Hackettstown is a town in Warren County, in the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town’s population was 9,724, reflecting a decline of 679 (-6.5%) from the 10,403 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 2,283 (+28.1%) from the 8,120 counted in the 1990 Census.[19] The town is located in the easternmost region of the Lehigh Valley.
Hackettstown was incorporated as a town by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 9, 1853, from portions of Independence Township. Portions of territory were exchanged with Mansfield Township in 1857, 1860, 1872 and 1875.
Hackettstown houses the headquarters of Mars Chocolate USA, the American division of Mars, Incorporated, makers of Milky Way, Mars, M&M’s, Twix and Snickers candy bars, as well as pet foods (such as the well-known Whiskas and Pedigree brands), human foods (including Uncle Ben’s) and non-confectionery snack foods (including Combos).
It is believed that Hackettstown was named after Samuel Hackett, an early settler and large landowner. Hackett is said to have “contributed liberally to the liquid refreshments on the christening of a new hotel, in order to secure the name which, before this, had been Helms’ Mills or Musconetcong”.
Hackettstown was named #72 of the top 100 towns in the United States to Live and Work In by Money Magazine in 2005; it has not been included since.
William Johnson (1817 – 1891) was a prime mover in getting the town incorporated in 1853. He and his brother George (1815 – 1889) were successful merchants in the town beginning in 1839 when they began operating the W.L. & G.W Johnson dry good store. The two men were very active in community affairs. George was a member of First Presbyterian Church, a director of the Hackettstown National Bank, and a member of the Hackettstown Water Board. Both men were involved in the establishment of the Union Cemetery.
In 1886, Tillie Smith, an 18-year-old kitchen worker from a poverty-stricken family, was raped, murdered and left lying in an open field on the campus of the Centenary Collegiate Institute, where she worked. A janitor at the school named James Titus was tried and convicted of the rape and murder, based on circumstantial evidence and public opinion shaped by yellow journalism. Titus was sentenced to hang, but he signed a confession and served 19 years of hard labor and lived from 1904 to 1952 in Hackettstown, among many of the same residents who championed his conviction.
In 1925, a train wreck in the town killed about 50 people and injured about 50 others en route to Hoboken, New Jersey from Chicago. The derailment involved a Lackawanna Railroad train and occurred on Rockport Road in the early morning at approximately 3:30AM. The event made national headlines and stands as the deadliest event in Warren County history.
In 1977, a mass shooting occurred in the town when a 20-year-old former U.S. Marine named Emil Pierre Benoist, a graduate of Hackettstown High School, shot and killed six people and took random shots at passing cars over the course of about four hours before turning his sniper rifle on himself.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town had a total area of 3.712 square miles (9.613 km2), including 3.607 square miles (9.341 km2) of land and 0.105 square miles (0.272 km2) of water (2.83%). The town is located in a valley along the banks of the Musconetcong River.
Upper Pohatcong Mountain extends northeast of Washington approximately 6 mi (9.7 km).
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the town include Warren Furnace.
Hackettstown borders the townships of Washington to the southeast, Mansfield to the southwest, Allamuchy to the north, Mount Olive to the northeast, and Independence to the west.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 9,724 people, 3,575 households, and 2,256 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,696.1 per square mile (1,041.0/km2). There were 3,755 housing units at an average density of 1,041.1 per square mile (402.0/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 85.08% (8,273) White, 2.46% (239) Black or African American, 0.24% (23) Native American, 4.97% (483) Asian, 0.05% (5) Pacific Islander, 5.19% (505) from other races, and 2.02% (196) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.16% (1,474) of the population.
Source: Wikipedia
