Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Morristown has been called "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the war for independence from Great Britain. Today this history is visible in a variety of locations throughout the town that collectively make up Morristown National Historical Park. According to British colonial records, the first permanent European settlement at Morristown occurred in 1715, when a settlement was founded as "New Hanover" by colonists from New York and Connecticut. Morris County was created on March 15 , 1739, from portions of Hunterdon County. The county, and ultimately Morristown itself, was named for the popular Governor of the Province, Lewis Morris, who championed land ownership rights for colonists. Morristown was incorporated as a town by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 6, 1865, within Morris Township, and it was formally set off from the township in 1895. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 18,411, reflecting a decline of 133 (-0.7%) from the 18,544 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 2,355 (+14.5%) from the 16,189  counted in the 1990 Census. History. The area was inhabited by the Lenni Lenape Native Americans for up to 6,000 years prior to exploration of Europeans. The first European settlements in this portion of New Jersey were established by the Swedes and Dutch in the early 17th century, when a significant trade in furs existed between the natives and the Europeans at temporary posts. It became part of the Dutch colony of "New Netherland", but the English seized control of the region in 1664, which was granted to Sir George Carteret and John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, as  the "Province of New Jersey". Eighteenth century. Morristown was settled around 1715 by English Presbyterians from Southold, New York on Long Island and New Haven, Connecticut as the village of New Hanover. The town's central location and road connections led to its selection as the seat of the new Morris County shortly after its separation from Hunterdon County on March 15, 1739. The village and county were named for Lewis Morris, the first and then sitting royal governor of a united colony of New Jersey. By the middle of the 18th century, Morristown had 250 residents, with two churches , a courthouse, two taverns, two schools, several stores, and numerous mills and farms nearby. George Washington first came to Morristown in May 1773, two years before the Revolutionary War broke out, and traveled from there to New York City together with John Parke Custis (his stepson) and Lord Stirling. In 1777, General George Washington and the Continental Army marched from the victories at Trenton and Princeton to encamp near Morristown from January to May. Washington had his headquarters during that first encampment at Jacob Arnold's Tavern located at the Morristown Green in the center of the town. Morristown was  selected for its extremely strategic location. It was between Philadelphia and New York and near New England while being protected by the Watchung Mountains from the bulk of continental British forces camped in New York City. It also was chosen for the skills and trades of the residents, local industries and natural resources to provide arms, and what was thought to be the ability of the community to provide enough food to support the army. The churches were used for inoculations for smallpox. That first headquarters, Arnold's Tavern, was eventually moved south of the green onto Mount Kemble Avenue  to become All Souls Hospital in the late 19th century. It suffered a fire in 1918, and the original structure was demolished, but new buildings for the hospital were built directly across the street. From December 1779 to June 1780 the Continental Army's second encampment at Morristown was at Jockey Hollow. Then, Washington's headquarters in Morristown was located at the Ford Mansion, a large mansion near what was then the edge of town. Ford's widow and children shared the house with Martha Washington and officers of the Continental Army. The winter of 1780 was the worst winter  of the Revolutionary War. The starvation was complicated by extreme inflation of money and lack of pay for the army. The entire Pennsylvania contingent successfully mutinied and later, 200 New Jersey soldiers attempted to emulate them (unsuccessfully). Many soldiers died, due to weak health. During Washington's second stay, in March 1780, he declared St. Patrick's Day a holiday to honor his many Irish troops. Martha Washington traveled from Virginia and remained with her husband each winter throughout the war. The Marquis de Lafayette came to Washington in Morristown to inform him that France would be sending ships and  trained soldiers to aid the Continental Army. The Ford Mansion, Jockey Hollow, and Fort Nonsense are all preserved as part of Morristown National Historical Park managed by the National Park Service, which has the distinction among historic preservationists of being the first National Historical Park established in the United States. During Washington's stay, Benedict Arnold was court-martialed at Dickerson's Tavern, on Spring Street, for charges related to profiteering from military supplies at Philadelphia. His admonishment was made public, but Washington quietly promised the hero, Arnold, to make it up to him. Alexander Hamilton courted and wed  Elizabeth Schuyler at a residence where Washington's personal physician was billeted. Locally known as the Schuyler-Hamilton House, the Dr. Jabez Campfield House is listed on both the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places. The Morristown Green has a statue commemorating the meeting of George Washington, the young Marquis de LaFayette, and young Alexander Hamilton depicting them discussing forthcoming aid of French tall ships and troops being sent by King Louis XVI of France to aid the Continental Army. Morristown's Burnham Park has a statue of the "Father of the American Revolution", Thomas Paine, who wrote  the pamphlet "Common Sense", which urged a complete break from British rule. The bronze statue, by sculptor Georg J. Lober, shows Paine in 1776 (using a drum as a table during the withdrawal of the army across New Jersey) composing "Crisis 1". He wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls..." The statue was dedicated on July 4, 1950. Nineteenth century to present. The idea for constructing the Morris Canal is credited to Morristown businessman George P. Macculloch, who in 1822 convened a group to discuss his concept for a canal. The group included Governor of New Jersey  Isaac Halstead Williamson, which led to approval of the proposal by the New Jersey Legislature later that year. The canal was used for a century. In July 1825 during his 15 month return tour of the United States, the Marquis de Lafayette returned to Morristown, where a ball was held in his honor at the 1807 Sansay House on DeHart Street (the edifice still stands as of 2011). In 1827, St. Peter's Episcopal Church was founded at the behest of Bishop George Washington Doane and many prominent Morristown Families, including George P. Macculloch, of the Morris Canal. When the  Church was rebuilt by the then-internationally famous architectural firm, McKim, Mead and White, beginning in 1889, the congregation erected one of the United States finest church buildings –a stone, English-gothic church complete with fined stained glass, and a long, decorated interior. Antoine le Blanc, a French immigrant laborer, murdered the Sayre family and their servant (or possibly slave), Phoebe. He was tried and convicted of murder of the Sayres (but not of Phoebe) on August 13, 1833. On September 6, 1833, Le Blanc became the last person hanged on the Morristown Green. Until late 2006, the house where  the murders were committed was known as "Jimmy's Haunt," which is purported to be haunted by Phoebe's ghost because her murder never saw justice. Jimmy's Haunt was torn down to make way for a bank in 2007. Samuel F. B. Morse and Alfred Vail built the first telegraph at the Speedwell Ironworks in Morristown on January 6, 1838. The first telegraph message was "A patient waiter is no loser". The first public demonstration of the invention occurred five days later as an early step toward the information age. Jacob Arnold's Tavern, the first headquarters for Washington  in Morristown, was purchased by the Colles family to save it from demolition in 1886. It was moved by horse-power in the winter of 1887 from "the green" (after being stuck on Bank Street for about six weeks) to a site south on Mount Kemble Avenue at what is now a parking lot for the Atlantic RIMM Rehabilitation Hospital. It became a boarding house for four years until it was converted by the Grey Nuns from Montreal into All Souls Hospital, the first general hospital in Morris County. George and Martha Washington's second floor ballroom became a chapel  and the first floor tavern became a ward for patients. The building was lost to a fire in 1918. The entire organization, nurses, doctors, and patients of All Souls Hospital were then moved across Mount Kemble Avenue, U.S. Route 202, to a newly built brick hospital building. All Souls' was set to close because of financial difficulties in the late 1960s. In 1973, it became Community Medical Center. In 1977, the center became bankrupt and was purchased by the then new and larger Morristown Memorial Hospital, which is now the Morristown Medical Center. On December 18, 1843, the Bethel African  Methodist Episcopal Church was incorporated. This was the first congregation established by blacks in Morris County. It is still active. The first site of the Church was located at 13 Spring Street and served as the only schoolhouse for colored children until 1870. The Church relocated to its present site at 59 Spring Street in 1874. The first Jews moved to Morristown in the 1850s, but much larger numbers of Jews migrated to the region from Eastern Europe in the 1890s, which led to the incorporation of the now-historic Morristown Jewish Center in 1899. Today there are several Jewish  synagogues in Morristown reflecting the diversity of the community. Starting in the mid-1800s, Morristown became a popular summer retreat for some of New York City's wealthiest residents. From the 1870s onwards, immense estates were built up along once rural thoroughfares; Madison Avenue, which runs along Morristown and Madison, New Jersey became known as "the street of the 100 millionaires" due to the sheer extravagance of the houses that were constructed. Following the onset of the Great Depression, most of these palatial estates within Morristown proper were demolished. Since 1929, more than 16,000 guide dogs for the blind from The  Seeing Eye, Inc., the oldest such school in the U.S., have been trained on the streets of Morristown. On January 5, 2009, five red lights were spotted in the Morristown area night skies. The event was a staged hoax using helium balloons and flares, but became nationally known as the Morristown UFO hoax. Geography. According to the United States Census Bureau, Morristown town had a total area of 3.01 square miles (7.79 km), including 2.91 square miles (7.53 km) of land and 0.10 square miles (0.25 km) of water (3.26%). Morristown is completely surrounded by Morris Township, making it part  of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another. The downtown shopping and business district of Morristown is centered around a square park, known as the Morristown Green. It is a former market square from Morristown's colonial days. Climate. Morristown has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa/Dfb) with hot, humid summers and moderately cold winters. Demographics. 2010 Census. The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $64,279 (with a margin of error of +/- $5,628) and  the median family income was $66,070 (+/- $3,638). Males had a median income of $51,242 (+/- $6,106) versus $44,315 (+/- $5,443) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $37,573 (+/- $2,286). About 10.2% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over. 2000 Census. As of the 2000 United States Census there were 18,544 people, 7,252 households, and 3,698 families residing in the town. The population density was 6,303.9 people per  square mile (2,435.3/km). There were 7,615 housing units at an average density of 2,588.7 per square mile (1,000.1/km). The racial makeup of the town was 67.63% White, 16.95% Black or black, 0.22% Native American, 3.77% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 8.48% from other races, and 3.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 27.15% of the population. 9.8% of Morristown residents identified themselves as being of Colombian American ancestry in the 2000 Census, the eighth- highest percentage of the population of any municipality in the United States. 4.5% of Morristown residents identified themselves  as being of Honduran American ancestry in the 2000 Census, the sixth-highest percentage of the population of any municipality in the United States. There were 7,252 households, out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.4% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.0% were non-families. 38.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.19. In the  town, the population was spread out, with 18.4% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 40.4% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $57,563, and the median income for a family was $66,419. Males had a median income of $42,363 versus $37,045 for females. The  per capita income for the town was $30,086. About 7.1% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over. Economy. Companies based in Morristown include Capsugel, Covanta Energy, Louis Berger Group, Schindler Group and the Morristown & Erie Railway , a local short-line freight railway and Honeywell. Morristown Medical Center, with 5,500 employees, is Morristown's largest employer. In a ruling issued in June 2015, Tax Court Judge Vito Bianco ruled that the hospital would be required to pay property taxes on  nearly all of its campus in the town. Arts and culture. Sports. The New Jersey Stampede (formerly the Minutemen) are a professional inline hockey team that competes in the Professional Inline Hockey Association. The United States Equestrian Team, the international equestrian team for the United States, was founded in 1950 at the Coates estate on van Beuren Road in Morristown. Morristown has a cricketing club, the first in North America. The Morristown 1776 Association Football Club is a soccer club that competes in the North Jersey Soccer League and MCSSA. Historic sites. Morristown is home to the following locations on  the National Register of Historic Places: Government. Local government. Morristown is governed within the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under a Plan F Mayor-Council system of New Jersey municipal government, which went into effect on January 1, 1974. The town is one of 71 municipalities (of the 565) statewide that use this form of government. The Morristown Town Council is comprised of seven members, of which three members are elected at-large representing the entire town and one representative is chosen from each of the town's four wards. Members are elected on a  partisan basis to four-year terms of office on a staggered basis in odd-numbered years as part of the November general election, with the four ward seats up for vote together and the at-large and mayoral seats up for vote together two years later. As the legislative arm of the government, the council is responsible for making and setting policy for the town. , the Mayor of Morristown is Democrat Timothy Dougherty, whose term of office ends December 31, 2025. Members of the Morristown Town Council are Council President Stefan Armington (D, Ward III, 2023), Council Vice President Toshiba  Foster (D; At Large, 2025), Tawanna Cotten (D, Ward II, 2023), Robert Iannaccone (I, Ward I, 2023), Sandi Mayer (D; Ward IV, 2023), David Silva (D; At Large, 2025) and Nathan Umbriac (D; At Large, 2025). In 2020, the Town government was rocked by a public corruption scandal when Mary Dougherty, wife of Mayor Tim Dougherty was criminally charged with accepting bribe money from Attorney Matt O'Donnell. Mary had been running for a Morris County seat in 2018 when O'Donnell offered her $10,000, presumably to help him get awarded more contracts from the Town for legal work. In a  plea agreement, Mary pled guilty in Feb 2021 to a reduced charge of falsifying a campaign finance report in exchange for dropping the bribery charge Federal, state, and county representation. Morristown is located in the 11th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 25th state legislative district. Politics. As of June 4, 2019, a total of 11,330 voters were registered in Morristown, of which 5,087 (44.9%) were Democrats, 2,208 (19.5%) Republicans, and 4,035 (35.6%) were registered as Unaffiliated. Presidential elections. In the 2016 presidential election, Democrat Hillary Clinton received 67.4% of the vote (4,984 votes), ahead of Republican  Donald Trump with 27.5% (2,033 votes), and other candidates with 5.1% (294 votes), among the 7,470 ballots cast by the town's 11,060 voters, for a turnout of 67.5%. In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 67.1% of the vote (4,485 cast), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 31.7% (2,117 votes), and other candidates with 1.2% (79 votes), among the 6,727 ballots cast by the town's 10,212 registered voters (46 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 65.9%. In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 68.1% of the vote (4,738 cast), ahead of Republican John  McCain with 30.0% (2,084 votes) and other candidates with 1.0% (67 votes), among the 6,953 ballots cast by the town's 9,741 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.4%. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 62.8% of the vote (4,138 ballots cast), outpolling Republican George W. Bush with 35.9% (2,370 votes) and other candidates with 0.5% (53 votes), among the 6,593 ballots cast by the town's 9,890 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 66.7. Gubernatorial elections. In the 2017 gubernatorial election, Democrat Phil Murphy received 68.44% of the vote (2,758 votes), ahead of Republican Kim  Guadagno with 29.6% (1,194 votes), and other candidates with 1.9% (78 votes), among the 4,164 ballots cast by the town's 10,901 voters, for a turnout of 38.2%. In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 52.7% of the vote (1,871 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 45.2% (1,602 votes), and other candidates with 2.1% (75 votes), among the 3,780 ballots cast by the town's 10,124 registered voters (232 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 37.3%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 52.1% of the vote (2,263 ballots cast), ahead of Republican Chris  Christie with 37.4% (1,623 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 8.1% (350 votes) and other candidates with 0.4% (16 votes), among the 4,340 ballots cast by the town's 9,393 registered voters, yielding a 46.2% turnout. Education. The Morris School District is a regional public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from the communities of Morristown and Morris Township, and high school students (grades 9-12) from Morris Plains who attend the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Morris Plains Schools. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of  10 schools, had an enrollment of 5,216 students and 441.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.8:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Lafayette Learning Center (102 students; in grade PreK), Alexander Hamilton School (293; 3–5), Hillcrest School (288; K-2), Thomas Jefferson School (314; 3–5), Normandy Park School (302; K-5), Sussex Avenue School (301; 3–5), Alfred Vail School (297; K-2), Woodland School (289; K-2), Frelinghuysen Middle School (1,081; 6–8) and Morristown High School (1,860; 9-12). The nine elected seats on the board of  education are allocated based on the population of the constituent municipalities, with four seats assigned to Morristown. In addition to a public school system, Morristown has several private schools. Primary and elementary schools include The Red Oaks School, an independent private school founded in 1965 and serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, that offers both Montessori and International Baccalaureate programs. Assumption Roman Catholic is a grade school (K-8) that operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson and was one of 11 schools in the state recognized in 2014 by the United States Department of Education's  National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. The Peck School, a private day school which serves approximately 300 students in kindergarten through grade eight, dates back to 1893 when it was originally established as Miss Sutphen's School. The Delbarton School is an all-boys Roman Catholic school with approximately 540 students in grades seven through twelve, that began serving resident students in 1939 after having previously served as a seminary. The Morristown-Beard School, a private co-ed school formed from the merger of two previously existing institutions, Morristown Preparatory School and Miss Beard's School, serves grades 6 through 12 . In addition, Villa Walsh Academy, a private Catholic college preparatory school conducted by the Religious Teachers Filippini, is located in Morristown. The Academy of Saint Elizabeth was founded at Morristown in 1860 by the Sisters of Charity, however when municipal boundaries were redrawn in 1895, the Academy found itself in the Convent Station section of the adjacent Morris Township. The Rabbinical College of America, one of the largest Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic yeshivas in the world is located in Morristown. The Rabbinical College of America has a Baal Teshuva yeshiva for students of diverse Jewish backgrounds, named Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim. The  New Jersey Regional Headquarters for the worldwide Chabad Lubavitch movement is located on the campus. Transportation. Roads and highways. , the town had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Morris County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Interstate 287 is the main highway providing access to Morristown. Two interchanges, Exit 35 and Exit 36, are located within the town. Other significant roads serving Morristown include U.S. Route 202, New Jersey Route 124 and County Route 510. Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark / Elizabeth is approximately 20 minutes away via Route 24 to  Interstate 78. Public transportation. Morristown has attempted to implement transit-oriented development. Morristown was designated in 1999 as of one of New Jersey's first five "transit villages". In 1999, Morristown changed its zoning code to designate the area around the train station as a "Transit Village Core" for mixed-use. The designation was at least partly responsible for development plans for several mixed-use condominium developments. NJ Transit offers rail service at the Morristown station which offers service on the Morristown Line to Newark Broad Street, Secaucus Junction, New York Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal. The town benefited from  shortened commuting times to New York City due to the "Midtown Direct" service New Jersey Transit instituted in the 1990s. NJ Transit local bus service is offered from the Morristown rail station, Morristown Medical Center and Headquarters Plaza on the 871, 872, 873, 874, 875 and 880 bus routes, replacing service that had been offered on the MCM1, MCM2, MCM3, MCM4, MCM8 and MCM10 routes until 2010, when subsidies to the local provider were eliminated as part of budget cuts. Community Coach provides daily service between New York City and Morristown on bus route 77. The town's Department of  Public Works operates "Colonial Coach", which provides free transportation within Morristown. The Whippany Line of the Morristown and Erie Railway, a small freight line, traverses the township. Established in 1895, the line runs from Morristown and runs through East Hanover Township and Hanover Township to Roseland. Media. Due to its proximity to New York City and Newark, daily newspapers serving the community are "The New York Times", "The Wall Street Journal", and "The Star-Ledger". The Morristown "Daily Record" is published locally, as is "New Jersey Monthly" magazine. WMTR is an AM radio station at 1250 kHz is licensed to  Morristown. The station features an oldies format. WJSV radio (90.5 FM) is the nonprofit radio station of Morristown High School, which also has a television show, "Colonial Corner". "Hometown Tales", a public-access television show and podcast chronicling stories and urban legends from around the world, is loosely based in Morristown. Notable people. People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Morristown include: