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Watchung is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,801,〔〔〔 reflecting an increase of 188 (+3.3%) from the 5,613 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 503 (+9.8%) from the 5,110 counted in the 1990 Census.〔(Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010 ), New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed February 14, 2013.〕 ==History== The name "Watchung" comes from the Lenni Lenape Native Americans, meaning "high hills"〔(South Mountain Reservation ), Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs. Accessed February 3, 2015. "The presence of the early Lenape Indians lingers in the name given to the Watchung—the 'high hills.'"〕 or from "watschu", meaning "hill".〔Hutchinson, Viola L. (''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names'' ), New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 21, 2015.〕 George Washington surveyed the British troops in Perth Amboy, many miles away, from the first ridge of the Watchung Mountains. The eastern reach of these ridges is to the Oranges in the direction of Newark. The name "Washingtonville" was used in early times, but was rejected as the name for the area by the United States Postal Service, which felt that the state already had too many places named Washington.〔Cheslow, Jerry. ("If You're Thinking of Living In/Watchung, N.J.; Stunning Vistas, but Entry Is Not Cheap" ), ''The New York Times'', March 11, 2001. Accessed April 30, 2012.〕〔Wilk, Tom. ("Awash in Washingtons: New Jersey has six towns named for the father of our country." ), ''New Jersey Monthly'', January 17, 2011. Accessed November 6, 2015. "In New Jersey, Washington can lay claim to another first. He’s number one in names selected for the state’s 566 municipalities. Bergen, Burlington, Gloucester, Morris and Warren counties all have a Washington Township. Warren also has a Washington Borough surrounded—naturally—by Washington Township. The largest is Gloucester County’s Washington, with 52,096 people; the smallest is the Washington in Burlington, with a population of 649. New Jersey had a sixth Washington Township in Mercer County until 2008, when voters there approved a name change to Robbinsville."〕 Watchung, from the 1900s was a semi-rural small community of about 3,200 people in comparison with the relatively larger and more urban communities of Plainfield and Somerville. The first mayor of the town was Henry Baldwin Macdonald, who served from 1926 to 1928. Even as late as the 1960s, it was common for residents to know one another by name, with few moving in or out of the town. The 1967 Plainfield riots, however, caused an exodus of the large upper-middle class population from the nearby cities to move to the Watchung Hills area to communities such as Watchung, Warren Township and Bridgewater Township. Watchung was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 23, 1926, from portions of North Plainfield Township (now Green Brook Township) based on the results of a referendum held on April 20, 1926.〔Snyder, John P. (''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968'' ), Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 225. Accessed April 30, 2012.〕〔(Watchung Profile ), Borough of Watchung. Accessed October 22, 2015.〕 In the wake of public fear that ensued after the 1938 radio broadcast of Orson Welles' ''The War of the Worlds'', National Guard troops were stationed around the hills in Watchung, as told on the vinyl record recording of news reports of the day. Notable figures who have lived in Watchung include Bobby Thomson, Billy Ard and Carl Banks. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Watchung, New Jersey」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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