Morris Township, New Jersey
- This article is about the Township of Morris in New Jersey. Other places in New Jersey with similar names are Morristown, Morris Plains, and Moorestown Township.
| Morris Township, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Township — | |
 |
|
 |
|
| Coordinates: 40°47′39″N 74°29′32″W / 40.79417°N 74.49222°WCoordinates: 40°47′39″N 74°29′32″W / 40.79417°N 74.49222°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Morris |
| Formed | March 25, 1740 |
| Incorporated | February 21, 1798 |
| Government[1] | |
| • Type | Township (New Jersey) |
| • Mayor | H. Scott Rosenbush |
| Area | |
| • Total | 15.8 sq mi (40.9 km2) |
| • Land | 15.8 sq mi (40.8 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2) |
| Elevation[2] | 361 ft (110 m) |
| Population (2007)[3] | |
| • Total | 21,103 |
| • Density | 1,383.0/sq mi (534.0/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 07961 - Convent Station |
| Area code(s) | 973 |
| FIPS code | 34-48090[4][5] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0882193[6] |
| Website | http://www.morristwp.com |
Morris Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, USA. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 21,796. 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.
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 an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken to create Chatham Township (February 12, 1806), Passaic Township (now Long Hill Township, on March 23, 1866) and Morristown (April 6, 1865).[7]
Contents |
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 15.8 square miles (41 km2), of which, 15.8 square miles (41 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (0.32%) is water.
Convent Station is an unincorporated area within Morris Township.
 |
Randolph Twp and Denville Twp |
Morris Plains and Parsippany-Troy Hills Twp |
Hanover Twp | |
| Mendham Twp |  |
Florham Pk | ||
 Morris Township  |
||||
 |
||||
| Harding Twp | Madison |
Also, Morris completely surrounds Morristown.
[edit] Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 5,565 |
|
|
| 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% | |
| Est. 2007 | 21,103 | [3] | −3.2% |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[8] | |||
As of the census[4] of 2000, 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.
[edit] Economy
[edit] Personal income
The median income for a household in the township was $101,902, and the median income for a family was $116,866 (these figures had risen to $114,188 and $131,825 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[9]). 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.
[edit] Industry
Honeywell is headquartered in Morris Township. Companies with offices and facilities in Morris Township include the Louis Berger Group, The Seeing Eye, a guide dog school, [10]
[edit] Government
[edit] Local government
Morris Township is governed under the Township form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of five-member Township Committee consisting of five members elected at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are selected by the Township Committee from among its members.[1]
Members of the Morris Township Council are Mayor H. Scott Rosenbush (whose term ends December 31, 2009), Deputy Mayor Daniel W. Caffrey (2011), Ronald M. Goldberg (2010), Jeffrey R. Grayzel (2009), Raymond L. Snyder (2011).[11]
[edit] Federal, state, and county representation
Morris Township is in the 11th Congressional district. New Jersey's Eleventh Congressional District is represented by Rodney Frelinghuysen (R, Harding Township). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
Morris Township is in the The 25th Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Anthony Bucco (R, Boonton) and in the General Assembly by Tony Bucco (R, Boonton Township) and Michael Patrick Carroll (R, Morris Township).[12]
Morris County is governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, who are elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with two or three seats coming up for election each year.[13] As of 2011, Morris County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director William J. Chegwidden (Wharton),[14] Deputy Freeholder Director Douglas R. Cabana (Boonton Township),[15] Gene F. Feyl (Denville),[16] Ann F. Grassi (Parsippany-Troy Hills),[17] Thomas J. Mastrangelo (Montville),[18] John J. Murphy (Morris Township)[19] and Margaret Nordstrom (Washington Township).[20][21]
[edit] Education
The Morris School District serves public school students in the communities of Morristown and Morris Township (grades K-12) and Morris Plains (9-12) for a total student population of approximately 4,700. Within the District there are three primary schools (K-2), three intermediate schools (3-5), one multiage magnet school (K-5), one middle school (6-8), and one high school, Morristown High School. The high school serves students from Morristown and Morris Township, along with students from Morris Plains, who attend the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.[22]
The Academy of St. Elizabeth is a Catholic school for girls located in the Convent Station area, and operated under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson.[23] 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.
[edit] Transportation
Convent Station is a New Jersey Transit rail station on the Morristown Line, located on the grounds of the College of Saint Elizabeth.
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, New Jersey and Summit, New Jersey, including service in Morris Township. The trolleys were replaced with buses in 1928.
A few major roads pass through the community. Those include Route 124, Route 24, CR 510, U.S. Route 202, and Interstate 287.
[edit] Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Morris Township include:
- Ben Bailey, comedian and television host
- Michael Patrick Carroll (born 1958), represents the 25th legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly.[24]
- Klaus Peter Löbbe, chairman and CEO of BASF.[25]
[edit] References
- ^ a b 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 116.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Township of Morris, Geographic Names Information System, accessed January 4, 2008.
- ^ a b Census data for Morris township, United States Census Bureau. Accessed November 23, 2008.
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 194.
- ^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
- ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-context=adp&-qr_name=ACS_2007_3YR_G00_DP3YR3&-ds_name=ACS_2007_3YR_G00_&-tree_id=3307&-redoLog=false&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=06000US3402748090&-format=&-_lang=en
- ^ Staff. "'Seeing Eye' Trains 6,000th", Sunday Times-Sentinel, April 5, 1972. Accessed July 2, 2011. "Established in Morristown, N.J., in 1929, The Seeing Eye is the nation's oldest guide dog school."
- ^ Morris Township Committee, Morris Township. Accessed August 17, 2007.
- ^ Legislative Roster 2012-2013 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 11, 2012.
- ^ What is a Freeholder?, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 5, 2011.
- ^ William J. Chegwidden, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
- ^ Douglas R. Cabana, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
- ^ Gene F. Feyl, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
- ^ Ann F. Grossi, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
- ^ Thomas J. Mastrangelo, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
- ^ John J. Murphy, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
- ^ Margaret Nordstrom, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
- ^ Meet the Freeholders, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed January 9, 2011.
- ^ Morristown High School 2007 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 23, 2008. "It is composed of 1503 ethnically diverse students representing more than 31 different languages from Morristown, Morris Township and Morris Plains."
- ^ Morris County Elementary / Secondary Schools, Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson. Accessed July 26, 2008.
- ^ Assembly Member Michael Patrick Carroll, Project Vote Smart. Accessed August 17, 2007.
- ^ Deutsch, Claudia H. "Diplomacy Over Diplomas", The New York Times, April 9, 2006.
[edit] External links
- Morris Township website
- Morris School District
- Morris School District's 2009–10 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- Data for the Morris School District, National Center for Education Statistics
