Archaeological evidence shows that there was a Paleo-Indian hunting settlement in the area as far back as 3000 B.C. The Lenni-Lenape Indians later occupied the fertile lands between the Ramapo, Pompton and Pequannock rivers. The township's current name is thought to stem from the Lenape word, "Paqquettahhnuake," which means "cleared land ready for cultivation." Pompton's name may also have Lenape orgins, and translates as "a place where they catch soft fish."
In 1695, Arent Schuyler and a group of investors bought the land from the Lenape. Schuyler was from a prominent New York Dutch immigrant family. In 1694, Schuyler heard that the French were encouraging the Lenape tribe to revolt against the English. During his investigations into the allegations, he discovered this fertile valley in New Jersey where the Lenape grew a variety of crops. He reported this to the English and persuaded a group of them to invest in buying the land and negotiate the deal with the East Jersey Company, which owned the land rights. English and Dutch farmers moved into the area by 1710, and in 1740, the Pequannock township was incorporated. This makes it one of the oldest European settlements in northeastern New Jersey.
In May of 1776, some 180 citizens of Pequannock township issued a "Declaration of Dissatisfaction" with the British rulers. They also announced their support for the Continental Congress and the provisional Constitution. The Continental Congress met to agree on a set of grievances against the British crown and a course of action if the British didn't respond. As Pequannock local historians point out, the township supported the Constitution two months before the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence in July 1776. In 1777, General George Washington camped in Pompton Plains, a neighborhood of Pequannock.
During the Civil War, slaves escaping from the Southern states developed what became known as the "underground railroad." Supporters of slave emancipation in the Yankee North created a network of safe houses along various routes to the Northern states and Canada. The Giles Mandeville house, a stone house on the Newark-Pompton turnpike, was a stopover for slaves. Today it is the manse for the minister of the First Reformed Church.
