"The Chathams" is a term used in reference to shared services for two neighboring municipalities in Morris County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States – Chatham Borough and Chatham Township. The two are separate municipalities. The first, a town that was settled in 1710 as a colonial English village in the

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after the ...

, that in 1773 adopted a name change to "Chatham". There are numerous references to this village as "Chatham, New Jersey" dating from that time. The second, more southern, without a town center, and less densely populated, is the vestige of a regional government that was formed in 1806 as a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

, a form of municipal government peculiar to the

state of New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware Ri ...

. It had

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

over a region including a large area of open space and several villages. One of those, the village of Chatham, dating from 1710, was the source for its name, Chatham Township. Chatham Township shares various joint public services with Chatham Borough: the school district, the library, the municipal court, the medical emergency squad, and recreation program. In 2012,

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listed Chatham as 375th in its listing of "America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes", with a median home price of $776,703. In March 2018,

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ranked Chatham as the 64th wealthiest place in the United States, and the 8th wealthiest in

History

The newly established, post- revolutionary war, state of New Jersey went through several stages setting out how its local governments would be structured. Once

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

s became available after 1878, Chatham Township lost all but one of the villages between 1889 and 1899, including Chatham Borough (settled in 1710), that had been drawn into it in 1806 as they

seceded Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics lea ...

.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. pp. 191-2. Accessed April 25, 2012. Only Green Village, another early town like Chatham that dates to colonial times, was left under jurisdiction of "Chatham Township". On August 19, 1892, the citizens of Chatham reincorporated with another type of

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

government offered as an alternative within townships by New Jersey. The village of Chatham then reincorporated for governance as a

by an Act of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

on March 1, 1897 with complete independence from Chatham Township.

Shared services

Chatham Township shares various joint public services with Chatham Borough: the school district (created in 1986), the library (since 1974), the municipal court (created 2010), the medical emergency squad (since 1936), and the decades long, recreation program.

Public schools

Chatham Borough and Chatham Township held elections in November 1986 to consider joining their separate school districts. This proposal was supported by the voters of both municipalities and they now share a regionalized school district, the

School District of the Chathams The School District of the Chathams is a regional public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Chatham Borough and Chatham Township in Morris County, New Jersey. As of the 2020–21 school year, the di ...

Elementary schools

Milton Avenue School
Grades Pre-K - 3. Principal - Nicholas "Nick" Andreazza. For the 2014-15 school year, the Milton Avenue School was recognized with a Blue Ribbon School Award by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.
Southern Boulevard School
Grades K - 3. Principal - Kathleen O'Connor.
Washington Avenue School
Grades K - 3. Principal - Kristine Dudlo.
Lafayette School
Grades 4 & 5. Principal - Cheryl Russo. Vice Principal - Marco Freyre.

Middle school

Chatham Middle School
Grades 6 - 8. Principal - Jill Gihorski. Vice Principals - Peter "Pete" Trebour and Anthony Giaconia.

High school

* Chatham High School. Grades 9 - 12. Principal - Darren Groh. Vice Principals - Lori Gironda and Douglas "Doug" Walker. For the 2004-05 school year, the high school was recognized with a

Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

Award by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

, the highest award an American school can receive.Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 2003 Through 2005
accessed May 15, 2006 The school was the 20th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 328 schools statewide in ''

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'' magazine's September 2012 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 8th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. It was the 12th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in ''

'' magazine's September 2006 cover story on the state's ''Top Public High Schools''.

Library

A library was founded in Chatham Borough in 1907. Located in a number of different shared buildings, a site for a separate building for the library was chosen after the Fairview Hotel on Main Street burned down. The hotel land was bought after a borough-wide solicitations of funds that was proposed by Charles M. Lum, after whose family Lum Avenue is named, and a brick building was constructed to house the library. John H. Eastwood of

Belleville, New Jersey Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "Beautiful city / town") is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 38,222, reflecting an increase of 6.4% from th ...

, a client of R. E. Lum, bequeathed $30,000 upon his death in 1924 for the construction of the library as a memorial to his own father, John H. Eastwood Sr., and Ralph E. Lum’s father, Frederick H. Lum, who were close friends. The building was dedicated as the Chatham Public Library, and it opened to the public in 1924. Residents of Chatham Borough were able to join. This location continues to house the library. As the population of Chatham Township began to grow in the 1960s, services were extended to students in the township elementary school. In 1974, a referendum was placed on the November ballot for Jointure, which was to form a library for both towns. The measure passed and the library began to serve all township residents as well. The library, renamed the Library of The Chathams, now serves both municipalities. The library is administered by six trustees, who are appointed jointly by the councils of both municipalities and their mayors (or their representatives), as well as a representative from the joint school district.Library of the Chathams – History
In 1985 the library joined the Morris Automated Information Network (MAIN), an electronic database linking together all the public libraries in Morris County. An expansion costing nearly $4,000,000 (with the governments of both Chatham Borough and Chatham Township contributing a combined $2,000,000) was completed and dedicated on January 11, 2004. The library also has a 9/11 memorial with 7 doves to represent the 7 citizens who lost their lives on that tragic day in New York City.

Municipal court

Chatham Township and Chatham Borough are members of the Borough of

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Joint Municipal Court, which also has jurisdiction over Harding Township. The joint court was created in 2010 and is located in Madison.

Emergency squad

The Chatham Emergency Squad, which operates from two buildings, one in the Borough and one in the Township, provides emergency and non-emergency response for medical services, assistance for seniors and the disabled, and ambulance transportation to area

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

s and local

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

s. All volunteer, squad members are certified by the state of New Jersey as

Emergency Medical Technician An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics are ...

s (EMTs). When first established in 1936, it drew its members from the Chatham Fire Department. Its limited membership made it unable to meet the increasing demand for its growing services for Chatham Borough and Chatham Township.Chatham Emergency Squad - History
, Chatham Emergency Squad. Accessed June 12, 2013. In early 1951, the Chatham Borough Council was petitioned to authorize reorganization of the Squad as a unit independent of the Fire Department. The Chatham Emergency Squad, Inc. was then established as an independent

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

. It could then draw on regular citizens from the Chathams for membership.

Recreation

The Chatham Recreation is a joint venture of Chatham Borough Recreation and Chatham Township Recreation. It coordinates its activities with the Chatham Borough Council, the Chatham Township Committee, and the School District of the Chathams.Chatham Recreation
Chatham Borough Recreation and Chatham Township Joint Recreation. Accessed June 12, 2013. It offers a variety of indoor and outdoor recreational and sports activities at various municipal buildings, parks, fields,

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

s, and school locations. It employs volunteers for supervision and

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

ing of these activities.

Notes

Sources

* ''The New Jersey municipal data book'' ed. by Ruth R. Hornor. Palo Alto, CA: Information Publications, 2005. Entries on Chatham Borough and Chatham Township.

External links

School District of the Chathams website
*
School District of the Chathams

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...

Chatham Borough, New Jersey Chatham Township, New Jersey