Colonia

History

In 1919, the New Jersey State Highway Commission built a new road that became part of the Lincoln Highway, an early plan to create a transcontinental highway. The stretch was constructed on the west side of the Pennsylvania Railroad (now the Northeast Corridor) from near the northeast of Dow Avenue between Colonia and Iselin to Cedar Street in Menlo Park, to avoid two railroad crossings. The old road is now Middlesex-Essex Turnpike and Thornall Street, on the east side of the tracks.

Geography

Colonia is in northeastern Middlesex County, in the northwest corner of Woodbridge Township. It is bordered to the north by Clark, to the northeast by Rahway, to the east by Avenel, to the south by Iselin, and to the west by Edison. Union County borders the community to the north and northeast. Newark is to the northeast, and New Brunswick, the Middlesex county seat, is to the southwest. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Colonia CDP has a total area of , including of water (0.10%). The Garden State Parkway passes through the western portion of the CDP but does not interchange there. For northbound Garden State Parkway traffic only there is a service plaza in Colonia; it is the parkway's only area located on private property. In 2018 the president of the Historical Association of Woodbridge, Daniel D'Arcy, stated that "Colonia is to Woodbridge like the Bronx is to NYC. People like the identity."

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  49,827
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  46,993
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  45,759
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  44,422
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  40,554
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  39,014
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  38,593
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  37,485

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2025-08-05
  1 km N of Hillsdale, New Jersey
• M 3 — 2025-08-03
  0 km W of Little Ferry, New Jersey
• M 2.9 — 2024-05-24
  6 km E of Califon, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2024-05-01
  1 km NW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 2.9 — 2024-04-27
  7 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2024-04-10
  5 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey