Early Settlement
Byram Township was established in 1798 when New Jersey incorporated its townships. Settlers were drawn to the area's dense forests and abundant waterways, and early industry included iron mining, forges, and sawmills. Villages grew up around mills at Waterloo, and eventually Roseville and Waterloo became busy hamlets along the Musconetcong River valley.

The Morris Canal
The Morris Canal, completed in 1831, passed through Byram bringing coal from Pennsylvania to the iron mines of New Jersey. The village of Waterloo boomed as a canal town with stores, taverns and boatyards. The "Plane 2 West" incline built around 1850 lifted boats over Sparta Mountain - one of the steepest on the whole canal! The canal declined after 1871 and when railroads took over.

Byram in the 1800s
In 1829 Byram had 760 residents. Farming, mining and lumber were the chief trades. Hunt's mills ("Hunt's Bridge") were at Waterloo. By 1860 the population was 1,096, and by 1880 it grew to 1,665 including many railway families.

Modern Byram
Known as "The Township of Lakes," Byram now boasts over 27 lakes and storage basins. Cranberry Lake, Lake Mohawk's Beaver Lake, and Wildwood Lake are popular residential lake communities. Byram adopted its first master plan in 1978 to manage growth of this once-rural community.