[20] The name may be derived from the area's earliest European settlers who came from near the Piscataqua River, a landmark defining the coastal border between New Hampshire and Maine, whose name derives from peske (branch) and tegwe (tidal river),[21] or alternatively from pisgeu (meaning "dark night") and awa ("place of")[22][23] or from a Lenape language word meaning "great deer".

[25] The community, the fifth-oldest municipality in New Jersey,[26] has grown from Native American territory, through a colonial period and is one of the links in the earliest settlement of the Atlantic Ocean seacoast that ultimately led to the formation of the United States.

SHI Stadium, home field for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team, is in Piscataway [27] as well as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

[28] In 1666, the first proprietary Governor of the Province of New Jersey, Philip Carteret, granted 12 new settlers from Massachusetts a 100 square mile allotment of land that was later founded as the townships of Piscataway and Woodbridge.

Coming from a lumbering, shipbuilding and fishing background, these settlers, consisting of mostly Baptists and Quakers, were comfortable with their new surroundings, and looking forward to starting a new life away from political and religious persecution in the north.

During the original land purchase, the pioneers had signed 12 Articles of Agreement with Governor Carteret, which served as the legal basis for the government of Piscataway and Woodbridge and which shaped the democratic development of self-government.

In short, these articles were mainly designed to provide liberty and land ownership for new families and to allow them to establish their own government representatives and religious freedoms.

After a few line and boundary changes, Piscataway and its outer plantations were reported to total 40,000 acres, with 66 square miles of land in 1685.

The Lenape Native Americans occupied the entire Piscataway area, but were dispelled as the encroachment of European settlers increased.

Across multiple generations, the Lenape established defined trails that European settlers appropriated in order to traverse through the wilderness area and partition new lands.

Over time, many of these primitive trails became the main routes of travel between communities and became the basis of roads that still exist today.

[30] On February 8, 1777, the Battle of Quibbletown, a running battle took place between approximately 2,000 British and Hessian troops under the command of British General Charles Lord Cornwallis and the local patriot militia led by Colonel Charles Scott and a separate militia commanded by Brigadier General Nathaniel Warner.

[32][33][34] Society Hill (with a 2010 Census population of 3,829[35]) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Piscataway Township.

[36][37] Piscataway is often segmented by local residents into unincorporated communities, localities and place names which include Arbor, Bound Brook Heights ("the Heights"), Fellowship Farm, Fieldville, Johnson Park, Lake Nelson, New Brunswick Highlands, New Market (known as Quibbletown in the 18th Century), Newtown, North Stelton, Possumtown, Randolphville, Raritan Landing and Riverview Manor.

[39] Camp Kilmer, constructed starting in 1941 on 1,500 acres (610 ha) of Piscataway and Edison, was activated in June 1942 by the United States Army as a staging area and part of an installation of the New York Port of Embarkation.

Troops were quartered at Camp Kilmer in preparation for transport to the European Theater of Operations in World War II, ultimately becoming the largest processing center for troops heading overseas and returning from World War II, processing over 2.5 million soldiers.

Following the failed 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Camp Kilmer was reactivated and used to process 30,000 refugees who were resettled in the area and across the country.

[57][62] SHI Stadium was originally constructed in 1994 with 41,500 seats as the home of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team and was expanded to a capacity of 52,454 in 2009 after a $100-million expansion.

[63] Louis Brown Athletic Center is the home of the Rutgers University men's and women's basketball teams.

[64] The athletic center was the home of the professional New Jersey Nets for the four seasons from 1977–1981 after moving from New York and before the Meadowlands Arena was completed.

[3][71][72][73][74][75] In May 2021, the Township Council appointed Linwood D. Rouse to fill the at-large seat expiring in December 2024 that had been held by Chanelle Scott McCullum until she stepped down to take a seat on the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners following the death of Commissioner Kenneth Armwood.

[76] Camille Fernicola was appointed to fill the at-large seat expiring in December 2016 that had been held by Michael Griffith until his death in November 2014.

[82][83][84] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 6th congressional district is represented by Frank Pallone (D, Long Branch).

[87] For the 2024-2025 session, the 17th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Bob Smith (D, Piscataway) and in the General Assembly by Joseph Danielsen (D, Franklin Township) and Kevin Egan (D, New Brunswick).

[119] On weekdays and weekends from 6 am until 6 pm, Hackensack Meridian Health EMS staffs an ambulance in Piscataway.

[163] Route 18 runs along Hoes Lane to Interstate 287, which passes through the center of the township for about 4 miles (6.4 km).

[165][166] Taiwanese airline EVA Air provides a private bus service to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City for customers based in New Jersey.