Livingston is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 31,330, In 2023, the Population Estimates Program by the United States Census Bureau calculated that the township had a population of 31,089.
The township was named for William Livingston, the first Governor of New Jersey; his family's coat of arms served as the township's seal for many years.
The community has been one of the state's highest-income communities. Based on data from the American Community Survey for 2013–2017, township residents had a median household income of $153,381, ranked 14th in the state among municipalities with more than 10,000 residents, more than double the statewide median of $76,475.
History
Livingston's history dates back to 1699 when 101 settlers from Newark wanted to move westward. They set up a committee to negotiate with Lenni Lenape Native Americans for the purchase of the Horseneck Tract which today includes Livingston and eight other municipalities in northern Essex County. Between 1698 and 1702, the rules for property ownership were unclear. There were many disputes between settlers and the English proprietors. For some unknown reasons, the Newark settlers did not obtain a grant from the proprietors before negotiating with the native tribes. They finally obtained the deed directly from Lenni Lenape in 1702 for £130. The settlements began until around the 1740s as the dispute between the proprietors and the settlers continued.
The dispute came to a breaking point in September 1745 when the East Jersey proprietors began to evict a settler only six months after a house fire in Newark completely destroyed the original deed, which was the only evidence of the purchase. During that period, William Livingston who was one of the few landed aristocrats joined the settlers against the proprietors. Livingston owned land around today's south western corner of the Township of Livingston. His land, like other settlers, was levied with quit rents in the amount 40 shillings per acre. He defended many settlers who were jailed for refusing to pay the quit rents.
This series of events caused the settlers, led by Timothy Meeker, to form a group to riot against the British government. The Horseneck Riots lasted for 10 years from 1745 to 1755. The group was also one of the first colonial militia which had periodic battles for 32 years leading up to the Revolutionary War as the group joined the Continental Army in 1776.
After the American Revolutionary War, more permanent settlements took place with the first school built in 1783. In 1811, a petition was filed to incorporate the township from about 100 people who lived in seven distinct areas: Centerville (separated to become Roseland, in 1908), Cheapside (now Livingston Mall), Morehousetown (now Livingston Circle), Northfield (now Northfield Center), Squiretown (now the Cerebral Palsy Institute of New Jersey on Old Road), Teedtown (now Livingston Center), and Washington Place (now near the border with Millburn).
The population grew quickly after the 1920s when automobiles became more accessible. As a suburb of Newark, the town experienced many housing developments especially after World War II with its peak in 1970 of more than thirty thousand residents. Some major relocations took place during this period of growing population shift. Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (formerly Saint Barnabas Medical Center) and Newark Academy moved from Newark to Livingston in 1964.
The last surviving Harrison Cider Apple tree, the most famous of the 18th-century Newark cider apple trees, was rescued from extinction in 1976 in Livingston.
Today, around 30,000 people live in this suburban community, which lies around an hour's drive from New York City. Its school system—which has been nationally recognized since 1998—and other programs have been drawing new residents to the town. Its population has maintained a level of diversity while the residents continue the tradition of community volunteerism.
Localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Cedar Ridge, Cheapside, Moorehoustown, Northfield, Washington Place and West Livingston.