Byram Township is a township in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 8,028, a decrease of 322 (−3.9%) from the 2010 census count of 8,350, which in turn reflected an increase of 96 (+1.2%) from the 8,254 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.
The municipality is known as the "Township of Lakes", as there are roughly two dozen lakes and ponds within its borders.FAQ, Byram Township. Accessed July 1, 2011. "Byram Township is located in Northern New Jersey in Sussex County. Byram is known as The Township of Lakes, having more than two dozen lakes and ponds. Several large communities have grown around the larger lakes."
History Byram Township was created by an act by the New Jersey General Assembly on February 5, 1798, from portions of the now-defunct Newton Township, and was incorporated on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships.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. A date of April 9, 1798, is shown as the date the township was formed, which appears to be incorrect, as the township was incorporated some six weeks earlier. The township was named for the Byram family, who were early settlers in the area.Byram Township History, Byram Township. Accessed March 22, 2020. "Byram Township was established on February 5, 1798, having been separated from the vast area that was then Newton. The name honored the Byram Family, surveyors who had settled in the area before the Revolution. In 1798, the head of the family was Jephthah Byram, who is buried in the Sparta Cemetery."Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 28, 2015. Patriarch Jephthah Byram and his family, were believed to have emigrated to the area after the American Revolutionary War. Before being named Byram, the community had been called Lockwood, and the Lockwood Tavern continued to hold this original name until its demolition in 2015. In 1829, a section of Green Township was incorporated into the township. Portions of the township have been taken to form Sparta township (April 14, 1845), Brooklyn borough (March 24, 1898, now called Hopatcong) and Stanhope borough (March 24, 1904).
There are many historical sites located in Byram. The town's oldest structure, the 1802 Leport House, stands by the Byram General Store on Sparta-Stanhope Road.Album Name: Leport House dedication & Kiddie Karaoke, New Jersey Herald, May 13, 2006. The Lockwood Cemetery, established around 1818, consists of about 30 gravestones and the remnants of a church's foundation. The 1853 Roseville Schoolhouse was moved from its original location on Lackawanna Drive to Mansfield Drive, reopening in September 1986 as the Roseville Schoolhouse Museum.Open Space and Recreation Plan, Byram Township, June 2020. Accessed February 7, 2023. "Roseville Schoolhouse Museum This one-room schoolhouse was moved from its original location on Lackawanna Drive (originally known as Roseville Road) to its current location near the Municipal Building on Mansfield Road and Beatrice Johnson Way.... The building was moved onto a new foundation, refurbished, and opened as a Schoolhouse Museum on Byram Day, September 13, 1986."Roseville Schoolhouse Museum , accessed February 12, 2007.
In 1911, the Lackawanna Cut-Off rail line opened through Byram Township, with a station stop near the current Forest Lakes neighborhood. The Cut-Off was part of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's mainline from Hoboken, New Jersey to Buffalo, New York. The railroad was important in providing transportation for mines in Northern Jersey. It passes through Byram for a long distance. It runs mainly along Roseville, but as Roseville veers north, the tracks continue west. The line was abandoned in 1980 and the tracks were removed four years later. There is a proposal to reactivate passenger service via NJ Transit in the future, with work underway at the Roseville Tunnel.Higgs, Larry. "Construction underway on commuter rail line to Sussex County", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, January 14, 2015. Accessed October 31, 2016. "This spring, NJ Transit plans to take bids to build a station and high level platforms in Andover, and to do more track construction and work on the Roseville Tunnel, Smith said. Passenger service could start in four years, depending on factors such as how weather conditions affect construction, he said."
In 2001, then-mayor Richard Bowe called for an investigation of weather forecasters due to a snowstorm that had been forecast but never materialized, arguing that forecasters should be held responsible for the "excessive overtime costs" that the township experienced and for losses of local businesses shut in advance of the predicted snowfall.via Associated Press. "N.J. mayor wants investigation into snowstorm", USA Today, March 8, 2001. Accessed April 9, 2013. "Byram Township Mayor Richard Bowe, who is an attorney, is calling for a federal or state investigation in an attempt to determine if the forecasts of heavy snow and blizzard conditions were mistakes or a deliberate attempt to generate ratings."
Mining Byram Township had a very large mining industry in the past. The largest mine, The Roseville Mine, is located on the current Roseville Road. The mine is in a quadrilateral plot of land, with the southwestern corner created by Roseville Road and Amity Road. The southeastern corner is created by an intersection between Roseville Road and the Lackawanna Cut-off. The Roseville Mine was first excavated in the early 1850s. It was well worked during its life, with production in 1880 alone documented as 67,000 tons of ore. Most of the work was done via a large open cut. This cut as it exists today, is water-filled, with vertical walls as much as high. The Charlotte Uranium mine extracted uranium from the rocks of southwestern Byram. The mine closed in the 1950s, but many remnants are still visible.
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 22.72 square miles (58.84 km2), including 21.53 square miles (55.76 km2) of land and 1.19 square miles (3.07 km2) of water (5.22%). It is divided into several sections. They include the neighborhoods of Forest West, East and West Brookwood, Forest Lakes, Lackawanna, Cranberry Lake, and the Lake Mohawk area.
The township is known as the "Township of Lakes" because of the community's nearly two dozen lakes and ponds.
A wooded exclave owned by the State of New Jersey and covering is located on Lake Musconetcong adjoining Hopatcong and Stanhope, away from the remainder of the township.O'Dea, Colleen. "The List: Donuts, Holes, and Exclaves — New Jersey’s Weird Geography", NJ Spotlight News, March 24, 2014. Accessed February 13, 2025. "A 22-square mile-township in Sussex County, Byram includes a roughly 33-acre small exclave of woodlands on the border of Lake Musconetcong. The area is about a mile away as the crow flies through Stanhope. Known as Byram Island, it’s a piece of orphaned land that neither Stanhope nor Hopatcong took when they broke away from Byram. The property is state-owned land and accessible only via the lake or the Lackawanna Cutoff."
Byram Center (with a 2020 Census population of 2,232) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Byram Township. Lake Mohawk (with 1,824 out of the CDP's total 2010 Census population of 9,916 in the township, United States Census Bureau. Accessed February 18, 2013.) is a CDP split between Byram Township and Sparta Township., United States Census Bureau. Accessed February 19, 2013.2006-2010 American Community Survey Geography for New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed February 19, 2013.New Jersey: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts - 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32), United States Census Bureau, August 2012. Accessed February 19, 2013.
Other unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Brookwood East, Brookwood West, Cage Hill, Cranberry Lake, Forest Lakes, Jefferson Lake, Lake Lackawanna, Lockwood, Panther Pond, Roseville, Stag Pond, Tomahawk Lane, Waterloo, Wolf Lake and Wrights Pond.Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed May 21, 2015.
Streams Lubbers Run runs through the township, intersecting Mansfield Drive. The run is monitored monthly by the Byram Intermediate School's Environmental Club. Punkhorn Creek runs through the township, flowing southwest from Lake Bottom, on the north side of and parallel with Amity Road, to Roseville Pond.
Residents of Byram are served by adjacent post offices in Stanhope, Andover Township and Sparta Township.Services » Contacts: Post Offices, Byram Township. Accessed July 2, 2011.
The township borders the municipalities of Andover Township, Green Township, Hopatcong, Sparta Township and Stanhope in Sussex County; Mount Olive Township in Morris County; and Allamuchy Township in Warren County.Sussex County Map, Sussex County, New Jersey. Accessed March 22, 2020.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.
Demographics
2010 census
The 2010 United States census counted 8,350 people, 2,926 households, and 2,361 families in the township. The population density was . There were 3,207 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 94.35% (7,878) White, 1.47% (123) Black or African American, 0.12% (10) Native American, 2.14% (179) Asian, 0.01% (1) Pacific Islander, 0.62% (52) from other races, and 1.28% (107) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.99% (417) of the population.
Of the 2,926 households, 37.4% had children under the age of 18; 69.3% were married couples living together; 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 19.3% were non-families. Of all households, 14.9% were made up of individuals and 4.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.19.
25.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 32.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 101.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 99.1 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $103,519 (with a margin of error of +/− $5,758) and the median family income was $113,555 (+/− $12,281). Males had a median income of $78,347 (+/− $7,621) versus $54,504 (+/− $5,146) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $43,160 (+/− $3,087). About 0.8% of families and 1.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over., United States Census Bureau. Accessed February 18, 2013.
2000 census