Caldwell is a borough located in northwestern Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about 16 miles (26 km) west of New York City and 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of Newark, the state's most populous city.

[27] Though today the Caldwell area is considered to be a suburb of both Newark and New York City, the area originally developed as its own individual, self-contained community and economy rather than as urban sprawl from a larger city.

When it was formed, miles of woods separated downtown Caldwell from Newark or any of its developing suburbs.

[28] In 1702, settlers purchased a 14,000 acres (57 km2) Horseneck Tract from the Lenape Native American tribe for goods equal to $325 (equivalent to $6,478.3 in 2023).

This purchase encompassed much of western Essex County, from the First Mountain to the Passaic River at Pine Brook.

This land was part of the larger purchase and had been referred to as the Horse Neck Tract until February 17, 1787, when the town congregation voted to change the name to Caldwell, in honor of the Reverend James Caldwell who pushed for their organization's creation.

The wooded area directly to the south of downtown Caldwell Borough became Essex Fells.

This failed, as much of developed sections of that area lied on its southernmost and easternmost borders, along the expanding Newark suburbs of Livingston and West Orange respectively.

Those areas were engulfed by those two towns once they became incorporated municipalities of several small villages and developments.

This left only the most rural farmland south of Caldwell Borough and Essex Fells to become its own township, Roseland.

At this point, all that remained of the original Caldwell Township was 6,600 acres of rural farmland and meadows in the northwesternmost part of Essex County.

However, two individual settlements, known as Franklin and Westville, soon formed in the western part of Caldwell Borough.

[50] The 2010 United States census counted 7,822 people, 3,359 households, and 1,797 families in the borough.

[51] As of the 2000 United States census[15] there were 7,584 people, 3,311 households, and 1,814 families residing in the borough.

The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council.

[53][54] As of 2025[update], the mayor of Caldwell is Republican Garrett Jones, whose term of office ends December 31, 2026.

[62] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 10th congressional district is represented by LaMonica McIver (D, Newark).

[64] For the 2024-2025 session, the 40th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Kristin Corrado (R, Totowa) and in the General Assembly by Al Barlas (R, Cedar Grove) and Christopher DePhillips (R, Wyckoff).

As of 2025[update], the County Executive is Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. (D, Roseland), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.

[67] Essex County's Commissioners are: Robert Mercado (D, District 1 – Newark's North and East Wards, parts of Central and West Wards; Newark, 2026),[68] A'Dorian Murray-Thomas (D, District 2 – Irvington, Maplewood and parts of Newark's South and West Wards; Newark, 2026),[69] Vice President Tyshammie L. Cooper (D, District 3 - Newark: West and Central Wards; East Orange, Orange and South Orange; East Orange, 2026),[70] Leonard M. Luciano (D, District 4 – Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Livingston, Millburn, North Caldwell, Roseland, Verona, West Caldwell and West Orange; West Caldwell, 2026),[71] President Carlos M. Pomares (D, District 5 – Belleville, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Montclair and Nutley; Bloomfield, 2026),[72] Brendan W. Gill (D, at large; Montclair, 2026),[73] Romaine Graham (D, at large; Irvington, 2026),[74] Wayne Richardson (D, at large; Newark, 2026),[75] Patricia Sebold (D, at-large; Livingston, 2026).

[111] Mount Saint Dominic Academy for grades 9–12 operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.

[112][113] Private schools in Caldwell include Trinity Academy for grades PreK–8 which was founded in 1991 and which was closed by the Newark Archdiocese in the wake of falling enrollment.

[116][117] The borough is home to Caldwell University, a catholic liberal arts college with 2,200 students.

The borough of Caldwell bought the station in 1965 from the Erie Lackawanna Railway and demolished it later that year.