![]() Another early settlement was located in the area that became the southeast section of present-day Maplewood, and by turns had several different local names over the years: Newark Farms, North Farms, and Middleville (c.1830) finally the name Hilton was eventually adopted around 1880 when the area received its own post office. The village did not have a name until the late-eighteenth century when it was named Jefferson Village in honor of Thomas Jefferson. One of the early villages to develop west of Newark was part of the western section of present-day Maplewood. The Durand-Hedden House & Garden Association is Maplewood’s historical society and their website contains additional articles about the history of the township. Settlement centered around Newark but some families began to move farther west into what was referred to as Newark Mountain after 1681, and by the early-eighteenth century, small farm settlements were established near the foot of the mountains and along the East Branch of the Rahway River. The group of settlers consisted of approximately thirty Puritan families of mostly English heritage under the leadership of Robert Treat. This 40,000-acre area formed the bulk of what became Newark Township, one of the three original townships that made up Essex County when it was established in 1683. Settlers from Connecticut originally purchased the area that includes present-day Maplewood from Lenape Native Americans in 1667 this purchase stretched east to west from the Newark Bay to the foothills of the Watchung Mountains, and north to south from present-day Clifton to Hillside. Maplewood Township today best reflects its early-twentieth-century suburban history, yet it has roots dating back to the seventeenth century.
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