Editing Hackettstown, New Jersey (section)

==History==
=== Founding ===
William Johnson (1817–1891) was a prime contributor to the incorporation of the town in 1853. He and his brother George (1815–1889) were successful merchants in the town beginning in 1839 when they began operating the W.L. & G.W Johnson dry good store. The two men were very active in community affairs. George was a member of First Presbyterian Church, a director of the Hackettstown National Bank, and a member of the Hackettstown Water Board. Both men were involved in the establishment of the Union Cemetery.<ref>Historic Main Street, Hackettstown, New Jersey, Frank, Leonard and Raymond Lemasters, Harmony Press, Inc, Easton, Pennsylvania, 2006, pp. 77-78</ref>

Hackettstown was named after Samuel Hackett, an early settler and large landowner.<ref>via the ''Trenton Monitor''. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nnJFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lLwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5796,3182401&dq=hackettstown+samuel-hackett&hl=en "Origin of Geographical Names in New Jersey"], ''Camden Democrat'', August 12, 1865. Accessed July 6, 2012. "Hackettstown – After Samuel Hackett, an early settler."</ref><ref>[[Henry Gannett|Gannett, Henry]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA146 ''The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States''], p. 146. [[United States Government Printing Office]], 1905. Accessed March 17, 2015.</ref> Hackett is said to have "contributed liberally to the liquid refreshments on the christening of a new hotel, in order to secure the name which, before this, had been Helms' Mills or Musconetcong."<ref>''Northwestern New Jersey–-A History of Somerset, Morris, Hunterdon, Warren, and Sussex Counties'', Vol. 2. (A. Van Doren Honeyman, ed. in chief, Lewis Historical Publishing Co., New York, 1927) p. 689.</ref><ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=15 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 31, 2015.</ref>

===Tillie Smith murder case===
[[File:She Died in Defence of Her Honor.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The Tillie Smith monument to chastity, ''She Died In Defence of Her Honor'', April 8, 1886]]
In 1886, Tillie Smith, a 19-year-old kitchen worker from a poverty-stricken family, was raped, murdered and left lying in an open field near the campus of the [[Centenary Collegiate Institute]], where she worked.<ref>Brock, Donna. [http://www.hackettstownhistory.com/narticle_tilliesmith.shtml "The Mystery of Tillie Smith"], Hackettstown Historical Society. Accessed July 6, 2012.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1886/04/12/archives/hunting-for-a-clue-students-turned-detectives-in-tracing-the.html|title=Hunting for a Clue.; Students Turned Detectives in Tracing the Murderers of Tillie Smith.|date=April 12, 1886|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=August 18, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> James Titus, a janitor at the school, was tried and convicted of the rape and murder, based on [[circumstantial evidence]] and public opinion shaped by [[yellow journalism]]. Titus was sentenced to hang, but he signed a confession to avoid the death penalty and served 19 years of hard labor. He lived from 1904 to 1952 in Hackettstown among many of the same residents who championed his conviction, the validity of which remains controversial.<ref>Sullivan, Denis. ''In Defence of Her Honor: The Tillie Smith Murder Case''. Flemington: D.H. Thoreau Books, 2000.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/warren-county/express-times/2013/10/tillie_smith_centenary_college.html|title=Tillie Smith murder at Centenary College remains part of Hackettstown lore|last=O'Donnell|first=Chuck|date=October 6, 2013|website=lehighvalleylive.com|access-date=August 18, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1887/05/18/archives/in-memory-of-tillie-smith.html|title=In Memory of Tillie Smith.|date=May 18, 1887|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=August 18, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The killing remains a popular local legend, inspiring several books, [[Weird NJ]] magazine articles,<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 7, 2023 |title=Murdered Maid Haunts Centenary College {{!}} Weird NJ |url=https://weirdnj.com/stories/garden-state-ghosts/tillie-smith-centenary-college/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425023929/https://weirdnj.com/stories/garden-state-ghosts/tillie-smith-centenary-college/ |archive-date=April 25, 2019 |access-date=August 18, 2019 |website=weirdnj.com}}</ref> theatrical performances and [[dark tourism]] ghost tours.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.njherald.com/20171026/following-the-path-of-tillie-smith|title=Following the path of Tillie Smith|date=October 26, 2017|website=New Jersey Herald|access-date=August 18, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=January 24, 2020|title=Mondays with authors: Maryann McFadden's new novel explores1886 NJ murder|url=https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/how-we-live/2018/04/30/maryann-mcfaddens-novel-1886-new-jersey-murder/557177002/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124122114/https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/how-we-live/2018/04/30/maryann-mcfaddens-novel-1886-new-jersey-murder/557177002/|archive-date=January 24, 2020|access-date=January 24, 2020|website=my central jersey}}</ref>

=== 20th century ===
The Hackettstown State Fish Hatchery, a popular tourist destination, was established in 1912.<ref>{{Cite web|title=NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife – The Charles O. Hayford State Fish Hatchery in Hackettstown|url=https://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/hacktown.htm|access-date=June 16, 2021|website=www.state.nj.us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Caracappa|first=Michael|date=July 31, 1949|title=JERSEY FISH HATCHERY; Plant Near Hackettstown Popular With Tourists|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/07/31/archives/jersey-fish-hatchery-plant-near-hackettstown-popular-with-tourists.html|access-date=June 16, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In 1925, a [[Rockport train wreck|train wreck]] just outside of town killed about 50 people and injured about 50 others en route to [[Hoboken, New Jersey]], from [[Chicago]]. The derailment involved a Lackawanna Railroad train and occurred at the Hazen Road grade crossing near Rockport Road at approximately 3:30&nbsp;am, as a result of debris washed downhill by a storm fouling the road crossing. The event made national headlines and stands as the deadliest event in Warren County history.<ref name="United Press International">[https://web.archive.org/web/20120906005751/https://www.gendisasters.com/new-jersey/13434/hackettstown-rockport-nj-train-disaster-june-1925?page=0%2C0 "Big Toll Taken In A New Jersey Wreck. Latest Report Shows At Least 27 Were Killed. Thunderstorm Clogged A Switch With Sand Causing A Derailment."], ''Sterling Daily Gazette'', June 16, 1925. Accessed March 17, 2015.</ref><ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1925/06/17/archives/derailed-in-big-storm-special-train-leaves-rails-in-early-morning.html "Derailed In Big Storm; Special Train Leaves Rails in Early Morning Near Hackettstown."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 17, 1925. Accessed July 6, 2012. "Hackettstown, N.J., June 16. -- Thirty-nine persons are dead and 48 are in hospitals, as the result of the wreck of a special train early this morning on the Delaware, Lackawanna Western Railroad near here, and about sixty miles from New York."</ref><ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1925/06/19/archives/wreck-death-list-now-45-in-jersey-one-more-victim-dies-and-13.html "Wreck Death List Now 45 In Jersey; One More Victim Dies and 13 Others Are in a Critical Condition. Funeral Special Departs Bodies Due in Chicago Tomorrow -- Coroner's Inquest Is Set for Monday Night."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 19, 1925. Accessed July 6, 2012.</ref>

Fund-raising campaigns for a new hospital started as early as 1945, supported and organized by local civic and business groups including [[Kiwanis]], Unico International, [[Parent–teacher association|PTA]] and others, a large donation by the Seventh Day Adventists and a grant from the [[United States Public Health Service]], the 106-bed Hackettstown Community Hospital was established in 1973.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hospital History – Hackettstown – Atlantic Health|url=https://www.atlantichealth.org/about-us/foundations-auxiliaries/hackettstown-foundation/hackettstown-history.html|access-date=June 16, 2021|website=www.atlantichealth.org}}</ref>

In 1977, a [[mass shooting]] occurred in the town when Emil Pierre Benoist, a 20-year-old graduate of [[Hackettstown High School]] and former [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine]], took random shots at passing cars over the course of about four hours and shot and killed six people before turning his sniper rifle on himself.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/08/27/archives/sniper-slays-6-in-jersey-and-then-takes-own-life-6areswinihjersey.html|title=Sniper Slays 6 in Jersey And Then Takes Own Life|date=August 27, 1977|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=June 14, 2017|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/08/29/archives/quarrels-at-home-cited-as-cause-in-jersey-shootings.html|title=Quarrels at Home Cited as Cause in Jersey Shootings|last=Times|first=Pranay Gupte Special To The New York|date=August 29, 1977|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=June 14, 2017|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/16/us/rampage-killings-fast-facts/index.html|title=Rampage Killings Fast Facts|last=Library|first=C. N. N.|website=CNN|date=September 16, 2013|access-date=June 14, 2017}}</ref>

In 1994, a charity BBQ picnic organized by the "Tri-County Motorcycle Club" at the [[Elks lodge|Elk's Lodge]] in Hackettstown was crashed by rival members of the outlaw [[Pagan's Motorcycle Club]]. "An altercation started that escalated into knives and guns being used", according to the Warren County Prosecutor.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 18, 1994 |title=2 Die in Altercation At Cycle Club Event |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/18/nyregion/2-die-in-altercation-at-cycle-club-event.html |access-date=October 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Two Pagans were killed and three other bikers were injured.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hanley |first=Robert |date=July 19, 1994 |title=Details Sifted in Biker Clash That Left 2 Pagans Dead |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/19/nyregion/details-sifted-in-biker-clash-that-left-2-pagans-dead.html |access-date=October 7, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== 21st century ===
Hackettstown was named #72 of the top 100 towns in the United States to Live and Work In by ''[[Money (magazine)|Money]]'' Magazine in 2005; it has not been included since.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080706005521/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2005/snapshots/42676.html ''Best Places to Live 2005: No. 72 - Hackettstown, NJ''], ''[[Money (magazine)|Money]]'', backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of July 6, 2008. Accessed March 17, 2015.</ref>

In 2011, the town council proclaimed a [[sister city]] relationship with [[Hacketstown]], Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web|last=lehighvalleylive.com|first=Steve Novak {{!}} For|date=March 15, 2011|title=Hackettstown, N.J., declares 'sister city' relationship with Hacketstown, Ireland|url=https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/warren-county/express-times/2011/03/hackettstown_nj_declares_frien.html|access-date=November 14, 2020|website=lehighvalleylive}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=lehighvalleylive.com|first=Steve Novak {{!}} For|date=January 23, 2020|title=What's in a name: A New Jersey town's weird Irish connection|url=https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/warren-county/2020/01/whats-in-a-name-a-new-jersey-towns-weird-irish-connection.html|access-date=November 14, 2020|website=lehighvalleylive}}</ref>