Washington Township is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 9,285, an increase of 183 (+2.0%) of the 2010 census count of 9,102, reflecting an increase of 164 (+1.8%) from the 8,938 counted in the 2000 census.Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.

History

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.About the Lenape - 1600-1750: Fur Traders, Disease, Settlers (see reference material linked therein)

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.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 88. Accessed May 30, 2024. At the time of its creation, the township encompassed an area of 19,525 acre, more than .Our History, Township of Washington. Accessed December 22, 2013. "We have a number of interesting places in our town, one of which is Seven Chimneys, a large 18th century stone house that stands high on a grassy knoll in the southern portion of the Township. Legend has it; George Washington stayed there a short period of time, which gives our community special history and pride." The township was named for George Washington, one of more than ten communities statewide named for the first president.Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed October 21, 2015.Rondinaro, Gene. "Washington Slept Here And There And...", The New York Times, February 17, 1985. Accessed October 21, 2015. "First in war, first in peace and, come tomorrow, first in the hearts of his countrymen, George Washington may be nowhere more fondly remembered than in New Jersey, where 12 communities are named for him. The profusion of such names - six Washington Townships, one each in Bergen, Burlington, Gloucester, Mercer, Morris and Warren Counties; Washington in Warren, Washington Crossing in Mercer, Washington Heights and Washington Park in Middlesex, Washingtonville in Sussex and Washington Valley in Morris - causes problems." It is one of five municipalities in the state of New Jersey with the name "Washington Township".Wilk, Tom. "Awash in Washingtons: New Jersey has six towns named for the father of our country.", New Jersey Monthly, January 17, 2011. Accessed October 22, 2015. "In New Jersey, Washington can lay claim to another first. He's number one in names selected for the state's 566 municipalities. Bergen, Burlington, Gloucester, Morris and Warren counties all have a Washington Township. Warren also has a Washington Borough surrounded—naturally—by Washington Township. The largest is Gloucester County's Washington, with 52,096 people; the smallest is the Washington in Burlington, with a population of 649. New Jersey had a sixth Washington Township in Mercer County until 2008, when voters there approved a name change to Robbinsville." 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.Harvey, Cornelius Burnham. Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey, p. 11, New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Company, 1900. Accessed December 22, 2013. "For a period of sixteen years following the passage of this act few boroughs were organized in the State, only three of them being in Bergen County.... As it was twenty-six boroughs were created in the county from January 23, 1894, to December 18, of the same year." 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.Honeyman, Abraham Van Doren. Index-analysis of the Statutes of New Jersey, 1896-1909: Together with References to All Acts, and Parts of Acts, in the 'General Statutes' and Pamphlet Laws Expressly Repealed: and the Statutory Crimes of New Jersey During the Same Period, p. 312. New Jersey Law Journal Publishing Company, 1910. Accessed October 21, 2015. The departures have taken the township from over to its current 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 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.

Efforts to gain a ZIP Code for the township back to the mid-1970s, when efforts were made to have the unused 07676 code allocated to the Township of Washington. Previously, the township had been served by the Westwood post office as ZIP Code 07675, which also served Old Tappan, River Vale and Woodcliff Lake."Add Bicentennial zip -07676-to township?", The Record, October 31, 1975. Accessed July 25, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Some residents here would like to celebrate the Bicentennial with a new zip code 07676. The township shares Westwood's post office and zip code, 07675, with Old Tappan, River Vale and Woodcliff Lake.... He said Rep. Andrew Maguire, D-N.J., has written the postmaster general to ask for the currently unused zip code." ZIP Code 07676 for Township of Washington was established effective July 2000."Post Office Changes" in Postal Bulletin, United States Postal Service, April 6, 2000. Accessed November 26, 2020. "Establish a new ZIP Code for a delivery area. Use Woodcliff Lake NJ 07677 as last line of address for a portion of the deliveries previously in ZIP Code 07675."

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of , including of land and of water (1.67%).

The township is located in the northern portion of Bergen County, which in turn is in the far northeastern corner of New Jersey, northwest of New York City. It is within the Hackensack River watershed, which comprises Musquapsink Brook, Schlegel Lake, Pascack Brook, Oradell Reservoir, Woodcliff Lake Reservoir, and Lake Tappan. The township borders the Bergen County municipalities of Emerson, Hillsdale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Paramus, Ridgewood, Saddle River and Westwood.Areas touching Washington Township, MapIt. Accessed March 26, 2020.Bergen County Map of Municipalities, Bergen County, New Jersey. Accessed March 26, 2020.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.

Located within the Pascack Valley of north-central Bergen County, elevations rise gradually in an east to west/south to north trajectory, and range anywhere from or less in the wooded swamplands behind Westwood Regional High School to approximately just west of Van Emburgh Avenue. Three hills are in the township: at the border of Westwood, west of Pascack Road, and another located west of Van Emburgh Avenue. Being higher in elevation, it is slightly cooler and less prone to flooding than the rest of the valley and other parts of northwestern Bergen County.

The southern end of the township bordering Emerson and Paramus is wooded wetlands at the convergence of Musquapsink Brook and three cemeteries, and has consistently the densest overnight and morning fog in the area.

As of 2026, the township is a member of Local Leaders for Responsible Planning in order to address the township's Mount Laurel doctrine-based housing obligations.

Demographics

2020 census +Washington township, Bergen County, New Jersey – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)7,9817,8397,58589.29%86.12%81.69%Black or African American alone (NH)7893870.87%1.02%0.94%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)3080.03%0.00%0.09%Asian alone (NH)4965815665.55%6.38%6.10%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)0100.00%0.01%0.00%Other race alone (NH)179270.19%0.10%0.29%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)64842120.72%0.92%2.28%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2994958003.35%5.44%8.62%Total8,9389,1029,285 100.00%100.00%100.00%

2010 Census

The 2010 United States census counted 9,102 people, 3,261 households, and 2,632 families in the township. The population density was . There were 3,341 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 90.50% (8,237) White, 1.08% (98) Black or African American, 0.01% (1) Native American, 6.47% (589) Asian, 0.02% (2) Pacific Islander, 0.62% (56) from other races, and 1.31% (119) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.44% (495) of the population.

Of the 3,261 households, 33.1% had children under the age of 18; 71.0% were married couples living together; 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present and 19.3% were non-families. Of all households, 16.9% were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.15.

22.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 30.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 91.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 90.7 males.