Maplewood

Maplewood is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 23,868. When surveying the area now known as Maplewood, Robert Treat found several trails used by Lenape tribes of Algonquin Native Americans, though there was only sparse pre-European settlement. These paths form the basis for what are the town's main thoroughfares today. The first European settlers arrived around ... more

Maplewood is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 23,868. When surveying the area now known as Maplewood, Robert Treat found several trails used by Lenape tribes of Algonquin Native Americans, though there was only sparse pre-European settlement. These paths form the basis for what are the town's main thoroughfares today. The first European settlers arrived around 1675, primarily English, Dutch, and French Puritans who had earlier settled Hempstead, Long Island, and Stamford, Connecticut, via Newark and Elizabeth. They had acquired most of today’s Essex County from the Native Americans and followed three trails that roughly correspond to South Orange Avenue, Springfield Avenue, and Ridgewood Road. These three routes resulted in three separate communities that merged into Maplewood and South Orange. Those who came from Newark on the trail that now corresponds to South Orange Avenue settled the area that... less