Editing Rahway, New Jersey (section)

===Stagecoach era and corporate growth===
[[File:Wheatena plant.jpg|thumb|The [[Wheatena]] breakfast cereal plant in 1923, with the [[Rahway River]] at left. The brand promoted a popular radio series starring [[Raymond Knight (radio)|Raymond Knight]]: "Wheatenaville, the Rahway factory complex, transformed into ''Wheatenaville,'' the 1930s radio serial about a perfect family in a perfect town that ate Wheatena for strength and prosperity."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/wheatena-the-new-jersey-cereal-so-popular-it-had-its-own-radio-serial|title=Wheatena: The New Jersey Cereal So Popular It Had Its Own Radio Serial|first=Kat|last=Long|date=January 18, 2016|website=Atlas Obscura}}</ref>]]
[[File:Nat world frontispiece.jpg|thumb|The [[title page]] of a work by [[Henry Drummond (evangelist)|Henry Drummond]] and published by the Mershon Company of Rahway, which began as bookbinder W. L. Mershon & Co. in 1877 and became a book publisher in the 1890s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/lucile/publishers/mershon/MERSHON.HTM|title=The LUCILE Project - Mershon Company editions of LUCILE|website=sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu}}</ref>]]
Rahway grew due to its location along the major stagecoach and railroad lines between [[New York City]] and [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]. The navigable [[Rahway River]], which flows through the city, also aided the city's commercial growth.

As immigrants from [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]], [[Ireland]] and [[Germany]] streamed into what was then Rahway Township in the 1850s, Rahway became incorporated as a city by an act of the State Legislature on April 19, 1858, from portions of [[Rahway Township, New Jersey|Rahway Township]] in Union and [[Woodbridge Township, New Jersey|Woodbridge Township]] in [[Middlesex County, New Jersey|Middlesex County]]. In 1860, the portion of Rahway that had been part of Middlesex County was transferred to Union. On March 13, 1861, the remainder of Rahway Township became part of Rahway City. [[Clark, New Jersey|Clark Township]] was formed from portions of the city on March 23, 1864.<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. 194. Accessed May 30, 2024.</ref>

The first municipal elections for the mayor and council were conducted on April 19, 1858, and the council held its first meeting on May 3, 1858. The city's police department and its initial group of four constables were created at that first council meeting.<ref>[http://www.rahwaypolice.com/history.htm History] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130615234633/http://www.rahwaypolice.com/history.htm |date=2013-06-15 }}, Rahway Police. Accessed May 22, 2013. "The Rahway Police Department was officially established on May 3, 1858, at the first meeting of the city council."</ref>

The city became home to dozens of major manufacturers, including the [[Regina Company|Regina Music Box Company]], [[Wheatena]], Mershon Bros. and, most importantly, [[Merck & Co.]], which was established in Rahway in 1903, when [[George W. Merck]] moved his small chemical company to Rahway from New York City.<ref>Staff. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RTBDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Va0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1637,1962739&dq=merck+rahway+1903&hl=en "Suitable Site: Albany Merck Plant Targeted for Growth"], ''[[The Albany Herald]]'', June 14, 1987. "The company launched a manufacturing operation in Rahway, in 1903 where the company headquarters is located today."</ref>