Pompton Lakes did not acquire territory from more than one township, which would have entitled the borough to a seat on the County's Board of Chosen Freeholders.

[27] An outer-ring suburb of New York City, Pompton Lakes is located approximately 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Midtown Manhattan.

Dutch settlers began to settle in the area that is now Pompton Lakes in the 1680s, purchasing farmland from the local Lenape Native Americans.

[28] The presence of iron ore and the availability of hydropower were initial catalysts for the early development of the Pompton area.

[29] General George Washington and his army stayed in the Pompton area twice during the course of the war, and he visited the Yellow Tavern both times.

During the Civil War, knives, saws, nails, and springs for railroad cars were manufactured at the Pompton Ironworks.

The Morris Canal, completed in 1832, was linked to the town via the Pompton Feeder, which barges used to supply coal to blast furnaces.

The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad opened a local train station in the late 1870s, driving further development in the town.

[25] The population of Pompton Lakes increased during the early 1900s, due to the rapid growth of local employers like the German Artistic Weaving Company and the Smith Powder Works.

du Pont de Nemours and Company and formed the basis of the DuPont Pompton Lakes Works, which operated in the borough until 1994.

[32] In 1923, Joseph "Doc" Bier opened a "health farm" in Pompton Lakes, where boxers such as Pancho Villa and Jimmy McLarnin trained.

During his time in the borough he held boxing exhibitions at the camp to raise $2,600 for the purchase of an ambulance and an additional $2,000 to help build a police communications tower.

In 1938, Reaction Motors successfully designed and perfected the world's first regenerative cooling rocket at a basement laboratory in a building in downtown Pompton Lakes.

[28] Decades-old industrial pollution and its connection to cancer and other illness among residents in a section of the borough was the subject of a week-long front-page investigative series in The Record newspaper in February 2018.

[35][36][37] Much of the borough sits in a valley formed by the confluence of the Ramapo, Pequannock, and Wanaque rivers, which leads to common flooding events, the most recent of which was in 2011.

[43][44] The 1997 comedy In & Out, starring Kevin Kline, Tom Selleck and Joan Cusack, was partially filmed at Pompton Lakes High School.

[49] The southern portion of Ramapo Mountain State Forest lies within the northernmost area of Pompton Lakes, and the park's Cannonball Trail begins in the borough.

The Joe Louis Memorial features a granite monument dedicated to the boxer who lived and trained in the borough for a time.

The Pompton Lakes Recreation Department also runs an annual summer day camp at Hershfield Park, as well as special programs including art classes and karate lessons.

[53][54] As of 2023[update], the mayor of Pompton Lakes is Republican Michael A. Serra, whose term of office ends December 31, 2023.

[5] Members of the Borough Council are William D. Baig (R, 2025), Robert Cruz (R, 2024), Erik I. DeLine (R, 2024), Maria Kent (R, 2023), Jennifer Polidori (R, 2025) and Ekamon "Ek" Venin (R, 2023).

[55][56][57][58][59][60][61] In July 2018, Jennifer Polidori was selected from a list of three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the seat expiring in December 2019 that had been held by Christian Baranco until he resigned from office earlier that month as he was moving out of the borough; Polidori served on an interim basis until the November 2018 general election, when voters selected a candidate to serve the balance of the term.

[64] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 9th congressional district is represented by Nellie Pou (D, North Haledon)[65] New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Democrats Cory Booker (Newark, term ends 2027) and Andy Kim (Moorestown, term ends 2031).

[68] As of 2025[update], Passaic County's Commissioners are: Bruce James (D, Clifton, 2026),[69] Deputy Director Cassandra "Sandi" Lazzara (D, Little Falls, 2027),[70] Director John W. Bartlett (D, Wayne, 2027),[71] Orlando Cruz (D, Paterson, 2026),[72] Terry Duffy (D, West Milford, 2025),[73] Rodney DeVore (D, Paterson, 2027)[74] and Pasquale "Pat" Lepore (D, Woodland Park, 2025).

[119] The Borough of Pompton Lakes runs Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram Accounts, which is managed by Public Information Officer Michael Carelli.

NJ Transit's 193, 194, and 197 routes stop at various points in the borough, with service to and from Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.