Warren County is geographically divided into 23 civil divisions to facilitate local governmental control and to preserve for each community its individuality.  Of these civil divisions, two are boroughs, three are towns and 18 are townships.  The boroughs and towns represent the larger population centres and are small in area, while the townships, though more sparsely populated, embrace most of the County's area.

        For the sake of brevity in presenting the leading facts regarding each civil division, general conditions and factors existing in every division, will not be repeatedly stated, such as: the healthy climate, abundant and pure water supply, transportation facilities, modern schools and churches.  ... "Net value" means total Net valuation taxable.  All "population" figures given, are from the 1930 Federal Census.

        The boroughs of Washington and Alpha, and the towns of Hackettstown and Belvidere are each governed by a Council of 7 elected members, one of whom is Mayor, and which meets at regular stated times each month in its respective Town or Borough Hall.  The town of Phillipsburg has a Commission of 5 members, which meets every Wednesday.  These 5 civic division are not only the principal population centres in the County, but also its business, industrial and residential centres.  Each has street lighting, school, police, fire protection, water and sewage disposal systems adequate for its own requirements.  And, each has its complement of religious, social and business organizations.

        Phillipsburg:  Population - 19,255.  Net value $19,202,704.  Incorporated - March 8, 1861.  Strategically located on the Delaware River, on a main highway from Philadelphia to New York, and where five leading railroad lines converge, it is Warren's principal town, and contains 2/5 of the County's entire population.  It is the biggest town in the western half of New Jersey north of Trenton, and a major industrial and transportation centre.  Advantageous location, transportation facilities, water and interested workers - all combine to make for unparalleled and ideal conditions favoring industry.

        Built on the site of an old Indian village called Chintewink, the town was named after William Phillips before 1749.  Forty-four years later, when Philip Seager and Jacob Reese bought the 91 3/4-acre town for $530,000, its present neighboring town of Easton across the Delaware was still a woodland, and James Fenimore Cooper, the famous novelist, frequently visited the town.  Phillipsburg's real growth began with the completion of the Phillipsburg Branch of the New Jersey Central Railroad, in 1852.  The town's first big industry, the iron and brass foundry of J.R. Templin & Co. was destroyed by fire in 1855.  Following that, one large industry after another came to Phillipsburg.  In 1903 a portion of Lopatcong Township was added to the town, and 10 years later the Commission form of government was adopted.  Today, Phillipsburg has about 40 industrial establishments.  One of them normally employs 3,000 workers and 4 employ over 500 each.  It has every needed facility for the convenience and comfort of its industries and people.  It is a principal railroad gateway to the west.  A new high school completed in 1928 ate a cost of $600,000 is one of the finest of its kind in the State of New Jersey.

        The Warren Hospital, located in the town, is the only one in the County.  It was opened as a general hospital, December 1923, and has 60  beds.  Founded by voluntary contributions of the citizens, the Ladies Auxiliary especially, has done much to support and aid the institution, which is performing a needed and humane service in the County.

        Washington:  Population - 4,410.  Net value - $4,492,862.  Incorporated - February 20, 1868, from the central densely populated part of Washington Township.  Originally named Mansfield-Wood-House (or Woodhouse) after a log church built in 1741, Colonel William McCullough, who built a brick tavern in 1811, is considered the founder of Washington.  In 1835, Robert Hornbaker erected an organ factory, and in the years that followed organs and pianos were shipped to all parts of the world.  The earliest industries, however, were a boat yard, a tannery, a silk mill and wagon and shoe factories.  The great stimulus to growth came when the town was established as a railroad junction and the station erected in 1856.

        At present Washington is noted for its fine residences and industries.  It has five major industries, whose principal products are silk hosiery, electrical porcelain, sanitary toilet seats, brass fittings and broad silk.  Its wide, tree-shaded streets are lined with attractive homes, and its central shopping area is modern and convenient, it has two banks, six churches, approximately 1,100 homes, an airplane landing field, a playground and park.  A $65,000 addition to the sewage treatment plant is nearing completion and a new high school is under way.  And, lying in that area of the County marked out for future industrial expansion, Washington's percentage of population increase in the past 10 years was greater than that of any other civil division in the County.

        Hackettstown:  Population - 3,038.  Net value - $3,583,248.  Incorporated - March 9, 1853, though settled as early as 1769, and named after Judge Samuel Hackett, before which it was known as Helms' Mill.  The Londons and Ayers were among the very early settlers.

        But 57 miles from New York on the Lackawanna Railroad, it is a delightful residential community 600 feet above sea level, with six sizable industries.  The well known Centenary Collegiate Institute for girls, set in beautiful surroundings; the 120 acre, park-like, New Jersey State Fish Hatcheries, and the State Game Farm are also here located.

        In former years Hackettstown was a gay and fashionable resort of the wealthy, who came to enjoy the beneficial mineral waters at Schooleys Mountain Springs.  Now the town has its own reservoirs on Schooleys Mountain, which not only give a never failing supply of the purest water, but also, actually yield the town considerable revenue.

        Principal manufactured products are: saw mill and wood working machinery, upholstery leathers, knitted underwear and hosiery.  Hackettstown takes pride in its beautiful homes; its up-to-date trading centre, which serves three counties; its two banks; its high school; its five churches; its country club, club house and a wooded retreat along the Musconetcong, which is owned by the town.  A new library building is now being planned.

        The industrial development of Hackettstown lies immediately ahead.  Only an hour from New York by rail and main highway, it must benefit by the exodus of industries from the high priced New York area.

        Belvidere:  Population - 2,073.  Net value - $2,326,344.  Incorporated - March 19, 1845, from part of Oxford Township.  Known as "Greenwich-on-the-Delaware" prior to 1775, its present name was first used in 1791 by Major Robert Hoops.  Robert Patterson is recognized as the first settler.

        It is a distinctly industrial and residential community, especially noted for its fine old residences, and has served as the County Seat for over 100 years.  Located on the beautiful Delaware, on 2 railroad lines and on main highways, the town's possibilities of development as an industrial and resort community are beyond estimate.  Recognizing these many advantages, a national organization recently established its main converting works in the town at a cost of millions of dollars.  Three other industries in the town manufacture piano hammers, silk and flour.  And in addition, Belvidere has 2 banks, 5 churches, a 3½-acre County Park and is rich in places of historic interest.

        Alpha:   Population - 2.374.  Net value - $1,737,222.  Incorporated - April 27, 1911, and is one of the most recently formed divisions of the County.  Originally, it was laid out in 1898 and called Whitaker.
 
        A decidedly industrial borough, cement making constitutes its principal manufacturing activity and support, though a silk plant is also in operation.  Its population is largely made up of industrious and conservative Hungarian, Slovak and Spanish workers, who find employment in these two industries.  Alpha has a bank, 3 churches and about 500 homes; and Carl Veit, the borough's first Mayor, continued to be its leading progressive spirit.

        Each of the County's 18 townships is large in size, as compared to the boroughs.  They form the main geographical divisions of the County, and were erected from the 7 original townships into which the County was divided in 1825, namely: Greenwich, Hardwick, Independence, Knowlton, Mansfield, Oxford and Pahaquarry, this last township being the only one that has remained unchanged.
 
        Activities in all the townships are mainly agricultural.  In many instances, large portions of their area are uncultivated wooded uplands and ridges.  Farms are generally well kept and intensively worked.  Each township is governed by a township committee of 3 elected members.

        Allamuchy:  Population - 684.  Net value - $646,724.  Incorporated - April 4, 1873, from part of Independence Township and named after its principal town, whose old Indian name was Allamchahokkingen or Allamucha.  Quakers were the earliest settlers.
 
        Two of the finest and largest country estates in America are located in the Township.  One was early settled by John Rutherfurd, who later became prominent in affairs of the State and Nation.  These extensive farm estates contain a game preserve and deer park.
 
        Allamuchy, the principal village, is located on the Lehigh & Hudson River railroad near a beautiful lake of the same name.  Other villages are Quaker Settlement, Warrenville, Alphano, Long Bridge and Saxton Falls.

         Blairstown:  Population - 1,416.  Net value - $1,086,289.  Incorporated - February 20, 1845, from Knowlton Township, small parts of Hardwick and Frelinghuysen Township  were added later.  First known as Buttz's Ridge, then as Gravel Hill, it received its present name in 1839, after John I. Blair, founder of the famous Blairstown Academy and one of the most prominent men in the history of the County.  Lodewick Ditman, who came in 1737 was one of the first settlers in the Township.  Diary farming is the main form of agricultural activity.
 The Township's principal community is Blairstown, where is located the venerable Blair Academy.  It is the trading centre for a large part of northern Warren County, has 2 railroads, 2 banks and 2 churches.  Jacksonburg, Walnut Valley, Mount Vernon, Vail and Paulina are other villages in the Township, where also is located Cedar Lake.

        Franklin:  Population - 1,213.  Net value - $1,877,724.  Incorporated - February 15, 1839, from Greenwich Township and named after Benjamin Franklin.  Along the main highway from Phillipsburg to Washington, which traverses the Township, are located its three principal villages and its two big industries - cement and concrete block manufacturers.
 
        Asbury, founded by Colonel William McCullough, had a grist mill long before the Revolution when it was known as Hall's Mills.  Its present name is after Bishop Asbury.  It has one church.
 
        Broadway, was originally owned by the Probasco family; and was the home of Peggy Warne, after whom the County Chapter of D.A.R. is named.  It also has a church.
 
        New Village is the seat of one of the County's largest cement industries and has 2 churches and a Sunday School which is 117 years old.

        Frelinghuysen:  Population - 696.  Net value - $580,383.  Incorporated - March 7, 1848, from Hardwick Township and named after Theodore Frelinghuysen, noted statesman and educator.  The summer camp of the Stevens Technology Institute, a large lake and 4 churches are located in the Township, and its principal villages are Marksboro, Johnsonburg, Shilo, Kerrs Corner and Ebenezer.
        Johnsonburg was the County Seat of Sussex County in 1753, when it was known as Log Goal (Jail).
 
        Marksboro was named after Colonel Mark Thompson, who owned a grist mill here before 1760.

        Greenwich:  Population - 1,141.  Net value - $1,025,944.  Incorporated - October 9, 1738, which is the earliest incorporation date of any civil division in the County.  Originally vast in area, it has been reduced to its present size by many deductions, and was named after Mr. Green, who settled here before 1738, when it was called Green's Ridge and later Greenage.  There are 3 churches in the Township and 2 principal settlements: Stewartsville and Kennedyville.  In the former Lewis Cline, a German, settled in 1730, and in the latter, Robert Kennedy was one of the earliest settlers.
 
        Stewartsville, named after the Stewart brothers, is located on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, and is the home of Edward C. Brill, nationally known breeder of pure blooded cattle.

        Hardwick:  Population - 331.  Net value - $242,361.  Incorporated - January 22, 1750, it is one of the oldest Townships in the County.  John Peter Bernhardt and Casper Shaffer, Germans, who settled at Stillwater in 1742, were among the earliest pioneers in the County.  Located in the hilly northern part of the County, it has several picturesque lakes, whose bottoms and shores are marl deposits; and its future development lies in the direction of resort use.  Its settlements are Hardwick Corner, Newbakers Corner, Hardwick, Squires Corner and Franklin Cove.

        Harmony:  Population - 331.  Net value - $880,713.  Incorporated - February 15, 1839, from parts of Greenwich and Oxford Townships, Phillipsburg was deducted from it in 1851.  Herman Shipman was one of the first settlers, in 1740.  The Township is about equally divided between low fertile lands and high ridges, which attain an elevation of 1,250 feet.  Montana, a village in the eastern part of the Township, has the greatest elevation of any settlement in the County, 1,259 feed, and about 3 miles south of it is an ancient Quaker churchyard.  The main highway from Phillipsburg to Belvidere passes through the Township in a north and south direction, and along it are located the principal settlements.  Also along this new highway, a new golf course has recently been built.  There are 3 churches in the Township and railroad stations are located at Harmony, Martins Creek, Hutchinson and Roxburg, which are its principal settlements.

 
        Hope:  Population - 553.  Net value - $488,035.  Incorporated - February 15, 1839 from parts of Knowlton and Oxford Townships, and in 1926 Liberty Township was deducted from it.  It was named after the town; and Samuel Green, Jr. and the Sampson Howell family are recorded as the early settlers.  Several small lakes add to the charm of the Township's beauty, and it has 5 churches.
 
        Hope is the principal community and prior to 1715 was known as Greenland.  It was an early Moravian community of solidly built stone structures, many of which are still standing.  The Moravian congregation after having been ravaged by an epidemic, passed out of existence in 1808.  The two other settlements of the Township are Mt. Hermon, previously known as Green's Chapel, and Silver Lake.

        Independence:  Population - 964.  Net value - $870,609.  Incorporated - November 11, 1782, and named to commemorate the establishment of America's independence.  Walter Wiggins was one of the early residents, and a tombstone bearing the date of October 5, 1745, the oldest in the County, is located in the Township.
 
        The Township is principally noted for its fertile muck lands bordering the Pequest River, where celery, lettuce and onions are grown.  Practically all of the County's 5,000 acres of this muck land, which is 1/5 of all the muck land in New Jersey, lies within the Township.  A well preserved, pre-historic mastodon skeleton was dug up from the muck at Mastodon Pond.  Truck farming is the principal activity.  There are in the Township, 5 churches, 235 homes and a 2-acre community park.  And its principal villages are Vienna, Great Meadows, Pequest and Petersburg.
 
        Vienna, with its wide, tree-lined streets, is one of the most beautiful country villages in New Jersey.
 
        Great Meadows, formerly known as Danville, is a center of the truck farming district.

        Knowlton:  Population - 1,049.  Net value - $937,528.  Incorporated - February 23, 1763, from Oxford Township, but Blairstown Township was deducted from it in 1845.  The earliest settlers were Cummins, Robeson, Harris and Adams.
 
        Bordering on the Delaware, it is intersected by the Paulins Kill, a main highway and the D., L. & W. and L.& N.E. railroads; and its natural scenery is of remarkable beauty.  It has 4 churches, about 250 homes and its principal villages are: Delaware, Columbia and Hainesburg.
 
        Delaware, formerly known as Delaware Station, is the junction point of 2 railroad lines.
 
        Columbia, located at the mouth of the Paulins Kill, has the convenience of 2 railroad lines, and the Delaware is here spanned by a 796 foot bridge, having an 18 foot driveway.
 
        Hainesburg, first called Sodon was later named after John Haines.  With a main station on the D., L. & W., the railroad here spans the Paulins Kill with a huge, concrete arch bridge, which cost a million dollars.  Other villages are Ramseysburg, Polksville and Mount Pleasant.

        Liberty:  Population - 419.  Net value - $360,013.  Incorporated - 1926, from Oxford and Hope Townships, it is the most recently created civil division of the County.  Albert, Hendershot, Wildrick and Raub were the early settlers.  Mountain Lake, about a mile long and 1/2 mile wide with its many beautiful summer homes and large hotel, is a distinctive physical feature of this Township.  Accommodating the many fishermen and hunters, who flock to the township, constitutes a sort of industry.  Deposits of pure, crystalline pink limestone occurs at Marble Quarry.  There are in the township 2 churches and about 125 year-round homes.
 
        Townsbury is the principal village and was long known as Meng's Mill after John Meng, who settled there early and developed the place.

        Lopatcong:  Population - 1,269.  Net value - $1,267,011,000.  Incorporated - March 7, 1851, under the name of Phillipsburg, and received its present name when the Town of Phillipsburg was erected from it in 1861.  Morris Park was deducted in 1903.  Orchards, having a total of 40,000 peach trees are in the Township and are the largest in the entire County.  Soap stone outcrops in the Township and is quarried commercially.
 
        Delaware Park is the main village and has the Township's only church.

        Mansfield:  Population - 1,139.  Net value - $1,011,095,000.  Incorporated - May 30, 1754, from Greenwich Township and has had many deductions since that time.  It derives its name from the old Mansfield-Woodhouse Church.  The outstanding features of the Township are the Hematite Mines near Beattystown; Timber Swamp, an area strewn with glacial boulders; the 3,500 foot D., L. & W. tunnel; clay deposits for tile making at Port Murray; the largest apple orchards in the County; the 144-acre Rockport Game Farm of the New Jersey Fish and Game Commission, where 5,000 pheasants are raised annually; and the 542-acre Warren County Home.  There are 6 churches in the Township and its villages are Port Murray, Anderson, Beattystown, Karrsville, Mt. Bethel and Rockport.
 
        Port Murray was a considerable port when the Morris Canal was in operation, and now has the only railroad station in the Township.  Here also are located a large creamery and the plant of the National Fireproofing Co.
 
        Anderson, Beatty, Cummins, Karrs, Bryant, Furman and Morton are the early names in the Township.

        Oxford:  Population - 1,723.  Net value - $740,835.  Incorporated - May 30, 1754, from Greenwich Township and named after John Axford, who was one of the very first settlers in the County.  White Township was later taken from it.  Legendary Mount-No-More, a bold peak in the Delaware Valley, attains an elevation of 1,143 feet.  There are three churches in the Township all of which are situated in the village of Oxford, and it is the most central township of the County.
 
        Oxford, the Township's main community, was for many years the most important town in the County, but with the cessation of iron making in 1809, it gradually lost prestige.  Iron was mined and produced here as early as 1743, and the furnace where cannons and cannon balls were made for the Continental Army still stands.  The great Lackawanna Iron & Coal Company was an outgrowth of the iron industry started here.  The settlement is rich in historic interest.  Recently, Oxford has had a re-awakening and is making progress as an industrial community.  The iron mines have been renovated and are again in operation.  Three other industries are busy producing dyes, machine parts, castings and silk.  And considering its advantageous location on the D.,L.& W. railroad and a main highway -- its rich deposits of finest quality iron ore and pure limestone--and its desirable type of workers, the future growth and expansion of the community is assured.

        Pahaquarry:  Population - 80.  Net value - $160,335.  Incorporated - December 27, 1824, though formed even earlier than 1738.  It derives its name from the Indian word Pachaqualong.  Bordering on the Delaware River in the northern part of the County, it is occupied by the well-known Blue and Kittatinny Mountain Ridges, whose elevations range from 1500 to 1600 feet.  And here is located the world famous Delaware Water Gap.  In the Township are located Buckwood Park, an 8,000-acre, wire-fenced game preserve; 2 extensive lakes located on the mountain tops in this park; the old Dutch copper mine holes, the earliest work of white men in New Jersey; and the 1,500 acre camp of the Boy Scouts Council of Trenton.  The New Jersey State Board of Conservation and Development recently recommended that the entire Kittatinny Ridge be established as a great Forest Park.
 
        The Delaware Water Gap with its rare natural scenery is much frequented in summer and is comparable as a natural wonder with Yellowstone Park and Niagara Falls.  It will in the future see a much fuller development as an ideal location for estates and summer homes.
 

        Pohatcong:  Population - 1,974.  Net value - $1,629,592.  Incorporated - March 24, 1881, from Greenwich Township and named after the creek.  Alpha Borough was deducted from it in 1911.  The southernmost township in the County, it has a flat and rolling topography and transportation facilities that are excellent.  It is traversed by broad modern highways and 2 railroad lines with conveniently located freight stations.  It is an industrial as well as an agricultural community, has 2 churches, about 450 resident homes, 54 farms and the manufactured products are paper, gravel cut marble and peach baskets; and its principal settlements are Riegelsville, Finesville, Warren Glen, Carpentersville, Huntington, Springtown, Shackletown and Hughesville.
 
        Riegelsville, at the southern extremity of the County, is connected with the town of the same name on the opposite side of the Delaware by a free bridge.  Large paper mills are located here and at Warren Glen.  The town is named after the Riegel family, who have been and continue to be prominent in the industrial development of the County.
 
        Carpentersville was named after Jacob Carpenter, a Swiss who came in 1748; Finesville, named after the Fine family, is the site of a large machine knife industry; and Hughesville derives its name from Hugh Hughes, an early settler.

        Washington:  Population - 1,007.  Net value - $1,234,308,000.  Incorporated - February 28, 1849, and the Borough of Washington was deducted from it in 1868.  The Bowers and Wyckoff family names are the oldest in the Township.  The only church is located at Port Colden, and there are approximately 320 homes in the Township.  A program for improving the Township roads is being initiated and a consolidated public school is planned to be erected this year.  The 50-acre Butler's Park along the Musconetcong is a very attractive rustic recreation spot.  Changewater, Brass Castle and Port Colden are the principal settlements.
 
        Changewater, one of the earliest places named in the County, is situated near the site of "Pelouesse," an old Indian village.
 
        Brass Castle was named after the cabin or "castle" of Jacob Brass.  The reservoirs of the Washington Water Co. are here located and at Roaring Rock is a picturesque cascade.
 
        Port Colden, founded when the Morris Canal was completed in 1831, was named after C.D. Colden, President of the Canal Company.

        White Township:  Population - 1,200.  Net value - $1,012,832,000.  Incorporated - April 9, 1913, from Oxford Township and named after Alexander White who settled prior to 1760.  The family names of Titman, Hixson and Banghart appear in the Township's early records.  The Edison limestone quarry, three churches, about 240 homes and 5 railroad stations are located in the Township and its principal settlements are: Buttzville, Hazen, Bridgeville, Foul Rift, Manunka Chunk and Sarepta.
 
        Buttzville, was named after Buttz who came in 1839, is located on the Pequest River, where the D.L. & W. railroad bridges both the River and the L. & H. railroad.
 
        Hazen takes its name from the family that early settled there.
 
        Bridgeville, formerly known as Hunt's Tavern is located at the intersection of two main highways and a railroad.
 
        At Sarepta is located the limestone quarry; and both Foul Rift and Manunka Chunk are Delaware River summer resorts.  At Foul Rift, where the Delaware River is strewn with huge boulders, occurs the most dangerous mile of water along the entire length of the River, and here in a log cabin, was born one of the County's most conspicuous figures, John I. Blair, who rose from poverty to be one of the nation's most wealthy men.