Montclair

Montclair (/mɒntˈklɛər/ or /mɒŋˈklɛər/) is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 37,669,^[9][10][11] reflecting a decline of 1,308 (-3.4%) from the 38,977 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 1,248 (+3.3%) from the 37,729 counted in the 1990 Census.^[20] As of 2010, it was the 60th-most-populous municipality in New Jersey.^[21]

Montclair was first formed as a township on April 15, 1868, from portions of Bloomfield Township,^[22] so that a second railroad could be built to Montclair. After a referendum held on February 21, 1894, Montclair was reincorporated as a town, effective February 24, 1894.^[23] It derives its name from the French mont clair, meaning "clear mountain" or "bright mountain."^[24][25]

In 1980, after multiple protests filed by Montclair officials regarding the inequities built into the federal revenue sharing system,^[26] Montclair passed a referendum changing its name to the "Township of Montclair," becoming the third of more than a dozen Essex County municipalities to reclassify themselves as townships to take advantage of federal revenue sharing policies that allocated townships a greater share of government aid to municipalities on a per capita basis.^[27][28][29]