Morris Township, New Jersey facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Morris Township, New Jersey
Township
Township of Morris
Alnwick Hall
Motto(s): A community rich in history with a constant striving for a better tomorrow.
Location in Morris County and the state of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Morris Township, New Jersey
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Morris
Formed	March 25, 1740
Incorporated	February 21, 1798
Named for	Lewis Morris
Government
• Type	Township
• Body	Township Committee
Area
• Total	15.81 sq mi (40.96 km²)
• Land	15.68 sq mi (40.62 km²)
• Water	0.13 sq mi (0.34 km²) 0.83%
Area rank	171st of 565 in state 13th of 39 in county
Elevation	433 ft (132 m)
Population (2020 Census)
• Total	22,974
• Estimate (2020)	22,974
• Rank	116th of 566 in state 5th of 39 in county
• Density	1,465.0/sq mi (565.6/km²)
• Density rank	339th of 566 in state 19th of 39 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07960 - Morristown 07961 - Convent Station
Area code(s)	973
FIPS code	3402748090
GNIS feature ID	0882193

Morris Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 22,974, reflecting an increase of 668 (+3.0%) from the 22,306 counted in the 2010 Census, which had in turn increased by 510 (+2.3%) from the 21,796 counted in the 2000 Census. The township was named for Lewis Morris, colonial governor of New Jersey.

It is known as the "doughnut" around Morristown since it completely encapsulates it, and has at least five times the area, though near Morris Plains the width of Morris Township is less than a mile. Located along the Morris and Essex Lines, the township is a bedroom community, with many residents traveling to work in nearby New York City on NJ Transit which provides commuters with direct access to New York Penn Station and to Hoboken Terminal.

Morris Township is home to the Morris County Golf Club and the Morris Museum, which is the second largest museum in New Jersey and has been in operation since 1913. The township is also home to the Morristown National Historical Park which in 1933 became the country's first National Historical Park.

History
- Incorporation
- Arthur Seale
Geography
Demographics
- Census 2010
- Census 2000
Transportation
- Roads and highways
- Public transportation
Economy
Education
Notable people
Images for kids
See also

History

Incorporation

Morris Township was originally formed as of March 25, 1740. Portions of the township were taken on December 24, 1740, to form Roxbury Township and on March 29, 1749, to form Mendham Township. Morris Township was incorporated as a township by the Township Act of 1798 by the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, as part of the state's initial group of 104 townships. Portions of the township were taken to create Chatham Township (February 12, 1806), Morristown (April 6, 1865, fully independent in 1895) and Passaic Township (on March 23, 1866, now Long Hill Township). The township was named for Lewis Morris, colonial governor of New Jersey.

Arthur Seale

In 1992, Arthur Seale and his wife kidnapped Exxon executive Sidney Reso, a township resident, from his home. The Seals sought a ransom of $18.5 million, but Reso died in captivity. The case received nationwide attention.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 15.762 square miles (40.823 km²), including 15.618 square miles (40.449 km²) of land and 0.144 square miles (0.374 km²) of water (0.92%).

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Convent Station, Gillespie Hill, Loantaka Terrace, Normandy Heights, Normandy Park and Washington Valley.

Morris Township completely surrounds Morristown, making it part of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another. The township borders the Morris County municipalities of Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, Morris Plains and Hanover Township to the north, Harding Township to the south, Mendham Township and Randolph to the west and Florham Park and Madison to the east.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1810	3,753	—
1820	3,524	−6.1%
1830	3,536	0.3%
1840	4,013	13.5%
1850	4,992	24.4%
1860	5,985	19.9%
1870	5,674	−5.2%
1880	1,419	−75.0%
1890	1,999	40.9%
1900	2,571	28.6%
1910	3,161	22.9%
1920	2,824	−10.7%
1930	5,565	97.1%
1940	6,107	9.7%
1950	7,432	21.7%
1960	12,092	62.7%
1970	19,414	60.6%
1980	18,486	−4.8%
1990	19,952	7.9%
2000	21,796	9.2%
2010	22,306	2.3%
2020	22,974	3.0%
Population sources: 1810-1920 1840 1850-1870 1850 1870 1880-1890 1890-1910 1910-1930 1930-1990 2000 2010 * = Lost territory in previous decade.

Census 2010

As of the census of 2010, there were 22,306 people, 8,128 households, and 5,771 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,428.3 per square mile (551.5/km²). There were 8,502 housing units at an average density of 544.4 per square mile (210.2/km²)^*. The racial makeup of the township was 85.28% (19,022) White, 5.65% (1,261) Black or African American, 0.10% (23) Native American, 5.12% (1,141) Asian, 0.03% (6) Pacific Islander, 1.99% (444) from other races, and 1.83% (409) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.55% (1,683) of the population.

There were 8,128 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.3% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the township, the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.3 years. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 94.4 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $132,191 (with a margin of error of +/- $7,204) and the median family income was $154,265 (+/- $8,489). Males had a median income of $108,448 (+/- $5,932) versus $64,753 (+/- $12,368) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $65,335 (+/- $4,396). About 1.0% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

The township has been one of the state's highest-income communities. Based on data from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Morris Township had a per capita income of $65,335 (ranked 36th in the state), compared to per capita income in Morris County of $47,342 and statewide of $34,858.

Census 2000

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 21,796 people, 8,116 households, and 5,949 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,383.0 people per square mile (534.0/km²). There were 8,298 housing units at an average density of 526.5 per square mile (203.3/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 88.63% White, 5.46% African American, 0.15% Native American, 3.90% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.91% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.81% of the population.

There were 8,116 households, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.6% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the township the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 64.9 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $101,902, and the median income for a family was $116,866. Males had a median income of $80,946 versus $50,864 for females. The per capita income for the township was $54,782. About 2.1% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

I-287 southbound in Morris Township

Convent Station

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 126.51 miles (203.60 km) of roadways, of which 106.11 miles (170.77 km) were maintained by the municipality, 13.96 miles (22.47 km) by Morris County and 6.44 miles (10.36 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

A few major roads pass through the community including Route 124, Route 24, CR 510, U.S. Route 202, and Interstate 287.

Public transportation

Convent Station is a NJ Transit rail station located on the grounds of the College of Saint Elizabeth, offering service on the Morristown Line to Newark Broad Street Station, Secaucus Junction, Penn Station New York and Hoboken Terminal.

NJ Transit offers local bus service on the 872, 873, 875 and 880 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.

The Morris County Traction Company began trolley service in downtown Dover in July 1904, and expanded over the years until the system was completed in 1914 all the way to Newark, via Morristown and Summit, including service in Morris Township. The trolleys were replaced with buses in 1928.

Economy

The Seeing Eye

Honeywell had been headquartered in Morris Township.

Companies with offices and facilities in Morris Township include the Louis Berger Group and The Seeing Eye, a guide dog school.

Education

Students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade attend the schools of the Morris School District, which also serves public school students from the communities of Morristown (K-12) and Morris Plains (9-12). 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 five seats assigned to Morris Township.

The Academy of St. Elizabeth is a Catholic school for girls that admitted its first students in 1860, located in the Convent Station area, and operated independently of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson. The school has an enrollment of 230 students and is the oldest school for girls in New Jersey.

The College of Saint Elizabeth is a private Roman Catholic, four-year, liberal arts college for women, located in Convent Station. The college was founded in 1899 by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth of New Jersey.

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.

Notable people

See also (related category): People from Morris Township, New Jersey

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Morris Township include:

Ben Bailey (born 1970), comedian and host of Cash Cab.
Warren Bobrow (born c. 1961), mixologist, chef, and writer known as the "Cocktail Whisperer".
Michael Patrick Carroll (born 1958), represents the 25th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly.
Robert Del Tufo (born 1933), Attorney General of New Jersey from 1990 – 1993.
Caroline Rose Foster (1877-1979), farmer and founder of Fosterfields Living Historical Farm.
Connor Lade (born 1989), professional soccer player.
Charley Molnar (born 1961), head football coach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Dan Quinn (born 1970), head football coach of the Atlanta Falcons who was defensive coordinator for the Super Bowl XLVIII champion Seattle Seahawks.
Joseph Warren Revere (1812-1880), court-martialed Union brigadier general during the American Civil War, grandson of Paul Revere.
Stephen B. Wiley (1929-2015), politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1974 to 1978, where he represented the 23rd Legislative District.