We dispatched seven reporters and four photographers to Washington Township to record the day's events and get a feel for the community. What we found may surprise you. Sure, there were the criticisms associated with suburban sprawl numerous strip shopping malls and housing developments in search of a town. But we also found a rich and diverse community as unique as its residents. It's no surprise to township officials that Washington Township is an ideal place to live.
People have though so for centuries.
The first inhabitants, the Lenni-Lenape tribe, established at least 20 communities within the township's 23 square miles. Their largest village, Tetamekon, was renamed Grenloch by European settlers. Farming, wood and grain milling and charcoal production became primary industries for the Europeans, who numbered 1,317 in an 1875 census. The population was still fewer than 5,000 in the 1960 federal census, but a home-building boom tripled the population in the next decade. Too much growth too soon.