Hardwick Township is a township in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 1,598,
History
Hardwick Township was created around 1713 through a royal patent. The township was created by Royal charter on January 22, 1750, from Greenwich Township when the area was part of Morris County. It became part of the newly created Sussex County on June 8, 1753. Parts of Hardwick Township were taken on November 11, 1782, to form Independence Township. Hardwick Township was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. On November 20, 1824, most of Hardwick Township was transferred to form part of Warren County, with the remainder staying in Sussex County as parts of Green Township and Stillwater Township, which were both created as of December 27, 1824. Frelinghuysen Township was created March 7, 1848, from portions of the township. The township was named for Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke.
Hardwick Township's unusual geographic footprint is due to its absorption of Pahaquarry Township, which was dissolved on July 2, 1997. Pahaquarry Township had been created on March 14, 1825, and received its name from the word "Pahaquarra", which was a derivation of the Native American word Pahaqualong used by the Lenape meaning "termination of two mountains" (describing the mountain or mountainous area that was the area's southern border) or "the place between the mountains beside the waters".
Geography
thumb|[[Mount Tammany in Hardwick and Knowlton townships]]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 38.94 square miles (100.85 km<sup>2</sup>), including 37.53 square miles (97.19 km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 1.42 square miles (3.66 km<sup>2</sup>) of water (3.63%).
Sunfish Pond is a glacial lake surrounded by a hardwood forest located on the Kittatinny Ridge within Worthington State Forest, adjacent to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The Appalachian Trail runs alongside the western and northern edges of the lake, which was created by the Wisconsin Glacier during the last ice age. The lake was declared a National Natural Landmark in January 1970.
Camp Ralph S. Mason is a YMCA, established in 1900, that covers adjacent to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area that serves approximately 800 campers in its summer camp programs and 7,000 participants at its outdoor center.
The Pahaquarry Copper Mine is an abandoned copper mine. Active mining was attempted for brief periods during the mid-eighteenth, mid-nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries but was never successful. The site is administered by the National Park Service.
Hardwick Township borders the municipalities of Blairstown, Frelinghuysen Township, and Knowlton Township in Warren County; and Stillwater Township and Walpack Township in Sussex County.