[24] The township is a bedroom suburb of New York City located across the Raritan Bay from Staten Island.

[30][31] The township's name was changed to avoid confusion with the borough of Madison in Morris County.

[30][25] When the township was established, the area was made up primarily of farms and the population grew slowly.

The township was named as a contender for the title of one of the best places to live in the United States by Money magazine in both 2005 and 2007.

At that time, it covered an area that now consists of the Townships of Monroe and Old Bridge, the Borough of Sayreville and the City of South Amboy.

Fulling was used as a finishing process used on woolen cloth that would remove the dirt and grease and to compact the wool fibers.

The mill is said to have been run behind Old Bridge High School and flows east into the Matawan Creek.

The area of Old Bridge was also known for its many mills that manufactured snuff, a scented tobacco product that was used by men and women during that time.

[59] The clay soil in the area surrounding Old Bridge was used for pottery and bricks way before the first European settlers.

"Fine clay had surrounded Cheesequake Creek when the Lenni Lenape Native Americans lived there.

"[37] The clay supplied local potters as well as those in Hudson Valley, Norwalk, Connecticut, other New England states, and parts of Canada.

Across from the cold-storage building on the southwest corner of Cottrell Road and Route 516, the family built the New Jersey Apple Growers Inc. distillery.

The Cottrells produced apple brandy for twenty years on the farm and sold it wholesale to distributors under the name Browntown.

[62][63] As of 2024[update], the Mayor of Old Bridge Township is Republican Eleanor "Debbie" Walker, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027.

[64][65][66][67] Darin Accettulli was appointed to fill the Wars 2 seat expiring in December 2025 that had been held by Erik DePalma, until he took office as an at-large councilmember.

[68] Republican Mark Razzoli had been behind Democrat Jill DeCaro by 11 votes at the November 2021 general election for the seat in Ward 4.

[70][71] In January 2020, the Township Council selected Erik DePalma from a list of three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the Second Ward seat expiring in December 2021 that became vacant when Mary Sohor resigned to take office after taking office to an at-large seat.

[72] In June 2016, the Township Council appointed June Dungee to fill the vacant Third Ward seat expiring in December 2017 that had been held by Reginald Butler until his death earlier that month; Dungee served until the November 2016 general election, when voters choose a candidate to serve the balance of the term of office.

[75] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 6th congressional district is represented by Frank Pallone (D, Long Branch).

[76][77] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 12th congressional district is represented by Bonnie Watson Coleman (D, Ewing Township).

[116] The Old Bridge Township Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

[146] The Garden State Parkway passes through Old Bridge for about 1.9 miles (3.1 km), connecting Aberdeen Township in Monmouth County in the south to Sayreville in the north[147] and houses Interchange 120, which is signed for Laurence Harbor / Matawan.

For busing, Old Bridge Park and Ride is located along Route 9 northbound, close to Ernston Road.

[163] Old Bridge borders Matawan on Route 34, and the Aberdeen-Matawan train station, and it also borders South Amboy on U.S. Route 9, and the South Amboy train station, both located along the North Jersey Coast Line.

Old Bridge Airport is a general aviation facility located 5 miles (8.0 km) south of the central business district.

The Old Bridge Division, which handles all but trauma cases is located at the intersection of, Route 18 and Ferry Road.

Most trauma cases are handled by Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in nearby New Brunswick.

Old Bridge maintains a full-time police department consisting of 90 sworn personnel divided into multiple bureaus.

[179] Advanced Life Support (ALS), also known as medics, are paid personnel dispatched to all township calls based on the requirements of assistance.

Medics respond to all life/death situations due to a traumatic injury, industrial accident, heart problems, strokes, serious vehicle crashes, etc.