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Piscataway Township, New Jersey

Piscataway, New Jersey
Township
Township of Piscataway
John Onderdonk house
John Onderdonk house
Motto: A Proud Diversified Community
Location of Piscataway Township highlighted in Middlesex County.
Location of Piscataway Township highlighted in Middlesex County.
Census Bureau map of Piscataway Township, New Jersey
Census Bureau map of Piscataway Township, New Jersey
Coordinates: 40°32′44″N 74°27′39″W / 40.54564°N 74.460817°W / 40.54564; -74.460817Coordinates: 40°32′44″N 74°27′39″W / 40.54564°N 74.460817°W / 40.54564; -74.460817
Country  United States
State  New Jersey
County Middlesex
Formed October 31, 1693
Incorporated February 21, 1798
Government
 • Type Faulkner Act Mayor-Council
 • Body Township Council
 • Mayor Brian C. Wahler (term ends December 31, 2016)
 • Clerk Melissa A. Seader
Area
 • Total 19.029 sq mi (49.286 km2)
 • Land 18.835 sq mi (48.782 km2)
 • Water 0.194 sq mi (0.504 km2)  1.02%
Area rank 149th of 566 in state
7th of 25 in county
Elevation 52 ft (16 m)
Population (2010 Census)
 • Total 56,044
 • Estimate (2015) 58,069
 • Rank 26th of 566 in state
4th of 25 in county
 • Density 2,975.5/sq mi (1,148.8/km2)
 • Density rank 216th of 566 in state
16th of 25 in county
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) Eastern (EDT) (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 08854, 08855
Area code(s) 732 and 908
FIPS code 3402359010
GNIS feature ID 0882167
Website www.piscatawaynj.org

Piscataway /pɪsˈkætəˌw/ is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 56,044, reflecting an increase of 5,562 (+11.0%) from the 50,482 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 3,393 (+7.2%) from the 47,089 counted in 1990.

The name Piscataway may be derived from the area's original Native American residents, transplants from near the Piscataqua River defining the coastal border between New Hampshire and Maine, whose name derives from peske (branch) and tegwe (tidal river), or alternatively from pisgeu (meaning "dark night") and awa ("place of") or from a Lenape language word meaning "great deer" or from words meaning "place of dark night". The area was first settled in 1666 by Quakers and Baptists who had left the Puritan colony in New Hampshire.

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. The community, the fifth-oldest municipality in New Jersey, 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).


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