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==History== [[File:Aero-view of Westfield, N.J. 1929. LOC 75694739.jpg|thumb|[[Panoramic map]] of Westfield with inset images and listings of landmarks (1929)]] History says that Westfield took its name from the rich "fields west of [[Elizabeth, New Jersey|Elizabeth Town]], and hence for over one hundred years went by the name of West Fields." Town records say that "the settlement of Westfield dates back to the last year (1699) of the seventeenth century. It was the result of the 'Clinker Lot Division.' Almost immediately after the division emigration from the older parts of the town of Elizabeth began to set towards the interior,—especially to the territory lying between the Rahway river, on the east, and the mountains, on the west. It was not, however, until 1720 that the settlers became numerous enough to constitute a distinct community."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ricord |first1=Frederick W. |title=History of Union County New Jersey |date=1897 |publisher=East Jersey History Company |location=Newark NJ |page=506}}</ref> The old village area, now the downtown district, was settled in 1720 as part of the [[Elizabethtown Tract]]. [[File:Miller Cory NJ.JPG|right|280px|thumb|Miller-Cory House Museum]] Westfield was originally formed as a [[township (New Jersey)|township]] on January 27, 1794, from portions of [[Elizabeth, New Jersey|Elizabeth Township]], while the area was still part of [[Essex County, New Jersey|Essex County]], and was incorporated on February 21, 1798, as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships by an act of the [[New Jersey Legislature]]. It became part of the newly formed Union County on March 19, 1857. Portions of the township have been taken to form [[Rahway Township, New Jersey|Rahway Township]] (February 27, 1804), [[Plainfield Township, New Jersey|Plainfield Township]] (April 5, 1847), [[Cranford, New Jersey|Cranford Township]] (March 14, 1871), Fanwood Township (March 6, 1878; now known as [[Scotch Plains, New Jersey|Scotch Plains]]) and [[Mountainside, New Jersey|Mountainside]] (September 25, 1895). The Town of Westfield was incorporated on March 4, 1903, replacing Westfield Township.<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. 242. Accessed May 30, 2024.</ref><ref>Honeyman, Abraham Van Doren. [https://books.google.com/books?id=nOkkAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA313 ''Index-analysis of the Statutes of New Jersey, 1896-1909: Together with References to All Acts, and Parts of Acts, in the 'General Statutes' and Pamphlet Laws Expressly Repealed: and the Statutory Crimes of New Jersey During the Same Period''], p. 313. New Jersey Law Journal Publishing Company, 1910. Accessed October 26, 2015.</ref> The name of the town is derived from its location in the western, undeveloped fields of the Elizabethtown tract.<ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=32 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed October 26, 2015.</ref><ref>Staff. [http://www.nj.com/suburbannews/index.ssf/2015/10/westfield_historical_society_h_3.html "Westfield Historical Society Historic Marker installed at PNC Plaza"], ''Suburban Trends'', October 14, 2015. Accessed October 26, 2015. "The Westfield Historical Society (WHS) historic marker commemorating the settlement of Westfield in 1720 as the West Fields of Elizabethtown has been installed at the PNC Plaza, site of the Old York Road to Philadelphia."</ref>
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