Acquackanonk Township
Encyclopedia
Acquackanonk Township was incorporated in 1693 by the British in the newly established Province of New Jersey
and was located in what was then the northern part of Essex County
on the Passaic River
. In 1837, Passaic County
was created, incorporating the township and portions of both Essex County
and Bergen County
.
When formed, Acquackanonk Township included parts of present day Clifton
, Paterson
and Passaic
. The land on which the town was situated was at one time owned by the Surveyor General of New Netherland
Jacques Cortelyou
, some "12,000 morgens at Aquackanonk on the Passaic, purchased by himself and associates of the Indians." It was first settled in 1678 by Dutch traders, who in 1693 formed a Dutch Reformed congregation
The Acquackanonk
were a Lenape
group who spoke the same Algonquian language
dialect and shared the same totem (turtle) as the neighboring Hackensack
and Tappan
. They were so called by the exonym
by the New Netherlander
s, who commonly referred to the people by the indigenous word for their territory. The name may mean a place in a rapid stream where fishing is done with a net.
Alternatively, at the lamprey stream from contemporary axkwaakahnung (spellings include Achquakanonk, Acquackanonk) Lastly it may mean where gum blocks were made for pounding corn.
Ackquekenon was the spelling used by European explorer Jasper Danckaerts
in 1679 describe his visit there.
Province of New Jersey
The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland, but came under English rule after the surrender of Fort Amsterdam in 1664, becoming a...
and was located in what was then the northern part of Essex County
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
on the Passaic River
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
. In 1837, Passaic County
Passaic County, New Jersey
Passaic County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 501,226. Its county seat is Paterson...
was created, incorporating the township and portions of both Essex County
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
and Bergen County
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
.
When formed, Acquackanonk Township included parts of present day Clifton
Clifton, New Jersey
Clifton is a city in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 84,136. The 2010 population represented an increase of 5,464 residents from its population of 78,672 in the 2000 Census, making it the state's 11th largest...
, Paterson
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
and Passaic
Passaic, New Jersey
Passaic is a city in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 69,781, maintaining its status as the 15th largest municipality in New Jersey with an increase of 1,920 residents from the 2000 Census population of 67,861...
. The land on which the town was situated was at one time owned by the Surveyor General of New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
Jacques Cortelyou
Jacques Cortelyou
Jacques Cortelyou was an influential early citizen of New Amsterdam who was Surveyor General of the early Dutch colony...
, some "12,000 morgens at Aquackanonk on the Passaic, purchased by himself and associates of the Indians." It was first settled in 1678 by Dutch traders, who in 1693 formed a Dutch Reformed congregation
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church was a Reformed Christian denomination in the Netherlands. It existed from the 1570s to 2004, the year it merged with the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to form the Protestant Church in the...
The Acquackanonk
Acquackanonk (Native Americans)
The Acquackanonk were a Lenape group whose territory was on the Passaic River in northern New Jersey. They spoke the same dialect and shared the same totem as the neighboring Hackensack, Tappan and Rumachenanck ....
were a Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
group who spoke the same Algonquian language
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
dialect and shared the same totem (turtle) as the neighboring Hackensack
Hackensack (Native Americans)
Hackensack was the exonym given to a band of Lenape, a Native American people is a European derivation of the Lenape word for what is now the region of northeastern New Jersey along the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers.-Territory and Society:...
and Tappan
Tappan (Native Americans)
The Tappan were a Lenape people who inhabited the region radiating from Hudson Palisades and New York – New Jersey Highlands in at the time of European colonialization in the 17th century....
. They were so called by the exonym
Exonym and endonym
In ethnolinguistics, an endonym or autonym is a local name for a geographical feature, and an exonym or xenonym is a foreign language name for it...
by the New Netherlander
New Netherlander
New Netherlanders were residents of New Netherland, the seventeenth century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the northeastern coast of North America, centered around the Hudson River and New York Bay, and at the end of the colony in the Delaware Valley.The...
s, who commonly referred to the people by the indigenous word for their territory. The name may mean a place in a rapid stream where fishing is done with a net.
Alternatively, at the lamprey stream from contemporary axkwaakahnung (spellings include Achquakanonk, Acquackanonk) Lastly it may mean where gum blocks were made for pounding corn.
Ackquekenon was the spelling used by European explorer Jasper Danckaerts
Jasper Danckaerts
Jasper Danckaerts is the author of a Journal Of A Voyage To New York In 1679-80.Danckaerts was born at Flushing in Zeeland May 7, 1639, the sonof Pieter Danckaerts and Janneke Schilders. He became a...
in 1679 describe his visit there.
See also
- Bergen Township
- ElizabethtownElizabeth, New JerseyElizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...