Rahway

Rahway (pronounced /ˈrɔːweɪ/) is a city in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the New York metropolitan area, being fifteen miles southwest of Manhattan and five miles west of Staten Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 26,500. Rahway and the surrounding area were once the home of the Lenni Lenape Native Americans, and tradition states that the city was named after Rahwack, a local trib... more

Rahway (pronounced /ˈrɔːweɪ/) is a city in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the New York metropolitan area, being fifteen miles southwest of Manhattan and five miles west of Staten Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 26,500. Rahway and the surrounding area were once the home of the Lenni Lenape Native Americans, and tradition states that the city was named after Rahwack, a local tribal chief. Formal European settlement began in 1664 with the purchase by the English from the Lenape of the Elizabethtown Tract, which encompassed lands from the mouth of the Raritan River and included all of present-day Union County as well as parts of Somerset, Middlesex, Morris and Essex counties. Rahway saw limited action during the American Revolutionary War because of its proximity to Staten Island, Elizabethtown and Perth Amboy. In January 1777, rebels were victorious against the British in the Battle of Spanktown, which resulted in the... less