Hardyston Township is a township in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 8,125,

History

Hardyston Township was set off from portions of Newton Township by Royal charter on February 25, 1762. It was named after Josiah Hardy, who was royal governor of New Jersey from 1761 to 1763. The original British spelling of Hardiston was Americanized to Hardyston after the American Revolutionary War.

Hardyston was incorporated on February 21, 1798, by an act of the New Jersey Legislature as one of New Jersey's original group of 104 townships. Over the centuries, portions of the township were taken to form Vernon Township (April 8, 1793), Sparta (April 14, 1845), Franklin (March 18, 1913) and Hamburg (March 19, 1920).

Cemetery

The township contains North Church Cemetery / North Hardyston Cemetery. Notable burials there include:

  • Samuel Fowler (1779–1844), who served in the House of Representatives from 1833 to 1837.
  • Samuel Fowler (1851–1919), represented New Jersey's 4th congressional district from 1893 to 1895.
  • Daniel Haines (1801–1877) 14th Governor of New Jersey, from 1843 to 1845, and from 1848 to 1851.
  • John Linn (1763–1821) was a U.S. Representative from New Jersey from 1817 to 1821.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 32.65 square miles (84.56&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), including 31.99 square miles (82.84&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.66 square miles (1.72&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of water (2.03%).

Postal ZIP Codes covering Hardyston Township include 07460 Stockholm, 07416 Franklin Borough, 07419 Hamburg Borough, and a small part of 07848 Lafayette Township.

The township borders the municipalities of Franklin, Hamburg, Lafayette Township, Ogdensburg, Sparta, Vernon Township and Wantage Township in Sussex County; Jefferson Township in Morris County; and West Milford in Passaic County.

In terms of physical geography, nearly all of Hardyston (excluding the portion of the township west of Hamburg along Route 94) lies within the New York – New Jersey Highlands, part of the greater Crystalline Appalachians that extend as far south as the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hardyston is home to portions of Hamburg Mountain (east of Franklin) and Pochuck Mountain (near Scenic Lakes) within this region. The remaining northwestern portion of the township lies within the Ridge-and-valley Appalachians. The prominent feature in the ridge-and-valley portion of the Township is the Wallkill Valley, through which the Wallkill River flows northeast to New York state.

Demographics