Lyndhurst is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 22,519,
History
On February 22, 1840, Hudson County was formed by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature. The newly created county was created from territories that had been Bergen Township since 1691, as well as and from the southern portion of Lodi Township. The portion of Lodi Township taken at this time formed the new Harrison Township in Hudson County. The border between the newly created Harrison Township in Hudson County and the portion of Lodi Township remaining in Bergen County was the New Barbadoes Turnpike, which is now called Paterson Plank Road. Some of the residents of the northern portion of Harrison Township requested to be returned to Bergen County. On February 19, 1852, this area—which had been part of Lodi Township—was returned to Bergen County to become the newly formed Union Township.
On September 21, 1881, Rutherford became the first borough to be formed under the terms of the New Jersey Legislature's Borough Act of 1878, based on a referendum of voters that passed the previous day. Rutherford Borough was fully separated from the township form of government in 1890 and acquired an additional portion of Union Township in that year. On April 17, 1889, Boiling Springs Township was created from the northern portion of Union Township. This township was dissolved with the creation of the coterminous Borough of East Rutherford as of March 28, 1894. The borough of North Arlington was created as of March 11, 1896, as the result of a referendum that took place two days earlier. Finally, on March 27, 1917, the residents of the remaining portions of Union Township passed a referendum to change the name to Lyndhurst Township, which became effective as of May 15, 1917. The township is named for Lord Lyndhurst.
Kingsland is a former post village within the township. The Kingsland family possessed a large tract of land in the area known as Kingsland Manor. In 1872, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad established a railway through the township, and erected a depot in the area named "Kingsland" in honor of the family. A railroad shop was built, and houses erected for the railroad employees. Church services were held in the train depot.
Kingsland explosion
On January 11, 1917, a fire started in Building 30 of the Canadian Car and Foundry Company, in what is now Lyndhurst, in a plant that was producing munitions for sale to the United Kingdom and the Russian Empire during World War I. After a spill of flammable liquid started a fire in a building where shells were cleaned, about 500,000, three-inch (76 mm) explosive shells were discharged in about four hours, destroying the entire facility. It was said to have been a spectacle more magnificent than the explosion at Black Tom in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Tessie McNamara, who operated the company switchboard, was credited with saving 1,400 lives, contacting each of the buildings and shouting the warning, "Get out or go up!" Thanks to her dedication, no one was killed in the fire. The Lyndhurst Historical Society has created a vest pocket park dedicated to the memory of McNamara. The park is located on Clay Avenue, between Valley Brook Avenue and Wall Street West. The brick stack can be seen from this park.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 4.96 square miles (12.86 km<sup>2</sup>), including 4.58 square miles (11.87 km<sup>2</sup>) of land and 0.38 square miles (0.99 km<sup>2</sup>) of water (7.66%).
The township borders North Arlington and Rutherford in Bergen County; Belleville and Nutley in Essex County; Kearny and Secaucus in Hudson County; and Clifton in Passaic County.
The Passaic River, crossed by the Avondale Bridge and the Lyndhurst Draw, creates the municipal and county border at the west. The eastern portion of the municipality is part of the uninhabited wetlands in the New Jersey Meadowlands.