The 800-acre (320 ha) Jungle Habitat property, with 26 miles (42 km) of paved roads, was purchased by the state in 1988 for $1.45 million and remnants of the theme park remain until today.

[22] West Milford became a municipality by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 10, 1834, when it was formed from the westernmost half of Pompton Township, while the area was still part of Bergen County.

[24] There are old place names in the township including Postville, Utterville, Corterville, Browns, Awosting, Echo Lake, Macopin, Charlottenburg (now under the Charlotteburg Reservoir, the community was named after Queen Charlotte), Clinton (or sometimes called Clinton Furnace, now under the Clinton Reservoir, and the furnace still stands), Moe Mountain, Oak Ridge (partly located in Jefferson Township), Newfoundland, Apshawa, New City, and Smith Mills.

Prior to the Second World War, the township was a resort area with trains coming from New York City to stations at Charlotteburg, Newfoundland, Oak Ridge in the south and Hewitt (also known as Sterling Forest station) and Awosting in the north.

During the resort era, several steamboats operated on the lake, the most famous and grand was the two deck steamer, Montclair.

[25] There is a seaplane area on Greenwood Lake, a few large marinas and lakeside restaurants with docks.

[27] In 1972, Warner Brothers opened up a wildlife theme park called Jungle Habitat.

[28] The park was plagued by problems, including reports of dangerous animals escaping into West Milford.

[29] Jungle Habitat was a mixed blessing due to the amount of summer and weekend traffic into this rural area made up of small two lane roads.

Jungle Habitat wanted to expand and become a huge amusement park, but residents concerned with excessive traffic voted this proposal down in 1976, which resulted in an abrupt closing and exit.

Some of the animals in the wildlife park were subsequently moved to the then-recently established drive through safari at Great Adventure in Jackson Township.

The former site of Jungle Habitat in recent years has become a location for various Township activities such as the annual Fourth of July Fireworks display and is a popular regional mountain biking destination.

[34][35][36] Highlands Preserve is a 224-acre (91 ha) county park that is located off Union Valley Road and adjacent to Abram S. Hewitt State Forest.

[40] Newfoundland is a neighborhood of West Milford located along the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) tracks (freight service only) and Route 23.

A still photo of that movie is published in the township's 1984 sesquicentennial book entitled The Day the Earth Shook and the Sky Turned Red.

County officials used money from the Farmland Preservation Funds to purchase development rights to the farm.

[62] West Milford sports are overseen by the township department of Community Services and Recreation.

The township has individual organizations that run each youth sports program, including: Junior wrestling, Youth Lacrosse, Little League Baseball (WMLL), Police Athletic League (PAL) Basketball, PAL Soccer, West Milford-Star Athletics Cheerleading, Midget Football Association (WMMFA) Football, WMMFA Cheerleading, Amateur Baseball Association (WMABA) Baseball, and Girls Softball Association softball (WMGSA).

[63] The Township of West Milford operates under the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the Mayor-Council-Administrator plan adopted as of January 1, 2004.

[65][66][67] The voters of West Milford Township adopted the Mayor-Council-Administrator Plan at a special election held on December 10, 2002.

[7][69] As of 2023[update], the Mayor of West Milford Township is Republican Michele A. Dale, whose term of office ends December 31, 2023.

[70][71][72][73][74][75] In December 2019, the Township Committee unanimously passed a non-binding resolution declaring West Milford to be a "Second Amendment sanctuary" that opposes the enforcement of gun control on the local level, becoming the first municipality in the state to do so.

[78] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 5th congressional district is represented by Josh Gottheimer (D, Wyckoff).

[81] For the 2024-2025 session, the 25th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Anthony M. Bucco (R, Boonton Township) and in the General Assembly by Christian Barranco (R, Jefferson Township) and Aura K. Dunn (R, Mendham Borough).

[83] As of 2025[update], Passaic County's Commissioners are: Bruce James (D, Clifton, 2026),[84] Deputy Director Cassandra "Sandi" Lazzara (D, Little Falls, 2027),[85] Director John W. Bartlett (D, Wayne, 2027),[86] Orlando Cruz (D, Paterson, 2026),[87] Terry Duffy (D, West Milford, 2025),[88] Rodney DeVore (D, Paterson, 2027)[89] and Pasquale "Pat" Lepore (D, Woodland Park, 2025).

[100] All of the territory in the protected region is classified as being in the highlands preservation area, and thus subject to additional rules.

[102] Among the township's 2010 Census population, 68.0% (vs. 53.2% in Passaic County) were registered to vote, including 87.7% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 70.8% countywide).

The stoplight at the intersection of Clinton Road and Route 23 has been identified by The New York Times as the longest red cycle in the United States.

[135][136] The New Jersey Midland Railway ran a trackage right-of-way through West Milford in 1872 developing the Newfoundland Station, which[137] and later served passengers on the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad (NYS&W), which still serves freight along the line[138] NJ Transit provides bus service between the township and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 194 and 196 routes.

[141] Portions of the 2015 made-for-television comedy Simpler Times—starring Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, and written / directed by Steve Monarque—were filmed in West Milford.