provide by NJ Transit via the

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...

, North Jersey Coast Line, Raritan Valley Line, the Morristown Line and the Gladstone Branch. Freight service is provided by on Conrail's Lehigh Line and Chemical Coast Branch. Freight and passenger rail service was provided by the Rahway Valley Railroad from 1897 until 1992 when the short line closed due to lack of customers. NJ Transit provides bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in

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

, as well as service to major cities in New Jersey and within Union County. The Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal is part of the

. The southern portion of

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 located in Elizabeth, within Union County.

Potential rail-to-trails

Union County Park Line rail trail is a proposed walking and/or biking trail proposed on old railroad tracks. Two abandoned rails exist in the county. The City of

and the Summit Park Line Foundation are working on turning the line from Morris Avenue to Briant Park in Summit into
rail trail
that will be approximately one mile long. This rail trail, potentially called the Summit Park Line, could provide a greenway to connect several county parks, akin to a Summit High Line. A path could run directly from Summit to the Arthur Kill in

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 ...

on the Rahway Valley Railroad and the Staten Island Rapid Transit line. The Summit city council applied for a $1 million grant toward the Summit Park Line project in November 2016. "If Summit is able to complete the project, it might help other parts of the greenway come through," said Union County Public Relations Coordinator, Sebastian Delia.http://unionnewsdaily.com/news/2465 The Rahway Valley Railroad runs from Summit to Roselle Park. Beginning in Hidden Valley Park, the railroad right-of-way continues by connecting Houdaille Quarry, Briant Park, Meisel Park,

Parkway, Galloping Hill Golf Course and Black Brook Park. The ending of the railway is on Westfield Avenue in Roselle Park. The Staten Island Rapid Transit runs from Cranford to

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, although the project would only include the section that runs from Cranford to Linden. The possible inception in Cranford would be a lot on South Avenue East. The ending of this trail would be in Linden at an empty lot. A boardwalk would run over the existing tracks to ease line reactivation.

Municipalities

The 21 municipalities in Union County (with 2010 Census data for population, housing units and area) are:

Parks and recreation

County parks are maintained and operated by the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation, the successor agency to the Union County Park Commission.

County-run parks

*Ash Brook Reservation, Scotch Plains * Black Brook Park, Kenilworth *Briant Park, SummitMap of Hidden Valley Park and Houdaille Quarry
Union County, New Jersey. Accessed October 23, 2017. *Brookside Park, Scotch Plains * Cedar Brook Park, Plainfield **Home to the Shakespeare Garden. * Echo Lake Park, Westfield and Mountainside **The privately owned Echo Lake Country Club donated the parkland for this park in the 1920s. The name arises from the echo heard off the high bluff on the far side of the lake. Echo Lake itself was created by damning when mills were established on Nomahegan Brook, a tributary of the

. The Great Minisink Trail passed by Echo Lake Park. * Elizabeth River Parkway *Esposito Park, Clark **Features a 1/2-mile path with exercise equipment and a skate park *Green Brook Park, Plainfield (partial) *Hidden Valley Park, Springfield and Summit **Eastern border is adjacent to the now-closed Houdaille Quarry. * Houdaille Quarry, Springfield (closed to public) *Kawameeh Park, Union * Lenape Park, Cranford, Westfield, and Kenilworth **In the 1930s, workers digging Lenape Lake found

mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...

bones here. *Madison Avenue Park, Rahway **Adjacent to Rahway 7th and 8th Grade Academy Mattano Park from 5th St bridge jeh

* Clark Reservoir Recreation Area *Mattano Park, Elizabeth **Named for a

tribal leader, whose name was recorded by colonists as Mattano. In 1664, a group called the Elizabethtown Associates bought land in the Union County area from Mattano and another Lenape leader named Warinanco. *McConnell Park, Cranford **Named for the first town doctor in Cranford *Milton Lake Park, Clark and Rahway *Mindowaskin Park, Westfield * Nomahegan Park, Cranford ** Contains Nomahegan Park Pond and encircles the Rahway River. Lake near Union County College Cranford NJ

Lake near Union County College Cranford NJ

*Oak Ridge Park, Clark * Passaic River Parkway, Berkeley Heights, New Providence, and Summit *Phil Rizzuto Park, Elizabeth *Ponderosa Farm Park, Scotch Plains * Rahway River Park, Rahway **Environmental groups protested at the building of a stadium here in 2016. The movement gave birth to Friends of Rahway River Parkway. * Rahway River Parkway *Snyder Avenue Park, Berkeley Heights *Sperry Park, Cranford *Stanley Avenue Park, Summit *Tamaques Park, Scotch Plains *Unami Park, Cranford, Garwood, and Westfield *Washington Avenue Park, Springfield * Watchung Reservation, Mountainside and Scotch Plains * Warinanco Park, Elizabeth and Roselle **Named for the Native American known as "Warinanco." Designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm. *Wheeler Park, Linden

Other notable parks

Parks that are not managed by the county government include: * Hawk Rise Sanctuary. A bird sanctuary was built in 2012 on the banks of

in Linden. Hawk Rise Sanctuary is a 95-acre ecological preserve and wetland complex in Linden in an area previously concealed by various industrial land uses. Its trails were created adjacent to the former Linden Landfill area by the

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution. NJDEP now has a staf ...

, the city of Linden and the New Jersey Audubon Society. The trails in the Hawk Rise forest are boardwalk, with some continuing as gravel along the edge of the former Linden Landfill. It has an overlook area where hikers can view the Rahway River and nearby marshes. It has been open to the public since 2012. The site includes diverse environments: forested

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s, vernal pools,

grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur ...

, shrublands,

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

, mudflats, a

pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

, and the tidal Rahway River. 163 bird species have been spotted there. It has been reported as vandalized. * Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit. *Kennedy Reservation in Union. *The grounds of Liberty Hall Museum near the campus of Kean University in Union and Elizabeth.

Rahway River Parkway

The Rahway River Parkway is a greenway of parkland that hugs the

and its tributaries, such as Nomahegan Brook. It was the inaugural project of the Union County Parks Commission designed in the 1920s by the

Olmsted Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a Landscape architecture, landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape ar ...

firm, who were the sons of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Several county and municipal parks run along the Rahway River.

Elizabeth River Parkway

The Elizabeth River Parkway is a greenway of parkland alongside the Elizabeth River and its tributaries. It runs through Kean University and Liberty Hall Museum on the river's way to the Arthur Kill. The Elizabeth River Parkway is broken down into separate sections. *Chatfield/Zimmerman - Hillside and Union Township *Lightning Brook - Hillside and Union * Galloping Hill Golf Course in November 2022

Galloping Hill Golf Course in November 2022

Pruden/Pearl Oval - Elizabeth *Salem/Rutgers/Liberty - Hillside and Union *Woodruff/Conant Street - Hillside and Union *Ursino - Hillside and Union Township

Public golf courses

Union County's Division of Golf Operations runs two golf courses, which offer golf lessons and practice areas. *Ash Brook Golf Course in Scotch Plains. * Galloping Hill Golf Course and Golf Learning Center in Kenilworth. The facility, which hosts the headquarters of the New Jersey State Golf Association, hosted the 2016 New Jersey State Open golf tournament, the first public golf course to host the tournament since it was established in 1921. Another notable course *Shady Rest Country Club in Scotch Plains is recognized as the ''first'' African-American owned and operated golf clubhouse in the United States. As such, Shady Rest is the home course of the first African-American golf professional to play in the U.S. Open, John Matthew Shippen, Jr. (1879-1968), who is considered a pioneer of the sport. Originally a private club and center for African-American social life, the township acquired and renamed it in the 1930s as the 'Scotch Hills Country Club' and made it open to the public. The history and significance of the course and clubhouse has not always been promoted as a place of national historic interest. Thankfully, the National Park Service has listed the Shady Rest Golf and Country Club (_100007869) in the National Registry of Historic Places, in large part due to the efforts of the Preserve Shady Rest Committee. The committee continues working to further solidify Shady Rest as a local, state, and national landmark given its historical significance.

Private golf courses

* Baltusrol Golf Club is a private 36-

hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid Body (physics), body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in m ...

golf club in Springfield founded in 1895 by Louis Keller. Both courses were originally designed by A. W. Tillinghast in 1918. The club has hosted seven U.S. Opens and the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

PGA Championships. * Echo Lake Country Club is a private, member-owned country club located in Westfield, founded in 1899. The 18-hole golf course was designed by Donald Ross in 1913. *Hyatt Hills Golf Complex in Clark * Shackamaxon Country Club * Suburban Golf Club

Other recreational facilities

*Clark Community Pool *Centennial Avenue Pool in Cranford, NJ *Oak Ridge Archery Range *Orange Avenue Pool in Cranford, NJ *Trailside Nature and Science Center at Watchung Reservation *Warinanco Ice Skating Rink *Wheeler Park *Westfield Memorial Pool *Spray Pool – Wheeler Park (Linden) *County Pool – Rahway River Park (Rahway)

Arts and culture

*The Union County Performing Arts Center, located in the Rahway Arts District, offers professional productions in music and theater as well as training in the performing arts. *Kean Stage is the professional performing arts arm of Kean University. It is home to Wilkins Theatre on the Kean Main Campus in Union, Enlow Recital Hall directly across the Elizabeth River in East Campus in Hillside, as well as Premiere Stages, the professional equity theater company in residence at Kean University. *The Cranford Dramatic Club is New Jersey's oldest continually producing theater and has been putting on theatrical productions since its establishment in 1919. *Tomasulo Art Gallery is in the MacKay Library at Union County College's Cranford campus. *The Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts, located in Berkeley Heights and New Providence, is a center for music training and other training in performing arts, particularly aimed at children. It consists of the Performing Arts School (formerly Wharton Music Center), New Jersey Youth Symphony, and Paterson Music Project. *The Plainfield Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1919, making it the state's oldest community orchestra. *The duCret School of Art in Plainfield was founded in 1926. *The Swain Gallery, in Plainfield, was founded in 1868 and is the oldest privately owned art gallery in the state.

Union County Historical Society

In 1869, the Union County Historical Society of New Jersey was incorporated. The society meets at the Hanson House in Cranford.

Municipal historical societies

*Berkeley Heights - The Berkeley Heights Historical Society. * Clark - The Clark Historical Society was founded in 1970. It operates the Dr. William Robinson Plantation House Museum, built in 1690 by a doctor from Scotland. * Cranford - The Cranford Historic Preservation Advisory Board is an official township committee body, while the Cranford Historical Society itself is citizen-run. It is located in the Hanson House in Hanson Park on Springfield Avenue and maintains the Crane-Phillips House () a couple of blocks south on North Union Avenue as a museum. * Garwood - Garwood Historical Committee. * Hillside - The Hillside Historical Society, founded in 1975, meets at the Woodruff House. *

- The Kenilworth Historical Society dates to 1974. It runs the Oswald J. Nitschke House (). *Linden - The Linden Society for Historical Preservation is an offshoot of an official cultural board in the city. * Mountainside - The Mountainside Restoration Committee, Inc. is also called the Mountainside Historic Committee, founded in 1984. *Plainfield - The Historical Society of Plainfield is headquartered at the Nathaniel Drake House Museum, built in 1746 on the Old York Road. * Rahway - The Rahway Historical Society is now called the Merchants' and Drovers' Tavern Museum Association. * Scotch Plains and Fanwood - The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Historical Society runs the Osborn Cannonball House. * Springfield - The Historic Cannon Ball House serves as the home of the Springfield Historical Society. * Westfield - The Westfield Historical Society is in the Reeve History & Cultural Resource Center, a structure from the 1870s. The Society also runs the Miller-Cory House Museum, in a home that dates back to the 1740s. *Union - Union Township Historical Society is located in the 1782 historic Caldwell Parsonage. The Society's mission is to preserve and promote the rich and diverse history of the Township of Union.

Other historical preservation groups

*Friends of Rahway River Parkway is dedicated to preserving Olmsted design principles and features of county parkland along the

as it flows to the Arthur Kill.

Sister city

The county has a

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

relationship with

Wenzhou Wenzhou; Chinese postal romanization, historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in China's Zhejiang province. Wenzhou is located at the extreme southeast of Zhejiang, bordering Lishui, Zhejiang, Lishui to the west, Taizhou, Zheji ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, China.Dennis, Anita
"New Jersey & Co.; The Selling of New Jersey, and Its Difficulties"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', October 1, 2000. Accessed February 25, 2017. "In addition, the Chinese province has a long relationship with the state and with Union County. Zheijiang and New Jersey are sister states, and Wenzhou, another city in the province, has been a sister city with Union County for the past 19 years -- though there has been little trade between them."

References

External links

*
Changing Landscape of Union County

Official website of Union County
{{Authority control Central Jersey 1857 establishments in New Jersey Counties in the New York metropolitan area Majority-minority counties in New Jersey Populated places established in 1857

History

Etymology

History

Geography

Rivers, lakes and streams

Climate and weather

Demographics

2020 census

2010 census

Government

County government

Notable events in county government

Federal representatives

State representatives

Law enforcement

Politics

Education

Tertiary education

School districts

Economy

Transportation

Roads and highways

Public transportation

Potential rail-to-trails

Municipalities

Parks and recreation

County-run parks

Other notable parks

Rahway River Parkway

Elizabeth River Parkway

Public golf courses

Private golf courses

Other recreational facilities

Arts and culture

Union County Historical Society

Municipal historical societies

Other historical preservation groups

Sister city

See also

References

External links