Once inhabited by the Lenni-Lenape Indians, also known as the Delaware, Hawthorne was settled in the 1700s by Dutch immigrants who were to become the borough's pioneer farmers.   This settlement was first part of Manchester Township, a region that was later separated into Hawthorne, Haledon, North Haledon, Prospect Park, Totowa and most of the First Ward of Paterson.  The municipality was incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 24, 1898.  Hawthorne is one of 16 municipalities within Passaic County, New Jersey. 

Hawthorne is home to approximately 18,000 residents who enjoy easy accessibility to mass transit from our local train and bus routes to New York City and motor vehicle access to Routes 208, 287, 4, 17, 20, 80 and the Garden State Parkway.