Dayton is a neighborhood within the city of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the city's south ward and was named after Jonathan Dayton. The area is bounded on the north by Peddie Street (Thomas Baldwin Peddie), on the east by Newark Liberty International Airport, on the south by Elizabeth and on the west by Elizabeth Avenue. The main road through the neighborhood is Frelinghuysen Avenue, but it is surrounded by U.S. Route 1/9, Interstate 78 and U.S. Route 22. The neighborhood of Dayton encompasses all of Weequahic Park, the second largest Park in Newark. The park includes an 80-acre (320,000 m2) lake (the largest in Essex County), a golf course and an old racetrack now used for jogging. The park has gospel and jazz concerts at night. The park is bisected by US 22 and the larger, southern section of the park (including Weequahic Lake) is easily accessible to Dayton.
Jonathan Dayton (October 16, 1760 – October 9, 1824) was an American politician from the U.S. state of New Jersey. He was the youngest person to sign the United States Constitution and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving as the fourth Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and later the U.S. Senate.