Nutley, New Jersey

What is now Nutley was originally incorporated as Franklin Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 18, 1874, from portions of Belleville Township. Nutley was incorporated as a Town on March 5, 1902, replacing Franklin Township.⁶ Nutley was one of several Essex County communities that changed to the Township type during the 1970s in order to qualify for federal revenue-sharing aid only available to townships. Nutley derived its name from the estate of the Satterthwaite family, established in 1844, which stretched along the Passaic River and from an artist's colony in the area.⁷⁸

New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Nutley as its 38th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.⁹

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.9 km²), of which, 3.4 square miles (8.7 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (1.75%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census³ of 2000, there were 27,362 people, 10,884 households, and 7,368 families residing in the township. The population density was 8,123.0 people per square mile (3,134.9/km²). There were 11,118 housing units at an average density of 1, 273.8/km² (3,300.6/sq mi). The racial makeup of the township was 87.95% White, 1.87% African American, 0.05% Native American, 7.10% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.75% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.69% of the population.

As of the 2000 census, 36.0% of town residents were of Italian ancestry, the 12th-highest percentage of any municipality in the United States, and fifth-highest in New Jersey, among all places with more than 1,000 residents identifying their ancestry.¹²

There were 10,884 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 27.9% of all households 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 2.51 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the town the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $59,634, and the median income for a family was $73,264. Males had a median income of $51,121 versus $37,100 for females. The per capita income for the township was $28,039. About 3.4% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

Nutley's population grew between the 1920s and 1960s due to a large influx of Italian immigrants and assimilated Italian-Americans. Today, 44.5% of Nutley is of Italian descent, per data from the 2000 Census¹³

History

The town of Nutley grew slowly as the Village of Newark developed. The first European settler in the area, recorded in the minutes of a Newark town meeting in 1693, was a Dutch painter named Bastian Van Giesen.⁷ His house still stands today on Chestnut Street and is the location of the Nutley Women's Club. John Treat and Thomas Stagg purchased lots adjacent to Van Geisen's in 1695 and 1698 respectively. The first brownstone quarry in Nutley is believed to have been in operation by the early 18th century and was the town's first major industry.⁷ Jobs at the brownstone quarry in the Avondale section of Nutley provided work for many Italian and Irish immigrants. Mills situated along the Third River in the area now known as Memorial Park I became Nutley's second major industry.⁷ John and Thomas Speer, Joseph Kingsland, and Henry Duncan all operated mills in the town during the 1800s. Current streets in Nutley are named after these mill owners. Henry Duncan built several mills throughout the town and established the village of Franklinville consisting of 30 homes and a few small businesses which later became the center of Nutley.⁷ One of Duncan's buildings has been modified and now serves as the town hall.

Nutley's current town historian, John Demmer, is the author of the book in the "Images of America" series titled Nutley; Demmer is also part of The Nutley Historical Society [1], a not-for-profit organization dedicated to serve the educational, cultural and historical needs of the community. Several other passionate historical works on Nutley have been written by local historians, notably the late Miss Ann Troy's "Nutley: Yesterday - Today"; "Nutley" by Marilyn Peters and Richard O'Connor in the "Then and Now" series; and books about the Nutley Velodrome.

Government

Local representation

Nutley has operated a Commission form of government under the Walsh Act since 1912.¹⁴ Each of the five commissioners are elected on a nonpartisan basis to serve four-year concurrent terms (current terms of office all end on May 22, 2012). The commissioners also serve as department heads in addition to their legislative functions. The Commissioners elect one Commissioner as Mayor. Historically the Commissioner that receives the most votes is appointed Mayor. The mayor is only responsible for his or her departments and serves as the chair of the commission.¹⁵

Federal, state and county representation

Nutley is part of New Jersey's 36th Legislative District and is in the Eighth Congressional District.¹⁶

Politics

On the national level, Nutley leans toward the Republican Party. In 2004, Republican George W. Bush received 54% of the vote here, defeating Democrat John Kerry, who received around 45%.

Education

Recreation

Nutley's parks include Booth Park, DeMuro Park, Father Glotzbach Park, Msgr Owens Park, Flora Louden Park, Kingsland Park, Memorial Park I, II, III, Nichols Park, and Rheinheimer Park. They offer fields for baseball, football, basketball,lacrosse, roller hockey, and soccer among other sports.²¹

Operation Nutley Cares

After Hurricane Katrina devastated the central gulf coast region on August 29, 2005, Mayor Joanne Cocchiola and Commissioner Carmen Orechio reached out to local residents who wanted to help victims of the devastation, and formed the Operation Nutley Cares Committee. A decision was made to adopt Bay St. Louis, Mississippi as a sister city, Bay St. Louis, population 8,500, which sits just northwest of New Orleans, and had at least 60% of the community completely destroyed by Katrina and another 20% condemned. Monetary donations are still being accepted to help fund efforts to assist Bay St. Louis.

Corporate residents

Hoffmann–La Roche US-section is headquartered in Nutley, and was the site of the creations of the blockbuster medications Valium and Librium.⁸

Noted residents

Cultural references

References

^ USGS GNIS: Township of Nutley, Geographic Names Information System, accessed October 17, 2007.
^ ^a ^b Census data for Nutley township, United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 11, 2007.
^ ^a ^b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.
^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 130 for Nutley, P. 128 for Franklin Township.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f History of Nutley, accessed May 14, 2007.
^ ^a ^b Roman, Mark B. "IF YOU'RE THINKING OF LIVING IN: NUTLEY", The New York Times, September 18, 1983. Accessed November 13, 2007.
^ "Best Places To Live - The Complete Top Towns List 1-100", New Jersey Monthly, February 21, 2008. Accessed February 24, 2008.
^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
^ Italian Communities, Epodunk. Accessed June 9, 2007.
^ DP-2. Profile of Selected Social Characteristics: 2000, United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 11, 2007.
^ The Commission Form of Municipal Government, p. 53. Accessed August 11, 2007.
^ Commission Form of Government, Township of Nutley. Accessed July 23, 2006.
^ 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 62. Accessed August 30, 2006.
^ Legislative Roster: 2008-2009 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 6, 2008.
^ About the Governor, New Jersey. Accessed June 6, 2008.
^ The Board of Chosen Freeholders, Essex County, New Jersey. Acecssed August 8, 2008.
^ Data for the Nutley Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 3, 2008.
^ Township of Nutley Parks Layout, accessed May 14, 2007.
^ via Associated Press. "Julian Blake, 87, Comic Strip Artist, Dies", The New York Times, December 30, 2005. Accessed November 26, 2007.
^ Bud Blake profile, King Features Syndicate, accessed April 5, 2007. "Blake was born in Nutley, N.J., and went to grammar school and high school there."
^ Shooting of actor Blake's wife treated as homicide, CNN, May 7, 2001. "Blake, a native of Nutley, New Jersey, was born Mickey Gubitosi."
^ Carol Blazejowski, New York Liberty. Accessed October 29, 2008. "Blazejowski resides in Nutley, NJ, with her family: Joyce, Lainey and Luke."
^ "Rutgers fest marks its 20th", Asbury Park Press, February 10, 2008. Accessed April 3, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e History of Nutley, accessed April 21, 2007.
^ Elan Carter, Playboy. Accessed April 3, 2008.
^ Bickelhaupt, Susan. "Baptism by fire for NESN's Cervasio", The Boston Globe, March 16, 2007. Accessed December 4, 2007. "Cervasio, 32, grew up in Nutley, N.J., and her late grandparents were diehard Yankees fans."
^ Du Bois, William Pène, Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed April 5, 2007. "Du Bois, the son of noted painter and art critic Guy Pène du Bois, was born on May 9, 1916, in Nutley, N.J. His family moved to France when he was 8..."
^ Fox, Ron. " NUTLEY PROUD TO CALL FRASER A NATIVE SON", The Record (Bergen County), August 2, 1992. Accessed May 3, 2007. "Three years ago, the first induction ceremony for the Nutley High School Sports Hall of Fame was being planned. Word got around school that Ron Fraser, the University of Miami baseball coach, would be the guest speaker."
^ Senator Furnari's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature, backed up by the Internet Archive on October 13, 2003. Accessed April 3, 2008.
^ U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg. Accessed April 3, 2008.
^ Frederick Dana Marsh (1872-1961) Papers, 1900-1967, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Accessed April 4, 2008.
^ Burnap, Campbell. "Obituary: Jackie Paris", The Independent, June 25, 2004. Accessed May 3, 2007. "Jackie Paris was born in Nutley, New Jersey, to an Italian family rather more interested in professional boxing than music. He graduated from the local high school two years ahead of the pianist Al Haig, but had already taken his first showbiz steps, as a juvenile song-and-dance act in vaudeville."
^ Martha's childhood home for sale, CNN Money, July 7, 2004. "The house where Martha Stewart grew up in Nutley, N.J., is for sale"
^ Alix (1892-1973), International Dictionary of Psychoanalysis. Accessed April 5, 2008.
^ Thompson, Kevin D. "THE SHORT, METEORIC RISE OF NICK ZANO", The Palm Beach Post, February 22, 2004.
^ Richter deserves a big high five, The Record (Bergen County) by Virginia Rohan, November 8, 2004. "On 'Quintuplets,' Richter plays Bob Chase, a Nu**tley family man who has one thing in common with Greta Garbo."

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