Thursday, March 13, 2008

Warren County - one of our most interesting


Warren County's proximity to Easton, PA and also the Philadelphia Eagles' training camp in Bethlehem on the campus of Lehigh University makes it weird as far as it being a Northern New Jersey County. Some people call it a hoagie, and you'll also find Pork Roll on the menu (and not Taylor Ham) at most diners.  .  . . . not to mention a good amount of Eagles' fans.

Well, read this article on the change in demographics over the years in this area known as the Lehigh Valley (it also includes the PA side).  

Lehigh Valley Live

2 comments:

Keith Dennison said...

I live in Warren County, but I am a native of Morris County. A co-worker of mine who is now in his mid-to-late 50s once told me why there are Eagles fans up here in Warren County. Before cable TV the Philly stations came in clearer in Warren County than did the New York ones. The mountains that run in parallel NE-SW ridges across the county effectively block the over-the-air signals beaming from New York. This hopefully will shed some light on the characteristics of Warren County. But, I have noticed a trend in both Warren County (where I live) and Hunterdon County (where I work). Both counties are seeing an influx of residents leaving the NY area or other parts of North Jersey. They tend to be young families wanting a bigger yard and a newer home. What you get is older residents and "native" families of these counties being more Philly sports team oriented and the younger and "new" families being more NY sports team oriented (and more North Jersey).

Another thing about Warren that is interesting is its size and placement in New Jersey. It's northernmost end is up by Stillwater, NJ in Sussex County. It's southernmost end is down by Easton, PA. It's crossed by I-80 which connects the Poconos to NYC across most of North Jersey...so the northern end of the county can reflect some of the more traditional North Jersey traits and the highways and patterns of settlement make that part of the county attractive to new residents from the northeastern counties as well as those who use I-80 to commute to NYC. I-78 crosses the very bottom of the county (only the last 6 miles of I-78 in NJ are in Warren County) and acts as a gateway to the Turnpike, Parkway and Central Jersey more so than as a gateway to NYC, so patterns of settlement along that road tend to be less North Jersey. The most major road out in that part of the county is actually Route 31, a north-south road which may help to explain how ideas and culture move throughout the county.

In addition, there is nothing between the Washington-Phillipsburg area and Hackettstown, so people in the southern and western parts of the county (the Route 57 corridor) travel to PA more frequently for shopping, work and other activities. This is changing with Phillipsburg, Lopatcong and Pohatcong sprouting up more box store retailers and malls though. Hackettstown and Mansfield Township lie at the eastern (and northern) terminus of Rt. 57 and are just about 5 miles from I-80 (and Rt. 46 goes right through Hackettstown), which can explain why those towns are more North Jersey than other parts of the county.

I hope this is helpful and logical.
Keith Dennison,
Hackettstown, NJ

Steve said...

This guy nailed it!