About Springfield

Before the 20th century, the Springfield area was mostly rural farmland surrounded by dense forests. Farms, mills and lumbering were the livelihood of its early settlers. Springfield was first settled in the early 1700’s, the first substantiated date being 1717, when the Briant family came from Hackensack. The tombstone of William Stites, who is buried in the old burying ground on Mountain Avenue, is dated 1729.

On June 23, 1780, "The Battle of Springfield" was fought. The British advanced with infantry, cavalry and several field pieces. Washington had left the area leaving General Nathanial Greene in the vicinity with Colonel Angell and his Rhode Islanders at the Rahway River vicinity. For more than 40 minutes Colonel Angell and his men fought five times their numbers to a standstill. The British slowly pushed the Militia back to the second bridge over Van Winkle’s Brook on Morris Avenue, just west of the present day Mountain Avenue. During the heat of the battle, Reverend James Caldwell, Chaplain of Colonel Elias Dayton’s Regiment, whose wife had been murdered 16 days before, passed out Watts Hymnals from the Presbyterian Church for use as wadding. His cry of “Give Them Watts, Boys”, has lived on the become a Motto of that conflict. Only four houses remained after the Battle. Still standing are: the historic Cannon Ball House on Morris Avenue (headquarters of the Springfield Historical Society, it is open to the public by appointment), the Swaim House on South Springfield Avenue and the Sayre House.

Springfield residents have many opportunities for play, most notably at the world-renown Baltusrol Golf Club. Built over land once farmed by a man named Baltus Roll, the private, 18-hole course was officially opened in 1895. In 1901, it was selected to host its first national championship, the U.S. Women's Amateur. The club would go on to host the 1903 U.S. Open, then the Men's Amateur the following year. Baltusrol was the first golf club to host a U.S. president, William Howard Taft, in 1912, as well as host to the first nationally televised U.S. Open, in 1954. Baltusrol has since been the site for many other national tournaments, with its A.W. Tillinghast-designed course challenging golf greats such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Lee Janzen.

Route 22 is a popular destination for Springfield shoppers. Major nearby stores include Linens-N-Things, Best Buy, Target and Barnes & Noble. Downtown Westfield and Cranford both offer an eclectic selection of shops, services and restaurants, while the nearby Mall at Short Hills features Macy's, Neiman-Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue and many high-end, designer boutiques.

Education

Springfield's history is further honored by its high school: Jonathan Dayton High School was named after one of the four men from New Jersey who helped form and sign the Constitution of the United States. Click here to read more about Springfield Schools.

Demographics

Population: 14,250
Males: 6,805 (47.2%), Females: 7,624 (52.8%)

County: Union

Land area: 5.1 square miles

Zip code: 07081

Median resident age: 42.1 years
Median household income: $73,790 (year 2000)
Median house value: $250,500 (year 2000)

Hospitals/Medical Centers near Springfield

OVERLOOK HOSPITAL (about 2 miles; SUMMIT, NJ)

CHILDRENS SPECIALIZED HOSP (about 3 miles; MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ)

TRINITAS HOSPITAL (about 3 miles; ELIZABETH, NJ)

MUHLENBERG REGIONAL MED CTR (about 3 miles; PLAINFIELD, NJ)

Colleges nearest to Springfield

UNION COUNTY COLLEGE (about 4 miles; CRANFORD, NJ; Full-time enrollment: 5,856)

KEAN UNIVERSITY (about 4 miles; UNION, NJ; FT enrollment: 8,627)

SETON HALL UNIVERSITY (about 6 miles; SOUTH ORANGE, NJ; FT enrollment: 7,509)

DREW UNIVERSITY (about 8 miles; MADISON, NJ; FT enrollment: 2,133)

UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND DENTISTRY OF NEW JERSEY (about 11 miles; NEWARK, NJ; FT enrollment: 4,134)

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY-NEWARK (about 11 miles; NEWARK, NJ; FT enrollment: 6,878)

NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (about 11 miles; NEWARK, NJ; FT enrollment: 6,565)