Fairfield is a township in far northwestern Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 7,872, Fairfield was the least densely populated town in Essex County in 2020. In 1978, the borough passed a referendum reincorporating itself as a township, becoming the second of more than a dozen Essex County municipalities to reclassify themselves as townships in order take advantage of federal revenue sharing policies that allocated townships a greater share of government aid to municipalities on a per capita basis. It also has the heaviest population of Italian people by density.
History
The Dutch, including many acculturated French Huguenots, initially settled this area of the Passaic River Valley after purchasing it from the Native Americans. They named it "Gansegat" which is Dutch for "duck's pond".
The Horseneck Tract was an area that consisted of what are now the municipalities of Caldwell, West Caldwell, North Caldwell, Verona, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Roseland, and portions of Fairfield, Livingston and West Orange. Later in 1702, English settlers purchased of the Horseneck Tract without approval of the Proprietary Authorities from the Lenape Native Americans for goods equal to $325. When Proprietary Authorities began eviction proceedings against the settlers, the Horseneck Riots took place. This purchase encompassed much of western Essex County, from the First Mountain to a point on the Passaic River at Pine Brook NJ. The reason for the Horseneck name has never been determined, but historians agree that it is not because of its shape.
The Van Ness House, constructed about 1720, is a historic home added in 1977 to the National Register of Historic Places. The Fairfield Dutch Reformed Church dates back to 1720, and its current structure is another historic site, built in 1804.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 10.35 square miles (26.80 km<sup>2</sup>), including 10.13 square miles (26.23 km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.22 square miles (0.57 km<sup>2</sup>) of water (2.14%).
Great Piece Meadows is mostly marshland covering .
The township borders North Caldwell and West Caldwell in Essex County; East Hanover Township, Lincoln Park and Montville in Morris County; and Little Falls and Wayne in Passaic County.