page_title: Mendham Township, New Jersey
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mendham Township, New Jersey / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Mendham Township Farmers Market
context_page_description: Mendham Township is a township in Morris County, in the central portion of northern New Jersey, United States, located more than 30 miles due west of New York City. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 5,869, reflecting an increase of 469 from the 5,400 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 863 from the 4,537 counted in the 1990 Census.
  The Township has been one of the highest-income small municipalities in the United States. Based on data from the 2012-2016 ACS, NJ.com ranked the township as having the third-highest income in the state, with a median household income of $176,875. Based on data from the ACS for 2014–2018, Mendham Township ranked fifth in the state with a median household income of $185,882.
  In 2010, Forbes.com listed Mendham as 224th in its listing of "America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes", with a median home price of $1,006,491.
context_section_description: The township was originally formed on March 29, 1749, from portions of Hanover Township, Morris Township and Roxbury Township. After the Revolutionary War, on February 21, 1798, the township was incorporated by the Township Act of 1798 of the New Jersey Legislature as one of the state's initial group of 104 townships. Portions of the township were taken to create Randolph Township on January 1, 1806. Mendham Borough became an independent municipality when it was formed on May 15, 1906.
  The first settlers were attracted to Mendham Township by the abundance of natural resources. Here they found water to power factories, trees for fuel, and rich deposits of ore. By 1748 the area housed iron forges, sawmills, and a gristmill along the North Branch of the Raritan River. This early settlement became known as Ralston, after the enterprising Ralston family. Northeast of Ralston is India Brook. On the eastern side of Mendham Township, brooks that formed the upper reaches of the Whippany River attracted settlers to the valley called Water Street or Waterville, later known as Brookside.
  Following the Civil War, a trend of wealthy industrialists and financiers established country homes in the Morristown area and Bernardsville's "Mountain Colony", including the township. The community retains its early character through its carefully preserved homes, farm buildings, and villages. These are living remnants of the township's past.  Here people worked where they lived in a natural setting, away from the "dark satanic mills" of the big city, "pursuing economic independence - a portrait of Americana", according to its website.
caption: Mendham Township Farmers Market
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