Edison is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Edison is a commercial hub (home to Menlo Park Mall and Little India) and is a bedroom community of New York City within the New York metropolitan area.Lynn, Kathleen. "Living In Edison, N.J.: A Diverse Suburb in a Convenient Location" , The New York Times, July 13, 2022. Accessed July 17, 2022.

As of the 2020 United States census, the township was the state's sixth-most-populous municipality,Table1. New Jersey Counties and Most Populous Cities and Townships: 2020 and 2010 Censuses , New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed December 1, 2022. with a population of 107,588, an increase of 7,621 (+7.6%) from the 2010 census count of 99,967, which in turn reflected an increase of 2,280 (+2.3%) from the 97,687 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.

What is now Edison Township was originally incorporated as Raritan Township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1870, from portions of both Piscataway and Woodbridge Township. The township was originally named after the Raritan indigenous people. Portions of the township were taken to form Metuchen on March 20, 1900, and Highland Park on March 15, 1905. The name was officially changed to Edison Township on November 10, 1954, in honor of inventor Thomas Edison, who had his main laboratory in the Menlo Park section of the township.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography, Trenton, New Jersey, 1969. Accessed May 1, 2026.

History Early history

The earliest residents of the area were the Raritan people of the Lenape Native Americans, who lived there and traveled through it to the shore. In 1646, Chief Matouchin led a group of 1,200 warriors.History of Metuchen , Federal Writers' Project of the Works Project Administration, 1941. Accessed December 3, 2019. "The local natives were doubtless a group of the Raritans who belonged to the Unami tribe. Philhower, an expert on New Jersey's Indians, describes them as 'a quickwitted, modest, fine looking people, black-haired and of a dark copper color' who spoke the Lenape dialect. In 1646 the tribe consisted of 1200 warriors and twenty chiefs, among whom tradition has it was Matouchin, chief of the Indians in this section."

Edison Township, which was formed from sections of Piscataway and Woodbridge townships, was settled (by Europeans) in the 17th century. The earliest village was Piscatawaytown, which is centered around St. James Church and the Piscatawaytown Common, near the intersection of Plainfield and Woodbridge Avenues in South Edison.Staff. "Artifacts found during search of Edison's Piscatawaytown" , Edison Sentinel, October 12, 2011. Accessed September 17, 2017. "Three artifacts discovered in the township's oldest neighborhood are believed to date back to the Colonial era. ... Piscatawatown and the Commons were founded in 1666 as the original settlement of Piscataway. The Commons is still public land and is one of the few remaining commons areas in the state. The location was part of Piscataway Township until 1870, when it became part of Raritan Township. In 1954, the area became part of Edison." The Laing House of Plainfield Plantation (listed on the National Register in 1988), the Benjamin Shotwell House (listed 1987) and the Homestead Farm at Oak Ridge (listed 1995), are buildings from the colonial era included in National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County.New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places in Middlesex County , New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Historic Preservation Office, updated September 18, 2019. Accessed December 4, 2019.

The community was previously known as "Raritan Township", not to be confused with the current-day Raritan Township in Hunterdon County.

The Edison era

In 1876, Thomas Edison set up his home and research laboratory in New Jersey on the site of an unsuccessful real estate development in Raritan Township called "Menlo Park", (currently located in Edison State Park). While there, he earned the nickname "the Wizard of Menlo Park". Before his death at age 83 in 1931, the prolific inventor amassed a record 1,093 patents for creations including the phonograph, a stock ticker, the motion-picture camera, the incandescent light bulb, a mechanical vote counter, the alkaline storage battery, including one for an electric car, and the first commercial electric light.Walsh, Bryan. "The Electrifying Edison", Time, July 5, 2010. Accessed March 16, 2015.

The Menlo Park lab was significant in that it was one of the first laboratories to pursue practical, commercial applications of research.Gordon, John Steele. "10 Moments That Made American Business" , American Heritage, February/March 2007. Accessed December 3, 2019. "But even more important than the inventions themselves was the process. Laboratories in the past had mostly pursued pure research, with little or no regard for the practical applications that might flow from that research. Menlo Park was all about practical application, turning ideas into products that would have commercial potential." It was in his Menlo Park laboratory that Thomas Edison came up with the phonograph and a commercially viable incandescent light bulb filament. Christie Street was the first street in the world to use electric lights for illumination.An Edison Historical Timeline , Township of Edison. Accessed September 17, 2017. Edison subsequently left Menlo Park and moved his home and laboratory to West Orange in 1886.Thomas Edison and Menlo Park , The Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park. Accessed September 17, 2017. "In 1886, Edison started building a new facility in West Orange, New Jersey. In 1887, his laboratory moved out of Menlo Park and into the new, much larger laboratory in West Orange."

20th century Near Piscatawaytown village, a portion of the township was informally known as "Nixon", after Lewis Nixon, a manufacturer and community leader. Soon after the outbreak of World War I, Nixon established a massive, volatile-chemical processing facility there, known as the Nixon Nitration Works. It was the site of the 1924 Nixon Nitration Works disaster, a massive explosion and resulting fire that killed 20 people and destroyed several square miles of the township.Staff. "Fertilizer Plant Blows Up; Theory Is That TNT, Accidentally Left in Shells, Caused Blast" , The New York Times, March 2, 1924. Accessed November 4, 2018. "At least twenty persons were killed yesterday in an explosion of a two-story tile and brick fertilizer building of Ammonite Company at Nixon, N.J., six miles northeast of New Brunswick. A dozen others were unaccounted for last night and were listed as missing."

In 1954, the township's name was changed to honor inventor Thomas A. Edison. Also on the ballot in 1954 was a failed proposal to change the community's name to Nixon.Staff. "Edison May Be the Name Of Raritan After Vote" , The New York Times, September 5, 1954. Accessed November 4, 2018. Raritan Township, N. J., Sept. 4 – This community may change its name on election day to Edison, N. J., to honor the man who perfected the incandescent lamp here seventy-five years ago. ... The other petition, with 2,856 names, asks that the name be changed to Nixon, N. J., after the late Lewis Nixon, a local manufacturer and civic leader."

In 1959, the Menlo Park Mall, a two-level super regional shopping mall, opened on U.S. Route 1.

21st century

Edison has been one of the fastest-growing municipalities in New Jersey. As of the 2000 United States census, it was the fifth most-populated municipality in the state, after the cities of Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, and Elizabeth.The Counties and Most Populous Cities and Townships in 2010 in New Jersey: 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed December 21, 2016.

Edison is primarily a middle-class community with more than 75 ethnic communities represented. Edison has a large Jewish community near Highland Park, with multiple synagogues. Edison also has a growing Indian community and some temples that serve its religious needs. Reflecting the number of Edison's residents from India and China, the township has sister city arrangements with Shijiazhuang, China,"Position Paper on Sister State and Sister City Relations Between Australia and China" , Australia-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New South Wales, dated November 14, 2001. Accessed August 30, 2015. and Baroda, India.

Edison was ranked the 28th most-livable small city in the United States by CNN Money magazine, and second in New Jersey in 2006 in Money magazine's "Best Places To Live".100 Best Places to Live 2006: #28 – Edison, Money / Cable News Network, October 22, 2009, backed up by the Internet Archive as of August 2, 2010. Accessed March 16, 2015. In 2008, two years later, Money ranked the township 35th out of the top 100 places to live in the United States."Best Places to Live 2008: New Jersey", Money / Cable News Network, December 5, 2009, backed up by the Internet Archive as of December 3, 2012. Accessed March 16, 2015. In the 2006 survey of America's Safest Cities, the township was ranked 23rd, out of 371 cities included nationwide, in the 13th annual Morgan Quitno survey.13th Annual Safest (and Most Dangerous) Cities: Top and Bottom 25 Cities Overall: Top and Bottom 26 Cities Overall, Morgan Quitno, backed up by the Internet Archive as of January 5, 2008. Accessed April 4, 2016. In 2009, Edison was ranked as one of "America's 10 Best Places to Grow Up" by U.S. News & World Report. The rankings focused on low crime, strong schools, green spaces, and an abundance of recreational activities.Mullins, Luke. "America's 10 Best Places to Grow Up: Low crime, strong schools, green spaces, and fun activities are key ingredients for a happy childhood" , U.S. News & World Report, August 19, 2009. Accessed April 4, 2016. In 2014, parenting.com ranked Edison as the top safest city in America.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 30.69 square miles (79.49 km2), including 30.06 square miles (77.86 km2) of land and 0.63 square miles (1.63 km2) of water (2.05%).US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990 , United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.

Edison is on the east side of Raritan Valley (a line of communities in central New Jersey), along with Plainfield, and surrounds the borough of Metuchen, making it part of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality surrounds another.DeMarco, Megan. "Voters to decide whether to merge two Princetons into one" , The Star-Ledger, November 3, 2011. Accessed January 8, 2017. "There are 22 sets of 'doughnut towns' in New Jersey, those where one town wraps around the other town". Note that following voter approval of the Princeton merger, 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" remain. The township borders the municipalities of East Brunswick, Highland Park, New Brunswick, Piscataway, Sayreville, South Plainfield and Woodbridge Township in Middlesex County; Clark, Plainfield and Scotch Plains in Union County.Areas touching Edison , MapIt. Accessed July 12, 2016.Municipalities , Middlesex County, New Jersey. Accessed December 1, 2019.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries , New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.