Editing Vernon Township, New Jersey (section)

==History==
The independent township of Vernon was established on April 8, 1793, from portions of [[Hardyston Township, New Jersey|Hardyston Township]], and the township was formally incorporated on February 21, 1798.<ref name=Story>Snyder, John P. [https://nj.gov/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. 232. Accessed May 30, 2024.</ref> The {{convert|68|sqmi|km2}} which marked the town's borders over 200 years ago have not changed since. However, the population of Vernon, which was 1,548 people as recently as 1950, has steadily grown since the 1960s, when the ski industry was introduced to the area. Additional growth has come as home prices have soared in the [[inner suburb]]s of [[New York City]] and property buyers seek the better values available from real estate developments in the area.

Iron mining in the town of Vernon was prevalent during the mid-to-late 19th century. Mines such as the Canistear Mine, Williams Mine, and the Pochuk Mine created industry which spawned local businesses, and brought rail travel to the town.

It is not known how Vernon Township got its name, but a number of theories have been offered by author Ronald J. Dupont Jr.:

*Admiral [[Edward Vernon]]. Dupont writes that this is very possible because of two things: 1. the township was created in 1792, the year that [[George Washington]] was reelected as president, and 2. because Vernon Township's first [[Masonic Lodge]] in 1820 was named Mount Vernon (Washington was also a [[List of Freemasons|Freemason]] during his life), likely after Washington's Virginia residence. The residence, in turn, got its name because Washington's brother [[Lawrence Washington (1718-1752)|Lawrence Washington]] served with Admiral Vernon.<ref name="Dupont Jr.">Dupont Jr., Ronald J. ''Vernon 200--A Bicentennial History of the Township of Vernon, New Jersey:  1792-1992''. (The Friends of the Dorothy E. Henry Library, McAfee, NJ, 1992) pg. 53</ref><ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=31 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed October 18, 2015.</ref>
*A family named Vernon. Not likely, Dupont says, although he notes that a Nathaniel Vernon was a licensed tavernkeeper in Sussex County in 1756. However, the tavern was likely elsewhere, and not in what is now Vernon.<ref name="Dupont Jr."/>
*The Latin root "Vernus." One form of "vernus" is "vernal," as in [[March equinox|vernal equinox]] ("spring"), and so Vernon "had connotations of spring: green, lush, fresh, fertile, etc., and hence was an attractive name for a place."<ref name="Dupont Jr."/>

Dupont Jr. also writes that in the late 19th century ''two'' places named Vernon existed, one in Sussex County and another in [[Essex County, New Jersey|Essex County]]. When the Essex County community was granted a post office, they found out that another Vernon existed, and so they eventually named the community [[Verona, New Jersey|Verona]].<ref>[http://www.firstbaptistbloomfield.org/verona.htm Verona New Jersey Historical Photographs and History], First Baptist Church of Bloomfield. Accessed June 13, 2006.</ref>