Totowa is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 9,892.

Totowa was formed as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1898, from portions of Manchester Township and Wayne Township.

Geography

Totowa is located at (40.903348, -74.217638).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 4.1 square miles (10.5 km²), of which, 4.0 square miles (10.4 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (1.23%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,892 people, 3,539 households, and 2,643 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,474.8 people per square mile (954.8/km²). There were 3,630 housing units at an average density of 908.2/sq mi (350.4/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 93.40% White, 1.12% African American, 0.02% Native American, 2.26% Asian, 1.97% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.37% of the population.

As of the 2000 census, 37.2% of town residents were of Italian ancestry, the seventh-highest percentage of any municipality in the United States, and second-highest in New Jersey (behind Hammonton, at 45.9%), among all places with more than 1,000 residents identifying their ancestry.

There were 3,539 households out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the borough the population was spread out with 18.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $60,408, and the median income for a family was $69,354. Males had a median income of $44,462 versus $33,869 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $26,561. About 0.8% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Totowa is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.

The Mayor of Totowa is John Coiro. Members of the Totowa Borough Council are Louis D’Angelo, Arlene Festa, Jim Niland, Philip Puglise, Hubert (Hughie) Vickerilla and Councilman John Waryas.

Federal, state and county representation

Totowa is part of New Jersey's 35th Legislative District and is in the Eighth Congressional District.

Education

Public school students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade are educated by the Totowa Borough Public Schools. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Memorial School which houses students in prekindergarten through second grade (506 students) and Washington Park School for grades three through eight (437).

For grades 9 - 12, students in public school attend Passaic Valley Regional High School. The regional public high school serves students from Little Falls, Totowa and West Paterson. The school facility is located in Little Falls Township.

Also located in Totowa is The Academy of St. Francis of Assisi, a Catholic school that is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson.

Points of interest

• Annie's Road is a section of Riverview Drive between Totowa Road and Union Boulevard, which is said to be haunted by a "Lady in White".
• Dey Mansion is a colonial house where General, at the time, George Washington took residence during the Revolutionary War. The house gives tours of all the artifacts and furniture left there and has a genuine blacksmith shop that makes clothes hooks and horse shoes for visitors. It is located on 199 Totowa Road, Wayne. Even though located in Wayne, Totowa residents believe that it is truly located in Totowa because it is barely past the border of the two towns.
• Totowa is home to four major luxury home developments: Dey Hill Farms, Arlington Estates, Jeremy Heights, and Hickory Hill. Dey Hill Farms, the largest of the developments was started in 1974 and received its name from The Dey Mansion located down the road.
• Totowa is home to the North Jersey Developmental Center, which serves 400 developmentally disabled citizens on its campus.
• There are more dead people than living in Totowa. This is due to the four major cemeteries in Totowa: Holy Sepulchre Roman Catholic Cemetery, Laurel Grove Cemetery, Laurel Grove Memorial Park, and Mount Nebo Jewish Cemetery. There is also a very old cemetery that is located on the side of Interstate 80.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Totowa include:

• Plaxico Burress (1977-), Wide Receiver for the New York Giants.
• Lou Duva (1922-), boxing trainer, along with his promoter sons, Dan and Dino, are from here. Their offices remain in town.
• David Diehl (1980-), offensive lineman for the New York Giants.
• John Spencer (1946-2005), actor best known for his work on The West Wing.

References

External links

• Totowa Borough web site
• Totowa Public Schools website
• Data for the Totowa Borough Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
• Passaic Valley Regional High School
• Boro of Totowa First Aid Squad
• TotowaStuff.com: Totowa, New Jersey's First Interactive Community Website
• Photographic Memoir; The Totowa Book of the Dead, Laurie Giardino
• St. James of the Marches