page_title: Washington Township, Bergen County, New Jersey
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Washington Township, Bergen County, New Jersey / History
caption_attribution_description: English: BUILT 1745-1750;. OLDEST HOUSE IN WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP AND THIRD OLDEST IN BERGEN COUNTY. WASHINGTON WAS A FREQUENT VISITOR. THEODORE ROOSEVELT STAYED HERE WHILE WRITING ARTICLES FOR HOWLAND’S PUBLICATIONS. IT IS ALSO BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN A STOP ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 83001599
context_page_description: Washington Township, also known as the Township of Washington, is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 9,102, reflecting an increase of 164 from the 8,938 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 307 from the 9,245 counted in the 1990 Census.
context_section_description: The Lenape Native Americans first inhabited the township and many names throughout the general area were passed down from the Lenape. Pascack and Kinderkamack are just two of these names. However, after Dutch and other European settlers began arriving in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Lenape population was decimated. It is estimated that by 1750, 90% of the Lenape population in and around present-day New Jersey was killed by European settlement through war and European diseases.
  Washington Township was created by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 13, 1840, from the territories between the Hackensack River and Saddle River that had been part of Harrington Township. At the time of its creation, the township encompassed an area of 19,525 acres (79.01 km²), more than 30 square miles (78 km²). The township was named for George Washington, one of more than ten communities statewide named for the first president. It is one of five municipalities in the state of New Jersey with the name "Washington Township". Another municipality, Washington Borough, is completely surrounded by Washington Township, Warren County.
  Growth in the area exploded after the Civil War with the completion of the New Jersey and New York Railway through the Pascack Valley, as communities were established near the railroad's stations.
  Orvil Township was created on January 1, 1886, from the western portion of The Township of Washington and the southern portion of Hohokus Township.
  The Borough Act resulted in a flurry of new boroughs created from portions of the township in 1894 as the "Boroughitis" phenomenon swept through the Township of Washington, with Westwood (May 8, 1894), Park Ridge (May 14, 1894), Eastwood (part; created June 6, 1894, borough lasted until 1896), Montvale (part; created August 31, 1894) and Woodcliff (part; created August 31, 1894, name changed to Woodcliff Lake in 1910) formed among the 26 boroughs created that year in the county. Hillsdale Township (now a borough) was created on March 25, 1898. Etna Borough, which ultimately became Emerson, was formed on April 8, 1903. River Vale (part) was the last to leave when it was created on April 30, 1906. The departures have taken the township from over 30 square miles (78 km²) to its current 3-square-mile (7.8 km²) size.
  Seven Chimneys is a house with the described seven chimneys, located on Ridgewood Road atop a small hill. George Washington is said to have stayed at the house during the Revolutionary War. Seven Chimneys, the oldest house in the township, is an impressive example of eighteenth-century, regional, domestic architecture and is an important remnant of the community's early settlement period. The house is listed on the State Register and National Register of Historic Places. Notable visitors include Theodore Roosevelt. The house was used as a stop on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. On November 3, 1968, the Bergen County Historical Society placed a historic-site marker on the property and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
  During the mid-1950s, the completion of the 173-mile (278 km) Garden State Parkway split the township in two. The Parkway created two access routes with Exit 166 on the southern border closest to Paramus and Exit 168 on Washington Avenue. The northernmost toll plaza was built off of East Glen. During the decade after the Parkway was completed, the township dramatically increased in population.
caption: Seven Chimneys, built 1745–1750, is the oldest house in Washington Township and third oldest in Bergen County. Seven Chimneys was used as a stop for the Underground Railroad.
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