[24] The township was named for John Reading, the first native-born governor of the British Province of New Jersey.

[30] Whitehouse Station (2010 Census population of 2,089[31]) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Readington Township.

[33][34][35] Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Backers Island, Higginsville, McCrea Mills, Riverside, Rockfellows Mills, Round Mountain, Stovers Mills and Wood Church, as well as the following:[36] The 2010 United States census counted 16,126 people, 5,971 households, and 4,496 families in the township.

[48] As of the 2000 United States census[17] there were 15,803 people, 5,676 households, and 4,410 families residing in the township.

[46][47] Readington Township is home to the personal and commercial lines of insurance of Chubb Corp.,[49] and the QuickChek Corporation, which operates over 100 convenience stores throughout New Jersey and New York.

Coldbrook School, the site of living history programs for the township's elementary school children, is in the northern section of town, and the Eversole-Hall House is located on Route 523, next to the Municipal building.

It is the only remaining pre-revolutionary mill in the township and was used to provide troops with food during the Revolutionary War.

[7][55] At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor.

[56] As of 2023[update], members of the Readington Township Committee are Mayor Adam Mueller (R, term on committee and as mayor ends December 31, 2024), Deputy Mayor Vincent Panico (R, term on committee ends 2025; term as deputy member ends 2024), John Albanese (R, 2026), Jonathan Heller (R, 2026) and R. Juergen Huelsebusch (R, 2024).

[3][57][58][59][60][61][62] In the 2017 general election, Republicans John Albanese (3887 votes) and Jonathan Heller (3738 votes) prevailed against Democratic challenger Alan Harwick (2027 votes) The all-Republican Committee was unanimous on the leadership roles at the 2018 reorganization meeting, choosing Benjamin Smith as mayor and Betty Ann Fort as deputy mayor.

[63] In December 2014, the Township Council selected M. Elizabeth Duffy from a list of three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the vacant seat of Beatrice Muir, who had resigned the previous month from a term of office ending in December 2015.

[66][67][68] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 7th congressional district is represented by Thomas Kean Jr. (R, Westfield).

[70] For the 2024-2025 session, the 16th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Andrew Zwicker (D, South Brunswick) and in the General Assembly by Mitchelle Drulis (D, East Amwell Township) and Roy Freiman (D, Hillsborough Township).

[77][78] Constitutional officers elected on a countywide basis are Clerk Mary H. Melfi (R; Flemington, 2026),[79][80] Sheriff Fredrick W. Brown (R; Alexandria Township, 2025)[81][82] and Surrogate Heidi Rohrbach (R; Lebanon Township, 2028).

[94] The Readington Township Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

[102][103][104] Students in public school for ninth through twelfth grades attend the Hunterdon Central Regional High School, part of the Hunterdon Central Regional High School District, which also serves students in central Hunterdon County from Delaware Township, East Amwell Township, Flemington Borough and Raritan Township.

[110] Readington Township is served by a full-time Police Department, two ambulances staffed by the Whitehouse Rescue Squad, and four volunteer Fire Companies.

[128] An annual event known as the New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning celebrated its 39th anniversary in 2022.

[129] The event held at Solberg-Hunterdon Airport is the largest summertime hot air balloon festival in North America.

[130] On April 5, 2007, a shootout during the attempt to arrest serial bank robbers near a PNC Bank branch on U.S. Route 22 in Readington resulted in the death of FBI agent Barry Lee Bush.