Rahway, New Jersey

For the river called Rahway, see Rahway River.

Rahway is a city in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the New York metropolitan area, being fifteen miles southwest of Manhattan and five miles west of Staten Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 26,500.

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History

Rahway and the surrounding area were once the home of the Lenni Lenape Native Americans, and tradition states that the city was named after Rahwack, a local tribal chief.^[3] Formal European settlement began in 1664 with the purchase by the English from the Lenape of the Elizabethtown Tract, which encompassed lands from the mouth of the Raritan River and included all of present-day Union County as well as parts of Somerset, Middlesex, Morris and Essex counties.   Rahway saw limited action during the American Revolutionary War because of its proximity to Staten Island, Elizabethtown and Perth Amboy. In January 1777, rebels were victorious against the British in the Battle of Spanktown, which resulted in the death of some 100 British troops. The battle was named this after Rahway's original name given to it by the first settlers, Spanktown.^[3]

The Merchants and Drovers Tavern resides at the corner of St. Georges and Westfield Avenues. The earliest buildings at the site date to 1795 and the property remains one of Rahway's most prominent historical landmarks.^[4] George Washington visited Rahway during his travel to New York City prior to his presidential inauguration in 1789. A marker across the street from the tavern reads:

Here, on April 23, 1789, on his way to New York City, Washington

was received by troops from Elizabethtown and Newark. He was

entertained at the inn kept by Samuel Smith by gentlemen of the town.

Following the Revolution, Rahway became the home of the first national mint to create a coin bearing the inscription E pluribus unum. A United States Post Office established in Rahway was one of only six in the entire state in 1791.

Rahway grew due to its location along the major stagecoach and later, railroad lines between New York City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The navigable Rahway River, which flows through the city, also aided the city's commercial growth.

As immigrants from Britain, Ireland and Germany streamed into what was then Rahway Township in the 1850s, Rahway became incorporated as a city on April 19, 1858, from portions of Rahway Township in Union and Woodbridge Township, in Middlesex County. In 1860, the portion of Rahway that had been part of Middlesex County was transferred to Union. On March 13, 1861, the remainder of Rahway Township became part of Rahway City.^[5]

The city became home to dozens of major manufacturers, including the Regina Music Box Company, Wheatena, Mershon Bros. and, most importantly, Merck & Co., which was established in Rahway in 1903, when George Merck moved his small chemical company to Rahway from New York City. The company remained in Rahway through the presidency of George W. Merck and after.

The national decline in industry after World War II led to the closure of most of Rahway's major manufacturing facilities except for Merck and a general deterioration of the city's central business district.

Geography

Rahway is located at 40°36′26″N, 74°16′52″W (40.607103, -74.280998)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.0 square miles (10.5 km²), of which, 4.0 square miles (10.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (1.24%) is water.

Rahway is bordered to the Northwest by Clark, to the Northeast by Linden and to the South by Woodbridge in Middlesex County.

The city is home to about ten parks. The best-known park is Rahway River Park, which is maintained by Union County, and is also partially located in Clark. The park hosts a number of baseball fields, picnic areas, a lake and a public pool.

  The Rahway River travels through Rahway, entering from Clark at Rahway River Park. The river receives the waters of Robinsons Branch at Elizabeth Avenue between West Grand Avenue and West Main Street, and then receives the waters of the South Branch at East Hazlewood Avenue and Leesville Ave. Finally the river leaves Rahway to enter the city limits of Linden and Carteret before flowing into the Arthur Kill.

Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 26,500 people, 10,028 households, and 6,728 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,642.7 people per square mile (2,564.3/km²). There were 10,381 housing units at an average density of 2,602.2/sq mi (1,004.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 60.19% White, 27.07% African American, 0.16% Native American, 3.58% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.62% from other races, and 3.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.87% of the population.

There were 10,028 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $50,729, and the median income for a family was $61,931. Males had a median income of $41,047 versus $32,091 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,481. About 5.4% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

The City of Rahway is governed under a Mayor-Council system of municipal government under the Faulkner Act.

Under the City of Rahway's form of government, all executive and administrative authority is vested in the office of the Mayor who appoints the Business Administrator and department directors. The Mayor of Rahway is James J. Kennedy (Democrat), who was first elected in 1990 and is serving his fifth term in office.

The Business Administrator is responsible for development of the Mayor’s annual budget, the administration of the city’s personnel system and the supervision of the management of the city’s departments. This form of government gives citizens a centralized line of authority for the efficient management of the city’s business.^[7]

The Municipal Council is made up of nine members elected by the citizens of Rahway. There are six wards in the City of Rahway and a Councilmember is elected for a four-year term by the citizens from each respective ward. There are three Councilmembers-at-large who represent the entire City and run with the Mayor for four-year terms.^[8]

Members of the Municipal Council are^[9]:

• First Ward - Robert Rachlin
• Second Ward - Francis Janusz
• Third Ward - Jerry Scaturo
• Fourth Ward - David Brown, Council President
• Fifth Ward - Jennifer Wenson-Maier, Council Vice President
• Sixth Ward - Samson Steinman
• At Large - James Baker
• At Large - Salvatore Mione
• At Large - Nancy Saliga

Federal, state and county representation

Rahway is in the Tenth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 22nd Legislative District.^[10]

New Jersey's Tenth Congressional District, covering portions of Essex County, Hudson County, and Union County, is represented by Donald M. Payne (D, Newark). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 22nd legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Nicholas Scutari (D, Linden) and in the Assembly by Jerry Green (D, Plainfield) and Linda Stender (D, Scotch Plains). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Union County is governed by a nine-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. As of the January 2007 reorganization, Union County's Freeholders are Freeholder Chairwoman Bette Jane Kowalski, Freeholder Vice Chairman Angel G. Estrada, Chester Holmes, Adrian O. Mapp, Alexander Mirabella, Rick Proctor, Deborah P. Scanlon, Daniel P. Sullivan and Nancy Ward.

Education

The Rahway Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are four K-5 elementary schools — Grover Cleveland School, Franklin School, Madison School and Roosevelt School — Rahway Middle School for grades 6-8 and Rahway High School for grades 9-12.

Transportation

Highways

Rahway is served by U.S. Route 1/9, and Route 27. The city is sandwiched in between the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike, which are each located about two miles outside of the city limits.

Public Transportation

Local public transportation is provided by New Jersey Transit with bus service to Elizabeth, Perth Amboy and Newark.

New Jersey Transit bus 115 provides local service and interstate service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.

Rahway Train Station serves New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line and Northeast Corridor Line. The City of Rahway and New Jersey Transit helped fund a US$16 million renovation for the station in 1999, and a plaza in 2001. The station has spurred cleanup and revitalization downtown. A new US$11.2 million 524-space parking deck opened across the street from the station in January 2005, helping train commuters and allowing the city to transform old parking lot space into new buildings and residencies.

Airport

Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 20 minutes away.

Downtown revitalization

  Beginning in the early 1990s and continuing through the present day, the City of Rahway has rebounded as its downtown began to see the construction of new restaurants, art galleries, market-rate housing and the old Rahway Theatre reopening as the Union County Arts Center.

In September 1999, remnants of Hurricane Floyd swept across New Jersey and caused severe damage. The Rahway Public Library was on a flood plain and suffered over US$1 million in flood damage. The building was demolished in October 2001. A new library along a less flood-prone area of the Rahway River was constructed and opened on March 22, 2004, behind the city's municipal building.

Rahway State Prison

East Jersey State Prison, formerly (and popularly) known as Rahway State Prison, is actually located in Woodbridge Township at the border with Rahway. The prison's mailing address is in Rahway, leading many to believe the facility resides there. The prison's official name was changed to East Jersey State Prison as of November 30, 1988, at the request of the citizens of Rahway.^[11]

Noted residents

See also:

• Steven J. Balla, author of Bureaucracy and Democracy: Accountability and Performance, was born and raised in Rahway.
• Boland brothers - aviation pioneers.^[12]
• Maurice Brachhausen, aka M.C. Brock, radio and television pioneer who created and wrote the series Captain Video on the early Dumont television network, was a lifelong resident of Rahway.
• Clifford P. Case - Former United States Senator, lived in Rahway, and served on the Municipal Council from 1938-1942.^[13]
• Earl Clark (1988-), player for the University of Louisville men's basketball team.^[14]
• Abraham Clark (1725-1794), Signer of the Declaration of Independence, is buried at the Rahway Cemetery.
• Paul Dembling, the Federal attorney responsible for forming NASA as a government agency in July of 1958, was born and raised in Rahway.
• Milton Friedman (1912-2006), Economist, was born in New York City but raised in Rahway.^[15]
• Antonio Garay (1979-), Defensive Tackle for the Chicago Bears.^[16]
• Wayne Gilchrest (1946-), U.S. Congressman, was born in Rahway.^[17]
• Janis Karpinski (1953-), central figure in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal.^[18]
• Dory Previn (1929-), Lyricist and singer-songwriter, born here (as Dorothy Veronica Langan).
• Eric Roberson - Soul artist and writer
• Carl Sagan (1934-1996), Astronomer, lived in Rahway and was a Rahway High School graduate.^[19] Sagan has his own display case in the library on the second floor.
• Chris Smith (1953-), U.S. Congressman, was born in Rahway.^[20]
• Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), formed his company, Tesla Electric Light Company, in Rahway.^[21]
• Dr. P. Roy Vagelos (1929-), Retired Merck & Co. CEO, was a graduate of Rahway High School and lived in Rahway for many years.^[22]
• Carolyn Wells (1862-1942), Author and poet who was born in Rahway and is currently interred in Rahway Cemetery.^[23]

References

• Rahway, New Jersey is at coordinates 40°36′26″N 74°16′52″W / 40.607103, -74.280998Coordinates: 40°36′26″N 74°16′52″W / 40.607103, -74.280998