Edgewater is a borough located along the Hudson River in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 14,336, an increase of 2,823 (+24.5%) from the 2010 census count of 11,513, which in turn reflected an increase of 3,836 (+50.0%) from the 7,677 counted in the 2000 census
Edgewater, New Jersey, in the foreground, overlooking Manhattan across the Hudson River in the background
Seal
Trolley terminal and ferry house, early 20th century
1930 Fortune magazine photo of industrial and chemical operations in south Edgewater. Today this land is a Superfund site.
Boroughitis was the creation in the 1890s, usually by referendum, of large numbers of small boroughs in the U.S. state of New Jersey, particularly in Bergen County. Attempts by the New Jersey Legislature to reform local government and school systems led to the breakup of most of Bergen County's townships into small boroughs, which still balkanize the state's political map. This occurred following the development of commuter suburbs in New Jersey, residents of which wanted more government services, whereas the long-time rural population feared the increases in taxation that would result.
Bergen County (and neighboring Passaic County) in 1872
The New Jersey State House in Trenton, where the 1894 acts were passed
The Woodcliff School, Woodcliff Lake, Bergen County. The schoolhouse built for the new borough in 1895 is still part of its middle school.