Middlesex Tidbits: Our Borough’s History Starts With Piscataway

June Tidbit – Cultural and Heritage Committee 

In order to appreciate the history of Middlesex, we also must recognize the history of Piscataway.  

Originally, Piscataway was a very large tract of land situated on the Raritan River and settled in the mid 1600’s by settlers from Maine.  Long before these settlers arrived, the Native Americans were using what is now River Road, as a main trade route with the Dutch in New York City. 

Settlers from Maine purchased the land from the friendly Native Americans and, by the late 1600’s, Pilgrims, Puritans, Quakers and Baptists all contributed to the development of that portion which would eventually become Middlesex Borough. 

It was also during this colonial period that the settlers used what is now Rt#28/Bound Brook Road/Union Avenue, as a main highway for trade and travel between New York City and Philadelphia.