Pompton Lakes is a borough in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,127, an increase of 30 (+0.3%) from the 2010 census count of 11,097, which in turn reflected an increase of 457 (+4.3%) from the 10,640 counted in the 2000 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 May 1, 2023.

Pompton Lakes was established on February 26, 1895, from portions of Pompton Township, based on the results of a referendum held three days earlier.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 211. Accessed May 30, 2024. The borough was named for the Pompton people, a sub-tribe of Native Americans who lived in the area.Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed September 21, 2015. It was the first borough to be formed in Passaic County as part of the "boroughitis" that had struck the state at the time. Pompton Lakes did not acquire territory from more than one township, which would have entitled the borough to a seat on the County's Board of Chosen Freeholders.Staff. "Passaic County's First Borough; To be Called Pompton Lakes and to Have an Election Saturday.", The New York Times, January 14, 1895. Accessed September 13, 2018. "The borough fever has broken out in Passaic County, and a petition signed by the lawful number of residents will be presented to Judge Hopper in the Passaic Common Pleas to-morrow."

An outer-ring suburb of New York City, Pompton Lakes is located approximately northwest of Midtown Manhattan. From the higher mountains in and around the borough one can see the New York skyline. Three rivers, the Ramapo, Pequannock and Wanaque, run through the borough, which historically provided much of the energy for various industries in the borough. In the mid-20th century, Pompton Lakes served as a local shopping destination, but lost its status as shopping malls opened in the area in the 1970s and 1980s.

History Dutch settlers began to settle in the area that is now Pompton Lakes in the 1680s, purchasing farmland from the local Lenape Native Americans.Pompton Lakes Historic Guide, Borough of Pompton Lakes. Accessed October 10, 2017.

The presence of iron ore and the availability of hydropower were initial catalysts for the early development of the Pompton area. An ironworks was constructed in the early 1700s on the Ramapo River at the site of the current Pompton Lake dam, which produced munitions for the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812.

Pompton was situated along the main north–south route during the Revolutionary War, and as such the Continental Army passed through often. Casparus Schuyler, a member of the prominent Schuyler family, owned a tavern in the town that became known as the Yellow Tavern or the Yellow Cottage, and the various army encampments in the area supplied much of the business.Revolutionary War Sites in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, Revolutionary War New Jersey. Accessed October 10, 2017.

General George Washington and his army stayed in the Pompton area twice during the course of the war, and he visited the Yellow Tavern both times.Mayers, Robert A. Hub of the Revolution: Pompton and the Preakness Valley, Garden State Legacy. Accessed October 10, 2017. He first visited on July 11, 1777, when he met with local ironmaster Robert Erskine at the tavern. François-Jean de Chastellux, a major general in the French Expeditionary Force led by General Rochambeau, visited the Yellow Tavern on his way from Philadelphia to New England in December 1780, and remarked on his experience there in an account published later. Washington returned to the tavern on March 30, 1782, as he traveled north with his wife Martha. During this time, it was serving as the winter headquarters of Colonel Phillip Van Cortlandt. The tavern was torn down around 1900 to widen the adjacent road, and the site is noted by a historical marker.

Pompton Township was formed shortly after the Revolution, in 1797. During the Civil War, knives, saws, nails, and springs for railroad cars were manufactured at the Pompton Ironworks. The Morris Canal, completed in 1832, was linked to the town via the Pompton Feeder, which barges used to supply coal to blast furnaces.Passaic County Morris Canal Greenway Status Map, Morris Canal Greenway. Accessed October 10, 2017. "The Morris Canal passed through today's Passaic County towns of Wayne, Little Falls, Woodland Park, Paterson, and Clifton. It collected water from the Pompton Feeder Canal which began in Pompton Lakes and joined the Morris Canal at Mountain View in Wayne." Despite this, Pompton remained predominantly rural through the 19th century, and various summer resorts around Pompton Lake served vacationing New Yorkers. The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad opened a local train station in the late 1870s, driving further development in the town. In 1895, Pompton Lakes voted to split from Pompton Township, and the borough was officially incorporated on February 26 of that year.

The population of Pompton Lakes increased during the early 1900s, due to the rapid growth of local employers like the German Artistic Weaving Company and the Smith Powder Works. The latter company was purchased in 1905 by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company and formed the basis of the DuPont Pompton Lakes Works, which operated in the borough until 1994.Site History, Pompton Lakes Works. Accessed October 10, 2017.

In 1923, Joseph "Doc" Bier opened a "health farm" in Pompton Lakes, where boxers such as Pancho Villa and Jimmy McLarnin trained. In 1935, Joe Louis began training at the camp, and continued to use the camp until his retirement in 1949. He prepared for his famed bout with Max Schmeling there, and often invited local children to watch him practice. During his time in the borough he held boxing exhibitions at the camp to raise $2,600 for the purchase of an ambulance and an additional $2,000 to help build a police communications tower.Joe Louis Memorial Park, Borough of Pompton Lakes. Accessed October 10, 2017. The camp closed in the 1950s.

In 1938, Reaction Motors successfully designed and perfected the world's first regenerative cooling rocket at a basement laboratory in a building in downtown Pompton Lakes. The technology they invented made liquid-fueled rockets capable of burning for long enough periods to be practical, and all future liquid-fueled rockets would build off this technology. The company tested this rocket at Lake Inez in the borough, not far from the laboratory it was built in.

Decades-old industrial pollution and its connection to cancer and other illness among residents in a section of the borough was the subject of a week-long front-page investigative series in The Record newspaper in February 2018. The four-part series documented ground and water pollution that has impacted hundreds of homes surrounding a DuPont munitions plant that had operated for decades in the area, and the impact on the health of nearby residents exposed to the pollutants.O'Neill, James M.; and Fallon, Scott. "Coming this week: 'Toxic Secrets: Pollution, evasion and fear in North Jersey'", The Record, February 12, 2018. Accessed May 28, 2018. "The Record and NorthJersey.com will launch "Toxic Secrets" this week, a four-part investigative series that reveals the secret history behind DuPont’s toxic pollution in Pompton Lakes. A review of 40 years worth of government documents shows DuPont engaged in a pattern of delay and pushback when regulators prodded the company to investigate the extent of its pollution migrating under a Pompton Lakes neighborhood of 400 homes from the company's now-shuttered munitions plant."

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 3.16 square miles (8.19 km2), including 2.89 square miles (7.48 km2) of land and 0.27 square miles (0.71 km2) of water (8.67%).

The borough borders the municipalities of Bloomingdale, Wanaque and Wayne in Passaic County; Oakland in Bergen County; and Riverdale and Pequannock in Morris County.Areas touching Pompton Lakes, MapIt. Accessed March 3, 2020.Passaic County Map , Coalition for a Healthy NJ. Accessed March 3, 2020.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.

Much of the borough sits in a valley formed by the confluence of the Ramapo, Pequannock, and Wanaque rivers, which leads to common flooding events, the most recent of which was in 2011. A few taller hills ring the valley, including Federal Hill, which is notable as the site of the Pompton Mutiny, a revolt of Continental Army troops that occurred there on January 20, 1781, under the command of Colonel Israel Shreve."Revolt and execution: the little known Pompton Mutiny", Hidden New Jersey, July 1, 2014. Accessed October 10, 2017.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Pompton Lakes had a population of 11,127. The median age was 41.5 years. 20.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.3 males.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 4,200 households in Pompton Lakes, of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.6% were married-couple households, 16.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 4,349 housing units, of which 3.4% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.5%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 8,170 73.4% Black or African American 217 2.0% American Indian and Alaska Native 73 0.7% Asian 613 5.5% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 2 0.0% Some other race 957 8.6% Two or more races 1,095 9.8% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 2,174 19.5%

2010 census The 2010 United States census counted 11,097 people, 4,190 households, and 2,933 families in the borough. The population density was 3,809.1 per square mile (1,470.7/km2). There were 4,341 housing units at an average density of 1,490.1 per square mile (575.3/km2). The racial makeup was 87.93% (9,758) White, 1.41% (157) Black or African American, 0.11% (12) Native American, 5.39% (598) Asian, 0.02% (2) Pacific Islander, 3.37% (374) from other races, and 1.77% (196) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.89% (1,209) of the population.

Of the 4,190 households, 31.6% had children under the age of 18; 56.0% were married couples living together; 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present and 30.0% were non-families. Of all households, 24.7% were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.20.

22.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 29.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 93.9 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 90.9 males.