Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough’s population was 18,061, reflecting a decline of 49 (−0.3%) from the 18,110 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 320 (+1.8%) from the 17,790 counted in the 1990 Census.
Rutherford was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 21, 1881, from portions of Union Township, based on the results of a referendum held on the previous day. The borough was named for John Rutherfurd, a U.S. Senator who owned land in the area.
Rutherford has been called the “Borough of Trees” and “The First Borough of Bergen County”.
The ridge above the New Jersey Meadowlands upon which Rutherford sits was settled by Lenape Native Americans long before the arrival of Walling Van Winkle in 1687. Union Avenue, which runs from the Meadowlands to the Passaic River, may have been an Indian trail, but was more likely a property boundary line; it was referenced in the 1668 grant of land by proprietary Governor Philip Carteret to John Berry.
In the 1870s, the area began to be called “Rutherford”. The definitive reason for the change in spelling of the final syllable from “furd” to “ford” is unknown, though the change may have been the result of name recognition of the Ohio politician Rutherford B. Hayes, who was elected President in 1876, or could have been because of a clerical error done by the United States Postal Service. The Post Office opened a facility called “Rutherford” in 1876. On September 21, 1881, the Borough of Rutherford was formed by formal vote of secession from Union Township. By then, the community had about 1,000 residents.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 18,061 people, 6,949 households, and 4,663 families residing in the borough. The population density was 6,437.4 per square mile (2,485.5/km2). There were 7,278 housing units at an average density of 2,594.1 per square mile (1,001.6/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 77.57% (14,010) White, 2.92% (527) Black or African American, 0.07% (13) Native American, 13.08% (2,362) Asian, 0.01% (1) Pacific Islander, 3.68% (664) from other races, and 2.68% (484) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.08% (2,543) of the population.
Rutherford is the site of Architectural Window Manufacturing Corporation’s plant and Boiling Springs Savings Bank’s corporate headquarters.
Rutherford, together with Lyndhurst and North Arlington, was the site of the EnCap project, an effort to remediate landfills on the 785-acre (3.18 km2) site and construct homes and golf courses on top of the remediated site. On May 27, 2008, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission terminated its agreement with EnCap Golf Holdings, the company that had the contract to redevelop the site, after the company had missed targets to clean up the landfills as part of the project.
The Highland Cross Development is a proposed project that is to consist of 800 units of housing, including 160 affordable units, two hotels and a large retail component. Rutherford officials have been working to get approval for the project in the face of opposition from the 14 mayors of the Hackensack Meadowlands Municipal Committee.
Source: Wikipedia
