- Woodbridge Township Is Also Reguarded As The Oldest Municipality In The State Of New Jersey, With It"s Origon Dating Back To 1664. Woodbridge Was Origionally Named After Reverend John Woodbridge, Who Was A Popular Priest From Newburry Massachusetts That Lead Settlers From England To America, For Religous Freedom.
Most Of Woodbridge's Earliest Settlers Were From Massachusetts, But There Is Also Speculation That Woodbridge Was Named After Woodbridge, England, A Popular City. Woodbridge Township WAs Settled In 1664 And Became Officaly Chartered On June 1, 1669. The Origonal Land Area Of Woodbridge Included The Area Which Is Now Woodbridge, But However, The Township Origonally Extended Eastward To Include Where The Borough Of Carteret Now Stands. THe Northward Border Was To The Rahway River (Which It Still Is.) The Western Border Extended All Of The Way To Piscatawaytown (Piscataway.) The Southern Border Is Still On The Raritan River And Perth Amboy, As It Origionaly Was.
Later On, The Western Border Was Reduced To Only Include Bonhamtown (Edison Township, Near Middlesex County College Now Stands.)

One Of The Charter Rules Were That At Least 60 Families Must Live In Woodbridge.

There Is Alot Of History In Woodbridge.

- For Example In 1789 The Man Who Would Become The First President Of The United States Of America General George Washington, While Passing Thru New Jersey On His Way To New York For His Presidential Innaguration Stayed At The Cross Keys Tavern With New Jersey Governer Livingston. The Cross Keys Tavern Was Located On Main Street In Woodbridge"s Downtown Area, But Was Later Moved Near Amboy Avenue, Where It Now Stands Behind The 7 - Eleven.

- The James Parker Press On Rahway Avenue Is Noted As Being The First Printer In The State Of New Jersey. James Parker Also Had Ties With Benjamin Franklin, Another Founding Father Of America. Parker's Print Shop Created "The New America", The Firstever Newsletter In The Origional 13 Colonies.

- Woodbridge, Specificaly Fords, Was The Home To The Jersey Blues, A Militia Group That Was Intent On Protecting Colonial New Jersey. The Jersey Blues Were Instrumental To Help The Withdrawl Of British Troops During The Revolutionary War. Besides Making An Impact On Our Independence, The Jersey Blues Provided Other Services To Woodbidge Township Citizens.
The Blues Were A Heroic Force That Were Often Praised By General George Washington And Other Continental Army Officers.
The Blues Were One Of The Only Militias That Went Into Service When Others Refused.
The Blues Fought In The Civil War And Many Other Conflicts.
After The Spanish - American War, The Jersey Blues Started 3 Fire Companies In Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, And Piscataway.

- What may be said to be the first anti-slavery meeting ever held in the United States was held in Woodbridge on the 4th of July, 1783, seven years after the Declaration of Independence and six years before George Washington was inaugurated as President of the United States. This meeting was held on the farm of Moses Bloomfield, a surgeon in the Continental Army, located north of Freeman Street where Barron Avenue runs through Prospect.

- Woodbridge Once Had Worldwide Clay Deposits That Were Used To Create All Types Of Brick. In The Late 1700's And Early 1800's, Shiploads Of Clay Were Being Sent To Other Large American Cities. Infact, The Land Where Woodbridge Center Mall Was Owned By The Almasi Family (Who Now Still Own A Small Parcel Of Land At The Edge.) The Whole Land Was A Huge Clay Bank. There Was Also Several Brick And Block Manufacturers Throughout Woodbridge. In 1825, The Salamander Brick Works Plant Was Built Alongside The Woodbridge River Creek. The Salamander Plant Produced Fire Brick.
The Valentine Brothers Operated The M.D. Valentine Brick Company. Located At The End Of Where Pennval Road Now Is, The Valentine Brick Comany Manufactured Over 4,000,000 Bricks Per Day At It's Highest Point. The Valentine Brick Company Was Started In 1843. In The 1970's The Building Was Destroyed By A Massive Fire. The Building Is Now Owned By Intergraded Industries.
Charles Keasbey, One Of The Keasbey Section Namesakes, Managed A Tile Factory On The Raritan River In Keasbey.
The Crossman Clay Manufacturing Company Manufactured Fire Brick And Drain Pipe In Keasbey. Other Clay Factories In Keasbey Included The Ostrander, Cutter, And C.M. Dally Factory, Adam Webber's Brick Plant In 1895. There Were Also Other Porcelain Fire Factries In Fords.
C.W. Boynton, The Operator Of The Boynton Beach Sewaren Waterfront Resort, Made Firebrick And Sewer Pipe In Sewaren.
In The Beginning, Most Of The Workers Were Of Irish Descent. Later On, More Germans And Other Europeans Were Employed By The Brick Industries. In The Beginning, Workers Were Paid 12 Cents Per Hour, By 1912, Pay Was Up To 15 Cents Per Hour. The General Ceramics Company Paid Their Workers 17 And A Half Cents Per Hour. In 1920, The Brick Industries In Woodbridge Were At Their Highest. With The Addition Of Men Workers, Each Company Had About 150 Horses To Haul The Clay. Also On Hand Were Veterinarians And Blacksmiths To Aid The Horses.

An Interesting Discovery Was Made On The Land Owned By The Late Hampton Cutter, Which Is Now Where Strawberry Hill And Amboy Avenue Are Now Located. Mr. Cutters Clay Pitt Manager, Mr. Roy E. Anderson Uncovered Foot Prints Of Pre - Historic Dinosaurs. There was Supposedlly 4 Prints, About Twenty Inches Long. These Prints Were Supposedly Similiar To Those Of An Elephant. The Measured Strides Were  9 Feet Long. The Foot Prints Were Examined By Numberous Scientists From Museums And Universities Before Being Removed And Taken To Rutgers Universtity, New Brunswick, New Jersey.

- Woobridge Was Location For The First Ever Safety - Engineered Highway System. In 1929, The Connection To Route 1 And Route 35 Was Made Into A "Cloverleaf" Connection. The 2 Highways Are Situated Together Where They Have On Ramps And Off Ramps To Connect To Northbound And Southbound Of Both Highways. .

- Famous And Other Well Known People From Woodbridge Include Captain Kurt Carlsen, A Well Noted Sea Captain. In 1951, Carlsen Made Worldwide Headlines When His Ship "The Flying Enterprise" Was In High Ocean Seas When It Came Into Distress. When Rescuers Arrived They Found That The Ship Was Already Sinking. Captain Carlsen Ordered His Crew To Evacuate The Ship. The Rescuers Urged Carlsen To Leave, But Captain Carlsen Decided To "Stay With The Ship." Finally, At The End When The Ship Was Just About Totally Sunken, Captain Carlsen Evacuated The Ship.
Carlsen Is Also Credited With Saving The Life Of One Of His Crewmen In Another Incident, 3 Years Before. In 1948 A Ship Worker Was Stabed 12 Times Out At Sea. Carlsen, With Little Medical Experience Was Forced To Operate On The Dying Man. Carlsen Saved His Life.
Captain Kurt Carlsen Was A Native Of Alwat Street In Woodbridge. When He Returned Home, The Township Through What Was Called, "The Largest Parade In Woodbridge Township History."

- Click Here For A Web Page With Information & Pictures Dedicated On The Woodbridge Train Wreck -

- As With Any Big Town, Woodbridge Township Has Also Had It's Share Of Tragedies And Disasters Through The Years. One Incident In Paricular Is Still On Of The Worst Disasters In Modern History.The Woodbridge Train Crash Ocurred On Febuary 6, 1951, At Roughly 6:00 p.m. The "Broker" Train #733 From New York, Was Heading Into Woodbridge. The Train Was Overcrowded, With Passengers Standing In The Aisle. During The Same Time Period, The New Jersey Turnpike Was Being Constructed. The Fulton Street Bridge Was Replaced With A Temperary, Much Weaker Bridge. On That Day, There Was A Heavy Rain Storm. Also On That Day, There Was A Substitute Driver That Was Unaware Of The Temporary Bridge. As The Driver Proceded Over The Fulton Street Overbridge, He Went Full Speed, When He Should Have Slowed Down. At The Same Time, The Rain Had Washed Away Much Of The Dirt - Fill That Held The Wooden Bridge Supports. When The "Broker" Crossed Over The Bridge, The Brigde Collapsed, Causing The Train To Crash. In The End, Over 81 People Had Died. Several Others Had Been Injured. Relatives Of Woodbridge Residents That Had Used The Railroad Regulary, Feared For Them. The Whole Event Was So Huge That Fire Departments Were Called From In So Far As Monmouth County And First Aid Units Were Called In From Eastern Pennsylvania. Hundreds Of Woodbridge Civilians Tried To Help In Any Way That They Could. According To Eyewitness Accounts, The Scene Was Described So Grim, That "Due To The Many Casulties, One Of The Local Butchers Had To Supply Wax Paper So The Bodies Can Be Laid On The Floor Of The Woodbridge Emergency Squad Building On Brook Street."

The Woodbridge Train Crash Stil Remains The Third Worst Train Wreck In United States History.

- The Origional Woodbridge Police Department Was Only A 3 Member Staff Consisting Of - John Omenhiser, John Thompson, And Herman Gerke. That Was In The Turn Of The Century. The Most Serious Problem Was Maybe Unliscenced Dogs Running Through Town. Those Officers Did Not Have Automobiles, They Rode Bicycles. In 1911, Thw Woodbridge Police Force Became Formally Organized. There Was A Total Of 7 Police Officers. In That Time, Immigrants Were Moving Into Woodbridge. Many Of Them Were Not Able To Speak The English Language, Therefore, Many Immigrants Came Into Conflict With American Laws Of The Land.
The First Chief Of Police Was Patrick Murphy. Patrick Cullimane Became The First Uniformed Police Officer. When Police Would Bring Their Prisoner's Back To Police Headquarters By The Trolley. In 1920, The First Police Vehicle Was Put Into Service. In 1935, More Improvements Were made. Motorcycles Were Used To Control Motor Vehicle Violators And A New Radio System Was Put Into Effect. In 1962, The Woodbridge Police Force Was Brought Up To Date, Once Again.
Right Now, The Woodbridge Police Department Has Over 200 Officers, 20 Reserve And Auxilary Officers, And Dozens Of Other Personnel. The Woodbridge Police Department Has Just Become Nationally Acreditated.

- Fire Companies Were Created After Several Historical Buildings Were Destroyed By Fire. For Over 200 Years There Was No Fire Company Throughout Woodbridge.
The Only Fire Fighting Unit Was The Jersey Blues Fire Company In Woodbridge.
In 1893, Harness Shop Owner John Thompson And Woodbridge Postmaster Went Forward To The Woodbridge Town Council. In 1897, The Woodbridge Volunteer Fire Company Was Formed. The First President Was Charles R. Brown. The First Fire Chief Was David A. Brown. In 1901, The First Firehouse Was Built On The Corners Of School Street And Brook Street. The Very First Piece Of Firefighting Equipment Was Chemical Foam Pumpers, Pulled By A Team Of 2 Horses Named Tom And Harry. At That Time, Livery Stables Were Common. The 2 Horses Stayed At Their Stable, Which Was The Carpenter's Livery Stable. The Horses Were Trained That When The Fire Bell Rang, The 2 Horses Left The Pearl Street Stable And Galloped To The School Street Firehouse To Pick Up The Firemen. Unfortuntely And Ironcally, In 1922, The Carpenter Stable Had A Fire That Killed The Horses Tom And Harry.
In 1911, Harry Mawbey Became The First Paid Firefighter. Origionally, Mawbey's Job Name Was "Fire Engine Driver. " Later On, His Job's Name Was Changed To Firefighter In Order To Form A Union. The Union, Local 290, Was Formed And Still Represents Career Firefighters Of The Woodbridge Fire Department.
At This Time, The Woodbridge Fire Department Is Run By Over 55 Volunteers And 25 Career Firefighters, In Addition To 5 Fire Prevention Officers.

Since The Early 1900's, Woodbridge Township Now Has 9 Fire Departments, Mostlly Volunteer.
Woodbridge Township Is Broken Up Into Districts, Or Areas Of Town.
Woodbridge Township First Aid Squads Come Under The Responsibility Of The Fire Departments, However, The Are Independentlly Ran.

Education In Early Woodbridge Township Was Always An Issue. In January Of 1694, Nathaniel Fitzrandolph And John Bloomfield Were Sent To Find A Teacher And School Master. The Township Was Willing To Pay 24 Pounds Per Year. John Browne Had Been Hired As School Master. Then In 1701, 100 Acres Had Been Set Aside In Iselin, (Currently Near Route 1) For The Free School Lands.
On June 15, 1793, The Woodbridge Academy Was Introduced. Jonathan Freeman Built The Schoolhouse On Rahway Avenue And Freeman Street. The Elm Tree Morris Academy Was A Private School At 531 Rahway Avenue. The Professor Was James Stryker.
There Were 2 School Districts In 1840. Strawberry Hill District 7 Near Amboy Avenue And Bunns Lane, And The Woodbridge Academy 6 On Rahway Avenue. Construction Began On School 1, A Centralized School On March 4, 1876. The Location Was On School Street In Downtown Woodbridge, The Same Building That Houses The Administration. School 1 Was Origonaly 71 X 112 Feet, 2 Floors, 6 Apartments, And Seat 400 Students. The Cost To Build Was $25,000.
School 1 Was Dedicated On January 6, 1877. The First Graduating Class Was In 1884, Where 13 Girls And 1 Boy Recieved Their Diplomas.
In 1888, High School Grades Were Seperated From The Elementry Schools.
In The 1870's, Thomas Barron, A Woodbridge Resident Left $50,000 To Woodbridge Township To Build A"Free Public Library With Books And Other Reading Matter."
The Barron Library Opened On September 11, 1877 On The Corner Of Rahway Avenue And Port Reading Avenue. The Building Still Stands And Is The Barron Arts Center.
In 1900, John Love, The Principal Of School 1 Was Named The First Supervisor Of Woodbridge Public Schools.

Churches And Religion Were One Of The Most Important Things In Woodbridge Township. There Has Been Debate To Which Was The First Church In Woodbridge Township - The First Presbyterian Church, Or The Trinity Episcopal Church. The Presbyterian, Or White Church As It Is Often Refered To As Is Dated Back To 1670. The First Worship Service Was Supposed To Have Taken Place In A Private Home Near The Kirk Green. Later On A Building Was Built Near The Present Location.
The Trinity Church Was Founded In 1702, But The Reverend Edward Portlock Held Services In 1698.
The Quakers Built Their Own Church Just Before 1700 And Remained Seperate From The Rest Of Woodbridge.
St. James Roman Catholic Church Was The First Catholic Church In Woodbridge Township. Founded In 1879, St. James Has Gone Through A Few Different Buildings.
As The 1900's Came, Other Religions And Faiths Built Worship Centers In Woodbridge. Such Religions Are Jewish And Reformed.