Wow ! I am closing in on the end of the alphabet. This badge represents "W" for Washington Township in my Municipal Collection.
In alpha-municipal order this is number 37.
When I lived in New Jersey I almost purchased a home here, but the wife said it was too rural. I told her I saw another home a quarter of a mile just down the trail. Oh yes, She was right. We would not live on top of Montana Mt. It even sounded like we were out West in the Rockies.
There was a "Town" that I thought was nice. It had everything. It wasn't far - maybe five miles down Brass Castle Rd. When I thought of winter snows, I knew that short distance would be a nightmare if one (not me) was going to make a run to the store for a quart of milk.
What was interesting about the "Town" was it wasn't a Town. It was a Borough. Now if I bought that house I would have really lived in the "Township" that completely surrounds the Borough. I would have shopped in the Borough, and worked just over the mountain in some cornfield. There were a lot of cornfields in the late 1960's in this area. It was easy to get lost.
On top of the confusion that might exist when looking in this area of Warren County there are a couple more communities in New Jersey with the same name. However they are located in different counties and are smaller.
I focused on this Washington Township simply because I knew the area and because this is the largest in terms of geography. It is 20+ square miles. There are roughly 15,000 people living here, and there used to be a lot of deer too. I liked to hunt in the area when much younger.
Now the badge I have reads: TWP of WASHINGTON. This is on the top panel of the traditional shape old Jersey badges that I collect.
On the second panel is the word: POLICE. Both panels have recessed black enamel filled letters.
In the center of the badge is a State Seal. It is stamped from the rear into the badge surface. This is common for this type of badge.
At the bottom is the number box. It contains the number 134. I am puzzled about this number as this department has never had that many employees serving on the police force at one time. The current number is less than thirty.
Even with my question about the number I see this as a very nice badge. There is a possibility that it comes from one of the other Washington's. I'll probably never know the answer to that. I do know it is in very good condition and that it is a nice fit in my collection. I am pleased to have it, and the memory of that house on Montana Mountain.
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