Editing Clark, New Jersey (section)

==History==
[[File:WilliamRobinsonPlantationHouse.jpg|thumb|left|Robinson Plantation House]]
The territory that would become Clark was originally a part of several early settlements. The [[Robinson Plantation House]]<ref>[http://www.drrobinsonmuseum.org/History.html Home page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913113315/http://www.drrobinsonmuseum.org/History.html |date=September 13, 2019 }}, Dr. Wm. Robinson Plantation & Museum. Accessed August 18, 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.ettc.net/njarts/details.cfm?ID=817 Robinson Plantation House] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822215251/http://www.ettc.net/njarts/details.cfm?ID=817 |date=August 22, 2011 }}, New Jersey Art and Architecture, [[Stockton University]]. Accessed August 18, 2014.</ref> and The Squire Hartshorne House, buildings from the late 17th century,<ref>[http://www.oldhouses.com/cf/displaylisting.cfm?q_listingid=3027&searchlist=8154,7495,709,7915,913,1248,479,7321,6586,5203,7970,2436,783,5228,3391,956,7187,6990,6472,6297,3914,749,1279,1172,7201,969,3027,2871,7006,1370,718,8174,4821,7835,4058,7962,952,524,4234,7144,8020,4609,6551,2855,3325,7210,6753,473,7860,5229,7901,4269,2240,7306,7242,3228,7998,437,7982,4690,7999,4975,3732,6573,6481&searchname=Built%20Before%201760&searchdest=%2Fcf%2Farchivelist.cfm%3Fhiyear%3D1760%26searchname%3DBuilt%2BBefore%2B1760%26startrow%3D26%26maxrows%3D25 Clark, New Jersey homes], OldHouses.com. Accessed July 11, 2011.</ref> are remnants of the era. The [[Homestead Farm at Oak Ridge]] was the site of a skirmish preceding the [[Battle of Short Hills]].<ref>{{Citation | last = DiIonno | first = Mark | title = A Guide to New Jersey's Revolutionary War Trail for Families & History Buffs | year = 2000 | publisher = [[Rutgers University Press]] | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=W5c1MipoiBQC&q=Homestead+Farm+at+Oak+Ridge&pg=PA167 | isbn = 0-8135-2769-4 }}</ref> In 1858, after the City of [[Rahway, New Jersey|Rahway]] was incorporated, the area of present-day Clark was designated as the 5th Ward of Rahway. Clark was incorporated as a township by an act of the [[New Jersey Legislature]] on March 23, 1864, from portions of Rahway.<ref name=Story>Snyder, John P. [https://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf ''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''], Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 237. Accessed September 12, 2012.</ref> The township was named for [[Abraham Clark]], a signer of the [[Declaration of Independence (United States)|Declaration of Independence]].<ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=10 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 28, 2015.</ref> Portions of the township were taken to form [[Cranford, New Jersey|Cranford Township]] (March 14, 1871) and [[Winfield Township, New Jersey|Winfield Township]] (August 6, 1941).<ref name=Story/>

''[[New Jersey Monthly]]'' magazine ranked Clark as its 33rd best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.<ref>[http://njmonthly.com/articles/best_of/placestolive/best-places-to-live---the-complete-top-towns-list-.html "Best Places To Live - The Complete Top Towns List 1-100"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228122746/http://njmonthly.com/articles/best_of/placestolive/best-places-to-live---the-complete-top-towns-list-.html |date=February 28, 2008 }}, ''[[New Jersey Monthly]]'', February 21, 2008. Accessed February 24, 2008.</ref> In 2013, ''[[New Jersey Monthly]]'' magazine ranked Clark 174th in its rankings of "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.<ref>[http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/bestplacestolive/best-places-to-live-in-new-jersey-2013.html "Best Place To Live - The complete 2013 Top Towns List"], ''[[New Jersey Monthly]]'', August 16, 2013. Accessed March 3, 2014.</ref>

In July 2020, the Union County Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation into the Clark township police department and put the police chief and a captain on administrative leave after allegations of misconduct.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Panico |first1=Rebecca |title=A year into investigation, N.J. police chief still on paid leave, officials say |url=https://www.nj.com/union/2021/07/a-year-into-investigation-nj-police-chief-still-on-paid-leave-officials-say.html |access-date=8 April 2022 |work=NJ.com |date=22 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

In March 2022, [[NJ.com|NJ Advance Media]], a local newspaper, revealed a recording of Mayor Sal Bonaccorso using racial slurs when talking to members of the police department, despite him having previously denied doing so, and also saying women police officers were "disasters". The newspaper also reported that in January 2020, Clark Township had paid Clark police lieutenant Antonio Manata $400,000 to not reveal racist and sexist comments made by the Mayor and Chief of Police and to turn over the tapes he had recorded. On April 5, Bonaccorso admitted to using "hurtful and insensitive language" and apologized.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Edwards |first1=Jonathan |title=A mayor denied using racial slurs. Then came the secret recordings |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/04/07/new-jersey-mayor-racial-slurs/ |access-date=8 April 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=7 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Yates |first1=Riley |last2=Sullivan |first2=S.P. |title=N.J. town paid $400K+ to conceal alleged racist slurs by mayor, police chief |url=https://www.nj.com/news/2022/03/nj-town-paid-400k-to-conceal-alleged-racist-slurs-by-mayor-police-chief.html |access-date=8 April 2022 |work=NJ.com |date=30 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dienst |first1=Jonathan |last2=Hemphill |first2=Anjali |title=NJ Mayor Allegedly Heard on Recordings Making Racist, Sexist, Hate-Filled Remarks |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nj-mayor-allegedly-heard-on-recordings-making-racist-sexist-hate-filled-remarks/3630973/ |access-date=8 April 2022 |work=NBC New York}}</ref> The New Jersey Office of Public Integrity and Accountability subsequently took control of the Union County investigation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sullivan |first1=S.P. |last2=Yates |first2=Riley |title=State takes over probe of N.J. town's police, local government after racist recordings exposed |url=https://www.nj.com/news/2022/04/state-takes-over-probe-of-nj-towns-police-local-government-after-racist-recordings-exposed.html |access-date=8 April 2022 |work=NJ.com |date=7 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref>