Piscataway, New Jersey

Piscataway, New Jersey
The YMCA at the Community Center
The YMCA at the Community Center
Official seal of Piscataway, New Jersey
Motto: 
A Proud Diversified Community
Location of Piscataway Township in Middlesex County highlighted in pink.
Location of Piscataway Township in Middlesex County highlighted in pink.
Census Bureau map of Piscataway Township, New Jersey
Census Bureau map of Piscataway Township, New Jersey
Piscataway is located in Middlesex County, New Jersey
Piscataway
Piscataway
Location in Middlesex County
Piscataway is located in New Jersey
Piscataway
Piscataway
Location in New Jersey
Piscataway is located in the United States
Piscataway
Piscataway
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 40°32′44″N 74°27′39″W / 40.545539°N 74.46072°W / 40.545539; -74.46072[1][2]
Country United States
State New Jersey
CountyMiddlesex
FormedOctober 31, 1693
IncorporatedFebruary 21, 1798
Government
 • TypeFaulkner Act Mayor-Council
 • BodyTownship Council
 • MayorBrian C. Wahler (D, term ends December 31, 2024)[3][4]
 • Business administratorTimothy J. Dacey[5]
 • Municipal clerkMelissa A. Seader[6]
Area
 • Total18.96 sq mi (49.11 km2)
 • Land18.79 sq mi (48.68 km2)
 • Water0.17 sq mi (0.43 km2)  0.88%
 • Rank149th of 565 in state
7th of 25 in county[1]
Elevation52 ft (16 m)
Population
 • Total60,804
 • Estimate 
(2022)[9][11]
60,366
 • Rank25th of 565 in state
4th of 25 in county[12]
 • Density3,235.3/sq mi (1,249.2/km2)
  • Rank206th of 565 in state
16th of 25 in county[12]
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Codes
08854, 08855[13][14]
Area code(s)732 and 908[15]
FIPS code3402359010[1][16][17]
GNIS feature ID0882167[1][16]
Websitewww.piscatawaynj.org
Souvlaki grilling at the 2011 Greek Festival in Piscataway, New Jersey on May 15, 2011

Piscataway (/pɪsˈkætəw/ piss-KAT-ə-way) is a township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[18] It is a suburb of the New York metropolitan area, in the Raritan Valley. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 60,804,[9][10] an increase of 4,760 (+8.5%) from the 2010 census count of 56,044,[19][20] which in turn reflected an increase of 5,562 (+11.0%) from 50,482 at the 2000 census.[21]

The name may be derived from the area's earliest European settlers who came from near the Piscataqua River, a landmark defining the coastal border between New Hampshire and Maine, whose name derives from peske (branch) and tegwe (tidal river),[22] or alternatively from pisgeu (meaning "dark night") and awa ("place of")[23][24] or from a Lenape language word meaning "great deer".[25] The area was appropriated in 1666 by Quakers and Baptists who had left the Puritan colony in New Hampshire.[25]

Piscataway Township was formed on December 18, 1666, and officially incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, as part of the state's initial group of 104 townships.[26] The community, the fifth-oldest municipality in New Jersey,[27] has grown from Native American territory, through a colonial period and is one of the links in the earliest settlement of the Atlantic Ocean seacoast that ultimately led to the formation of the United States. Over the years, portions of Piscataway were taken to form Raritan Township (March 17, 1870, now Edison), Dunellen (October 28, 1887), Middlesex (April 9, 1913) and South Plainfield (March 10, 1926).[26]

Rutgers University's main campus spills into the township. SHI Stadium, home field for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team, is in Piscataway [28] as well as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Ross Hall was the headquarters for General George Washington when he ordered a feu de joie for the second anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July 1778
  1. ^ a b c d e 2019 Census Gazetteer Files: New Jersey Places, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 1, 2020.
  2. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Council was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ 2023 New Jersey Mayors Directory, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, updated February 8, 2023. Accessed February 10, 2023.
  5. ^ Administration, Township of Piscataway. Accessed February 7, 2022.
  6. ^ Township Clerk, Township of Piscataway. Accessed February 7, 2022.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference DataBook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Township of Piscataway". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  9. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Census2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference LWD2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference PopEst was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Population Density by County and Municipality: New Jersey, 2020 and 2021, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed March 1, 2023.
  13. ^ Look Up a ZIP Code for Piscataway, NJ, United States Postal Service. Accessed October 2, 2012.
  14. ^ Zip Codes, State of New Jersey. Accessed November 24, 2013.
  15. ^ Area Code Lookup - NPA NXX for Piscataway, NJ, Area-Codes.com. Accessed November 24, 2013.
  16. ^ a b US Board on Geographic Names, United States Geological Survey. Accessed September 4, 2014.
  17. ^ Geographic Codes Lookup for New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed April 1, 2022.
  18. ^ Lurie, Maxine N. Lurie; Siegel, Michael; Mappen, Marc. Encyclopedia of New Jersey, p. 640. Rutgers University Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0-8135-3325-4. Accessed June 22, 2019.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Census2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference LWD2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.
  22. ^ The Meaning of Piscataqua, seacoastnh.com. Accessed October 1, 2012.
  23. ^ The Origin of New Jersey Place Names: P, GetNJ.com. Accessed June 28, 2007.
  24. ^ Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, 1938. Accessed September 18, 2015.
  25. ^ a b Cheslow, Jerry. "If You're Thinking of Living in: Piscataway", The New York Times, June 28, 1992. Accessed October 3, 2012. "What is now the township was settled in 1666 by Quakers and Baptists and fleeing the intolerant Puritan colony in New Hampshire. While Piscataway is a derivative of the Leni Lenape word for "great deer," the township is believed to have been named after the settlers' former home on the Piscataqua River."
  26. ^ a b Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 172. Accessed October 2, 2012.
  27. ^ About Piscataway Township Archived June 24, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, Piscataway, New Jersey. Accessed June 24, 2019. "Piscataway was founded in 1666 and officially incorporated in 1798. As the fifth-oldest municipality in New Jersey, Piscataway has grown from Native American territory through a colonial period and is one of the links in the earliest settlement of the Atlantic seacoast that ultimately led to the formation of the United States."
  28. ^ Staff. "Rutgers officially announces naming rights partnership with High Point Solutions for Rutgers Stadium", The Star-Ledger, June 21, 2011. Accessed October 3, 2012. "Rutgers officially announced today that High Point Solutions, a Sussex County-based technology supplier, has bought the naming rights to Rutgers Stadium. The 52,454-seat bowl will be renamed High Point Solutions Stadium..... The deal will last 10 years and Rutgers will be paid a reported $6.5 million."