Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey

Place in Morris County, New Jersey, United States

Lake Hiawatha is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) located within Parsippany Troy Hills in Morris County, in the U. S. state of New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Service as ZIP Code 07034. As of the 2010 United States census, the population for ZIP Code Tabulation Area 07034 was 9,360. Lake Hiawatha was named after Hiawatha, a 16th century First Nations leader and peacemaker, as evident by plaques on the gazebo on Beverwyck Road, the name of its park, and in the name and emblem of its fire department. However, its name was likely inspired by the popularity of The Song of Hiawatha, an 1855 poem by Longfellow which has little to no correlation with the historical figure of Hiawatha.

Lake Hiawatha is part of the Lenapehoking, the traditional territory of the Munsee subtribe of the Lenape tribe. Lenape tribes inhabited the lands for thousands of years prior to European arrival.

The area was created when a chain of volcanic islands collided with the North American plate. The islands went over the North American plate and created the highlands of New Jersey. Then around 450 million years ago, a small continent collided with proto North America and created folding and faulting in western New Jersey and the southern Appalachians. When the African plate separated from North America, this created an aborted rift system or half graben. The land lowered between the Ramapo fault in western Parsippany–Troy Hills and the fault that was west of Paterson. The Wisconsin Glacier covered the area from 21,000 to 13,000 BC. When the glacier melted due to climate change, Lake Passaic was formed, covering all of what is now Lake Hiawatha. Lake Passaic slowly drained and much of the area is swamps or low lying meadows such as Troy Meadows. The Rockaway River flows over the Ramapo fault in Boonton and then flows along the northwestern edge of Lake Hiawatha. In this area, there are swamps near the river or in the area.

As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 10,194. The 2020 United States census counted 10,194 people, 4,158 households, and 2,540 families in Lake Hiawatha. The racial makeup was 42.6% (4,350) white, 3.2% (332) black or African American, 0% (10) Native American, 37.6% (3,833) Asian, 0% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.06% (71) from other races, and 3.1% (321) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 12.5% (1,277) of the population. Based on data from the 2022 American Community Survey, the racial makeup of Lake Hiawatha was 4,891 (48.6%) White, 185 (1.8%) African American, 35 (0.3%) Native American, 3,309 (32.9%) Asian, 0 (0%) Pacific Islander, 33 (0.3%) from other races, and 184 (1.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 998 persons (9.9%). Among the Asian population, largest ancestry groups were Indian, 2,422 (24%), followed by Chinese, 266 (2.6%), and Filipinos, 255 (2.5%). Among Hispanics and Latinos, the largest ancestry groups were Colombian, 193 (1.9%), followed by Chilean, 171 (1.7%), and Dominican, 147 (1.5%).