Founded in 1937, Jonathan Dayton High School originally served as the flagship campus for the Union County Regional High School District, welcoming students from several neighboring New Jersey communities. For decades, the school evolved alongside its changing community, famously hosting a vocational agriculture program complete with a repurposed Civilian Conservation Corps building until local farming faded in 1970.  From the 1970s until the mid 1990s, the high school was part of a regional district within Union County, serving students from Springfield and neighboring Mountainside.  The school entered a major new chapter in 1997 when the regional district dissolved, transitioning Dayton into the primary public high school for Springfield Township. 

Today, under the leadership of Principal Norman Francis, the vibrant suburban campus educates local high school students—including its 8th Grade Academy—balancing foundational academics in math, science, ELA, and social studies with Advanced Placement classes and modern, hands-on electives like engineering, TV production, culinary arts, music production, and graphic design. On the field, the Bulldogs proudly wear royal blue and orange while competing in the Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference. Off the field, students thrive through creative outlets, whether publishing their long-running newspaper, The Dawg Print, or performing modern and classic musicals and dramas in Halsey Hall Auditorium. 

Jonathan Dayton (October 16, 1760 – October 9, 1824) was an American Founding Father and politician born and raised in Elizabeth (Union County, formerly part of Essex County), New Jersey. 

Dayton attended the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University). He left college in 1775 to fight in the American Revolutionary War.  Dayton was 15 at the outbreak of the war in 1775 and served under his father in the 3rd New Jersey Regiment as an ensign. On January 1, 1777, he was commissioned a lieutenant and served as paymaster. He saw service under General George Washington. At age 19, he was promoted to the rank of captain and transferred to the 2nd New Jersey Regiment, where he took part in the Battle of Yorktown. 

After the war Dayton returned to college and received an honorary degree from Princeton in 1776.  He then studied law and opened a practice, dividing his time between land speculation, law, and politics. Serving as a New Jersey delegate to the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention, he became the youngest person at age 26 to sign the Constitution of the United States.  He was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1786–1787, and again in 1790, and served in the New Jersey Legislative Council (now the New Jersey Senate) in 1789. 

Dayton was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1791. He became a prominent Federalist legislator, and later served from 1795 to 1799 as its third Speaker of the House. He left the House in 1799 after being elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served as New Jersey's senator for one term.  

His later career was marred by political conflict through an association in the alleged conspiracy with Aaron Burr (another famous New Jerseyan and Princetonian). Dayton died in 1824 in Elizabeth, NJ where he is buried.

Among his commemorations and legacy is Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield, NJ.