Warren County, New Jersey


Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2019 Census estimate, the county's population was 105,267, making it the 19th-most populous of the state's 21 counties, representing a decrease of 3.2% from the 108,692 enumerated in the 2010 United States Census, in turn having increased by 6,255 from 102,437 counted at the 2000 Census, Its county seat is Belvidere. It is part of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and is generally considered the eastern border of the Lehigh Valley. It shares its eastern border with the New York City Metropolitan Area, with its northwestern section bordering The Poconos. The most populous place was Phillipsburg, with 14,950 residents at the time of the 2010 Census, while Hardwick Township had both the largest area — — and the fewest people.
Warren County was incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on November 20, 1824, from portions of Sussex County. At its creation, the county consisted of the townships of Greenwich, Independence, Knowlton, Mansfield, Oxford, and Pahaquarry. The county was named for Joseph Warren, an American Revolutionary War hero of the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Geology and geography

According to the 2010 Census, the county had a total area of, including of land and of land.
Warren County has rolling hills, with the Kittatinny Ridge in the west. Allamuchy Mountain and Jenny Jump Mountain are part of the New York – New Jersey Highlands, also known as the Reading Prong.
Around 450 million years ago, a chain of volcanic islands collided with proto North America. The chain of islands went over the North American plate, thus the Highlands were created from the island rock and so was the Great Appalachian Valley. The Highlands is Allamuchy Mountains and the Jenny Jump Mountains. Thus, Warren County was born.
Around 400 million years ago, a small continent that was long and thin collided with proto North America. This created the Kittatinny Mountains, as the land was compressed from the collision. The quartzite that was lying in a shallow sea over top of the Martinsburg shale, folded and faulted due to pressure and heat. The quartzite lifted, thus the Kittatinny Mountain was born.
The final collision was when the African plate collided with the North American plate. This was the final episode of the building of the Appalachian Mountains. Then the African plate tore away from North America.
Then the Wisconsin Glacier covered the northern part of the county from 21,000 to 13,000 BC. This glacier covered the top of Kittatinny Mountain and carved the terrain in the northern part of the county. The terminal moraine runs from north of Belvidere to south of Great Meadows to north of Hackettstown, to north of Budd Lake. Blairstown Township, Hope Township, half of Independence Township, part of White Township, and all of Allamuchy Township was covered by the Glacier.
When the glacier melted, a lake was formed at Great Meadows. Slowly the lake drained leaving a large flat area filled with organic material.
The county is drained by three rivers. All three rivers are shallow and narrow. They are fresh water rivers that are excellent for fishing.
The Paulins Kill drains the western portion of the county. The river flows from Newton to Blairstown Township, and then through Knowlton Township where it drains into the Delaware River.
The Pequest River drains the middle of the county flowing from Andover Township through Allamuchy, then to Independence Township where it turns west and flows through White Township and then empties into the Delaware River at Belvidere.
The third river is the Musconetcong. Starting at Lake Musconetcong, the river divides the county from Morris and Hunterdon. This river drains the southern portion of the county and empties into the Delaware River near Warren Glen.
Warren County is located in two valleys of the Great Appalachian Valley. The first is the Kittatinny Valley, which is in the northern part of the county, and the Lehigh Valley, which is in the southern part of the county.
The Lehigh Valley starts at the terminal moraine of the Wisconsin Glacier slightly north of Belvidere. It extends from the Delaware River south to where the Musconetcong River goes into the Delaware River, northeast to the Jenny Jump Mountains and then along Route 80 to the Allamuchy Mountains to the terminal moraine near Hackettstown.
The Kittatinny Valley is north of the terminal moraine; it runs north of Belvidere, to south of Great Meadows, then east to the north of Hackettstown. Towns such as Blairstown, Johnsonburg, Hope and Allamuchy are in the Kittatinny Valley
The highest elevation is above sea level on the Kittatinny Ridge, at two areas just south of Upper Yards Creek Reservoir, west of Blairstown. The lowest point is the confluence of the Delaware and Musconetcong rivers at the county's southern tip, at of elevation.
The highest elevation on Allamuchy Mountain is on the ridge northeast of Allamuchy. On Jenny Jump Mountain the highest point is east of the Shiloh area or south of Interstate 80. Sunfish Pond has an elevation of and upper Yards Creek Reservoir is at.

Climate and weather

Warren County has a humid continental climate. Average monthly temperatures in downtown Phillipsburg range from 29.0 °F in January to 74.2 °F in July, while in Hackettstown they range from 27.0 °F in January to 71.5 °F in July. The hardiness zones are 6a and 6b.
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Belvidere have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1994 and a record high of was recorded in July 1999. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in July.

Adjacent counties

Prehistory

After the Wisconsin Glacier melted around 13,000 B.C., the area slowly warmed, but was still cold and wet. Cold water was everywhere due to glacial melt. Huge lakes and swamps were everywhere. There was a huge lake at Great Meadows. At first the area was Tundra, in which lichens and mosses grew. Later, grass lands filled in the landscape. As climate warmed over a thousand years, Taiga/Boreal Forests grew. The water drained slowly from the glacier and so grasslands grew first. Big game such as mastodons, mammoths, and caribou came into the area, as well as other game such as rabbits and fox. These animals ate the lichens, moss and grasses that grew. This is when Paleo Indians moved into the area. The area was rich in wildlife. Paleo Indians lived in small groups and traveled in search of game and plants to eat. They were hunter-gathers.They lived near water and moved after game became scarce in the area. They ate various berries and plants as well as game hunted. They also ate fresh water clams and fish that migrated north in the Delaware River to spawn such as shad and sturgeon. Fish were caught by spears or fish traps made of stones and sticks. The shallow riffles in rivers were used to catch fish.
They made spear points of jasper, quartz, shale, or black chert. They traveled to quarries in search of stones for spear points or they traded with other small groups for these points. They also used atl-atls, which is a stick that throws a dart with a lighter stone point than a spear. Later, coniferous forests grew as the area warmed. Paleo-Indian camp sites are many feet below the present ground surface, making them difficult to locate.
Mastodons roamed the area during the Paleo Indian era. A mastodon were found at Highland Lakes date 8940 B.C. + or - 200 years in 1954. At in Swartswoods Lake, and in Liberty Township, Warren County dated 9045 B.C.+ or - 750 years. Another was found in Hampton Township in 1962 in a pond. One was found in Stokes State Forest in a glacial bed in 1939. Two were found in Orange County, New York dated 7910 B.C.+ or - 225 years and the other at 8050 B.C. + or -160 years. Mastodons inhabited the open spruce forests.
The mega fauna of the tundra, such as the caribou, either moved north as the climate warmed or became extinct. Some Paleo Indians moved north with the caribou.
There are four Paleo Indians sites. One is in Warren County and the other three are nearby. The Plenge site located on the north side of the Musconetcong River in Franklin Township, Warren County. This site is estimated at 10,000 B.C. The Zierdt site is located near the Delaware River in Montague Township. The next is the Dutchess Cave in Orange County, New York, just east of the Wallkill River. This site is dated at 10,580 B.C. + or - 370 years. Caribou bones and a spear point was located at this site. The last is the Shawnee site located north of the Delaware Water Gap on the west side of the river, where Broadhead Creek enters the Delaware in Pennsylvania. This site is dated from charcoal found at 8640 B.C. + or - 300 years.
As climate warmed further, hemlock began to grow followed by deciduous trees around 8000 B.C. such as oaks, and maples. This was the beginning of the Archaic period, in which projectile points were no longer fluted but indented at the bottom of the stone point. Oak nuts and other seeds were eaten at this time. Harry's Farm site in Pahaquarry Township is an Archaic hunters camp with charcoal dating at 5430 B.C. + or - 120 years. Also the Plenge site was an Archaic camp in Franklin Township.
As climate warmed further around 3,000 B.C., beech, walnut, hickories, chestnut, and butternut grew. These trees produced nuts for feeding Archaic hunters; Archaic Indian populations grew more rapidly. As populations grew, large families became small tribes in various areas. During this time the 12 prominent hardwood tree species of Eastern North America existed in Warren County, which were Ash, Beech, Birch, Cherry, Chestnut, Elm, Hickory, Maple, Oak, Sweet Gum, Sycamore, and Walnut. The Chestnut tree is now extinct in Warren County, following the Chestnut blight that decimated the eastern U.S. in the earlier twentieth century. The Archaic period lasted from 8000 B.C. to 1000 B.C.

Native Americans

Around 1000 B.C. clay pottery was beginning to be used. This was the beginning of the Woodland Period. With this advancement in technology, Native people could cook food better as well as store food.
Technological innovations occurred around the year 500 A. D. with the invention of the bow and arrow; as projectile points became smaller to fit onto an arrow shaft. Now Native Americans could procure more food as they could be further away from game to kill it. Atl-atls were still being used. This allowed Native Americans at this time to procure more food, as game could be taken at a longer distance. Food such as nuts could be stored in clay pots or the pots were used for cooking
Various cultures of indigenous peoples occupied the area at that time.
Eventually ancestors of the Algonquian-speaking Lenape moved into the area, perhaps as early as 1000 AD from the Mississippi River area.
Agriculture also started around that time, with the cultivation of corn, beans, and squash. Seeds were probably procured from traveling groups or tribes. Settlements of family groups became more stable, as they could store food in pottery, as well as procure more game with the bow and arrow. Agriculture contributed to the rise of population density in areas where crops could be grown. The Lenape would tend their oval gardens during the spring and summer months. They fished with nets or by hand in the shallow rivers. The Lenape trapped game with deadfalls and snares.
Problems developed in the early 17th century when the Little Ice Age came to North America. With late frost in May and June and early frosts in August or September, made the growing of crops difficult. Cold weather also made big and small game more difficult to find. as game would go into semi hibernation. Also nut crops from oak, hickory, beech, walnut, butternut, and chestnut, failed at times; making the supply of these nuts scarce. Rivers froze early, and water became cold fast; so fishing became impossible. The Native populations had declined after epidemics of infectious diseases, for which they had no acquired immunity. Native American populations were separated from Europe for thousands of years and had no immunity to these diseases that the Europeans brought with them. Many Native American populations were weakened from starvation due to the Little Ice Age, which was coldest during the 17th century. Their important corn, bean and squash crops failed due to spring frosts and early frosts in autumn. As the Native American population declined, more land was available for European settlement. All these factors made the Native American populations decline dramatically.

Europeans purchased land known as land patents so Native Americans moved west to Ohio or Canada.

European settlement

The Dutch settled the Hudson River Valley and claimed all lands west of the Hudson River in the early 17th century. They claimed all land between the 40th and 45th latitude. They traded with the Native Americans for furs, such as beaver, otter, muskrat, and deer. The Dutch built a fort at the southern end of Manhattan Island known as Fort Amsterdam. This was their main fort in North America. They also had other forts along the Hudson River up to Albany, New York. The English took over the Fort Amsterdam in August 1664 and gain control of the land the Dutch claimed. There was a ten-year war that followed with England and the Netherlands, but the English won.
Since the English owned the Province of New Jersey, it was divided into two parts; East and West Jersey. The Quintipartite Deed of 1674 to 1702; divided the province of Jersey with two surveys. These surveys were the Keith Line and the other survey was the Coxe-Barclay line, which created the border of eastern Sussex county. The Coxe-Barclay line, which was drawn in the late 1600s, established West Jersey in what is now Sussex County from the headwaters of the Pequannock River with a line going northeast to the line of the Province of New Jersey and New York. This line was between 41 degrees 40 minutes north to 41 degrees north. The western border was the Delaware River.
At this time the area was part of Burlington County in 1694. The area which was to be Warren County became Hunterdon County in 1714. In 1739, the area of Warren County was included in Morris County. Later Sussex County separated from Morris County but the area of which was to be Warren County was included in Sussex County in 1753.
Relations between the British and Native Americans improved for a while but gradually declined. This led to the French and Indian War of 1754, which fortified homes or small forts were built from Phillipsburg to Port Jervis, New York, along or near the Delaware River. The mountains of Warren County was the frontier of the war. Hostilities between the British and the French began to spill over from the European continent into the colonies in the New World. This was due to land claims by the English and French in western Pennsylvania and the Ohio River Valley area. After the battle of Jumonville Glen in southwestern Pennsylvania in May 1754, French colonists in North America armed several Native American tribes. The Native Americans sided with the French due to poor treatment by the British; unfair land purchases, and the Walking Purchase in eastern Pennsylvania of September 1737.
During the French and Indian War, Sussex County was often raided by bands of Native Americans, among them members of the Lenape, Shawnee, and Iroquois who fought against white settlers. In 1756, a small band of Lenape raided the homes of local militia commanders, killing several members of the Swartout family and kidnapping other settlers during the Hunt-Swartout Raid. In response to these aggressions, Royal Governor Jonathan Belcher approved a plan for 8 forts to be constructed along the Delaware River to defend the New Jersey frontier from such incursions, and authorized the New Jersey Frontier Guard to man them. Several of these forts were little more than blockhouses, others were personal homes that were fortified. These forts went from Phillipsburg northward to Belvidere in Warren County. Then north of Blairstown to Van Campen's Inn. Then north along the eastern side of the Delaware River to Port Jervis, New York. The first fort was called Fort Reading. This fort was near the Pequest River on the south side of the river near the Belvidere-Riverton Bridge. This fort was built in 1757. The second fort was Ellison's Fort built of stone in Knowlton Township. This fort is located at the Delaware River Family Campground. The trail went through the Kittatinny Mountains north of Blairstown to Colonel Isaac Van Campen's Inn 1742, about 18 miles northeast of Fort Reading. This fort is located in Walpack Township. Fort John also called Headquarters Fort was up a hill near Van Campens Fort. The next fortification was Fort Walpack build six miles north of Van Campens Fort in the bow of Walpack Bend around 1756. This is in Walpack Township. About six miles north of Walpack Fort is Fort Nominack 1756, which is located just north of Jager Road and Old Mine Road in Sandyston Township. The next fort was Fort Shipeconk 1757 located 4 miles north of the previous fort. A fortified house owned by Captain Abraham Shimer was very close to Fort Shipeconk. Further north the next fortified house was maintained west of Port Jervis, New York and it was called Fort Cole. After Fort Cole there was Fort Gardner which was located north of Port Jervis below the Great Mountain. After the war ended in 1763, there was very few Native Americans left in Warren county.
In the present-day Phillipsburg area, European settlement occurred in the late 17th century. Surveyors from Philadelphia went north along the Delaware River to survey land. Settlers from Philadelphia moved north into present-day Warren County after colonists purchased land from the Native Americans. As the Native American population declined, more land was available for European settlement.
By the late 1700s/early 1800s, Phillipsburg, Hackettstown, Belvidere, and Washington emerged as small settlements and served as the cornerstone communities in lower Sussex County. In 1824, Warren County was established and Belvidere was named as its county seat.

Demographics

2010 Census

2000 Census

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 102,437 people, 38,660 households, and 27,487 families residing in the county. The population density was 286 people per square mile. There were 41,157 housing units at an average density of 115 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 94.54% White, 1.87% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 1.21% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.01% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. 3.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Among those residents listing their ancestry, 24.1% were of German, 19.7% Irish, 18.7% Italian, 9.8% English, 8.9% Polish and 4.4% American ancestry.
There were 38,660 households out of which 34.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.20% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.90% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the county, the population was spread out with 26.10% under the age of 18, 6.30% from 18 to 24, 31.30% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $56,100, and the median income for a family was $66,223. Males had a median income of $47,331 versus $31,790 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,728. About 3.6% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Municipalities

Municipalities in Warren County, with Census-designated places and other communities listed, are:
Municipality
Mun.
type		Pop.Housing
units		Total
area		Water
area		Land
Area		Pop.
density		Housing
density		School districtCommunities
Allamuchy
Township 		township4,3232,09620.760.3120.45211.3102.5Hackettstown
Allamuchy 		Allamuchy CDP
Panther Valley CDP
Alpha borough2,3691,0321.700.031.671,417.2617.4Phillipsburg
Alpha
Belvidere town2,6811,1401.490.041.451,847.0785.4Belvidere
Blairstown
Township 		township5,9672,27231.700.8930.82193.673.7North Warren
Blairstown 		Blairstown CDP
Jacksonburg
Paulina
Franklin
Township 		township3,1761,21924.130.0924.04132.150.7Warren Hills
Franklin Township 		Asbury CDP
Broadway CDP
New Village CDP
Frelinghuysen
Township 		township2,23082623.570.2423.3295.635.4North Warren
Frelinghuysen 		Johnsonburg CDP
Marksboro CDP
Greenwich
Township 		township5,7121,87010.540.0110.53542.5177.6Phillipsburg
Greenwich 		Greenwich CDP
Stewartsville CDP
Upper Stewartsville CDP
Hackettstown town9,7243,7553.710.103.612,696.11,041.1Hackettstown
Hardwick
Township 		township1,69661937.921.3236.6046.316.9North Warren
Blairstown
Harmony
Township 		township2,6671,10924.080.3823.70112.546.8Belvidere
Harmony 		Brainards CDP
Harmony CDP
Hutchinson CDP
Hope
Township 		township1,95280918.840.2218.62104.843.4Belvidere
Hope Township 		Hope CDP
Mount Hermon CDP
Silver Lake CDP
Independence
Township 		township5,6622,32519.890.1519.74286.8117.8Hackettstown
Great Meadows 		Great Meadows CDP
Vienna CDP
Knowlton
Township 		township3,0551,21225.330.5824.75123.449.0North Warren
Knowlton 		Columbia CDP
Delaware CDP
Hainesburg CDP
Warrington
Liberty
Township 		township2,9421,15111.870.2611.60253.699.2Hackettstown
Great Meadows 		Mountain Lake CDP
Townsbury
Lopatcong
Township 		township8,0143,4207.160.067.101,129.0481.8Phillipsburg
Lopatcong 		Delaware Park CDP
Lopatcong Overlook CDP
Mansfield
Township 		township7,7253,31629.930.1129.82259.1111.2Warren Hills
Mansfield 		Anderson CDP
Beattystown CDP
Port Murray CDP
Oxford
Township 		township2,5141,0335.890.105.79434.5178.5Warren Hills
Oxford 		Oxford CDP
Phillipsburg town14,9506,6073.310.123.194,682.12,069.2Phillipsburg
Pohatcong
Township 		township3,3391,42013.710.3613.36250.0106.3Phillipsburg
Pohatcong 		Carpentersville
Finesville CDP
Hughesville
Upper Pohatcong CDP
Washington
Borough 		borough6,4612,8971.950.001.943,326.81,491.7Warren Hills
Washington Borough
Washington
Township 		township6,6512,49317.750.0917.66376.6141.1Warren Hills
Washington Township 		Brass Castle CDP
Changewater
Port Colden CDP
White
Township 		township4,8822,30427.630.4827.15179.884.9Belvidere
White Township 		Bridgeville CDP
Brookfield CDP
Buttzville CDP
Foul Rift
Warren Countycounty108,69244,925362.865.94356.92304.5125.9--

Zip Code Locations

Government

Warren County is governed by a three-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. The members are elected at large to serve three-year terms. One Freeholder seat comes up for election each year. The Freeholder Board is the center of legislative and administrative responsibility and, as such, performs a dual role. As legislators they draw up and adopt a budget, and in the role of administrators they are responsible for spending the funds they have appropriated. In 2016, freeholders were paid $24,000 and the Freeholder director had an annual salary of $25,000.
, Warren County's Freeholders are:
Pursuant to Article VII Section II of the New Jersey State Constitution, each county in New Jersey is required to have three elected administrative officials known as "constitutional officers." These officers are the County Clerk and County Surrogate and the County Sheriff. Constitutional officers of Warren County are:
The County Prosecutor is Richard T. Burke of Hackettstown, who was nominated by Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie and sworn into office in March 2012 after being confirmed by the New Jersey Senate.
Warren County is a part of Vicinage 13 of the New Jersey Superior Court, which is seated at the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerville; the Assignment Judge for Vicinage 15 is the Honorable Yolanda Ciccone. The Warren County Courthouse is in Belvidere. Law enforcement at the county level is provided by the Warren County Sheriff's Office and the Warren County Prosecutor's Office.
Two Congressional Districts cover the county, including portions of the 5th District and 7th District.
The county is part of the 23rd and 24th Districts in the New Jersey Legislature.
Emergency services are provided by the Warren County Public Safety Department and the county's municipal fire and police departments.

Freeholders

Current
Former
Warren County has been a consistently conservative county in local, state, and national elections, with a 3 to 1 ratio of Republican:Democratic voters. The county is also home to a large non-partisan factor. This stems from its earliest days.
In the 2004 U.S. presidential election, George W. Bush carried the county by a 24% margin over John Kerry, the second-highest margin for Bush in the state behind Sussex County. In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, John McCain carried Warren County by a 14% margin over Barack Obama, with Obama winning statewide by 15.5% over McCain.
In the state's 2005 gubernatorial election, Warren County voted for Doug Forrester by 21 points over statewide winner Jon Corzine. In the 2009 Gubernatorial Election, Republican Chris Christie received 61% of the vote, defeating Democrat Jon Corzine, who received around 26%.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the county had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the local municipality, by Warren County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.
The county has a few notable state and federal roads. The chief state routes are Route 31, a north–south road that runs from Buttzville in White Township to Trenton, and Route 57 that runs between Lopatcong Township to Hackettstown. Route 94 in the northern part runs through Blairstown into New York via Newton and the rest of Sussex County. Route 173 runs near Bloomsbury into Hunterdon County, terminating at Clinton/Annandale, and Route 182 serves as one of the commercial areas of Hackettstown. The US Routes are U.S. Route 22 in the Phillipsburg area and U.S. Route 46 runs from Columbia to Hackettstown in the northern section. The two interstates are the Phillipsburg-Newark Expressway, and the Bergen-Passaic Expressway.

Rail and bus transportation

Warren County has a single NJ Transit train stop, located at the Hackettstown station on the Montclair-Boonton Line.
The Norfolk Southern Railway's Lehigh Line, runs through the southern Warren County on its way to Phillipsburg.
Warren County also contracts with Easton Coach to provide demand-responsive service, as well as limited fixed-route service along the Route 31 and Route 57 corridors. NJ Transit operates the #890 & #891 buses in the Phillipsburg area.
By air, the county is served by Lehigh Valley International Airport near Allentown, Pennsylvania to the west and Newark Liberty International Airport to the east.

Education

Colleges

Most of Warren County is part of the Warren Hills Viticultural Area, and the county has 5 active wineries:
Warren County borders the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
Warren County has many areas for hunting and fishing.
The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife houses its Pequest Fish Hatchery, which produces trout and other fish, in Warren County about five miles northeast of Oxford, along U.S. Route 46. Thousands of trout are raised in this hatchery and also serves as an educational center for other outdoor activity. Wildlife Management Areas in the county include White Lake, Oxford Lake, and the Pequest River W.M.A. The five major rivers or creeks for fishing in Warren County are the Paulinskill, the Pequest, the Musconetcong, Pohatcong Creek, as well as the Delaware River. Merrill Creek Reservoir, located in Harmony Township, is also stocked with fish and has game in the surrounding woods.