Morris County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

, about west of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. According to the 2020 census, the county's population was enumerated at 509,285, an increase of 17,009 (3.5%) from the 492,276 counted at the 2010 census,DP1 – Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data for Morris County, New Jersey

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

. Accessed January 22, 2013. retaining its position as the tenth-most populous county in New Jersey.Table1. New Jersey Counties and Most Populous Cities and Townships: 2020 and 2010 Censuses

New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Civil Service Commission is an independent body within the New Jersey state government under the auspices of t ...

. Accessed December 1, 2022. Morris County is part of the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass, at , and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The vast metropolitan area ...

and is divided into 39 municipalities, with many commuter towns but no large cities. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Morristown, in the southeast.New Jersey County Map
New Jersey Department of State. Accessed December 29, 2022. The most populous place was Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, with 53,238 residents at the time of the 2010 census, while Rockaway Township covered , the largest total area of any municipality.''New Jersey: 2010 – Population and Housing Unit Counts; 2010 Census of Population and Housing''
p. 6, CPH-2-32.

, August 2012. Accessed August 29, 2016. Wick House

In 2015, the county had a per capita personal income of $86,582, the highest in New Jersey and ranked 24th of 3,113 counties in the United States. Morris County, as of the 2000 Census, was the sixth-wealthiest county in the United States by

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways o ...

at $77,340 (second in New Jersey behind

Hunterdon County Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,Somerset County at $90,605) and ranked tenth by per capita income at $36,964 (second in New Jersey behind Somerset County at $37,970). The Bureau of Economic Analysis ranked the county as having the 16th-highest

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

of all 3,113 counties in the United States (and the second highest in New Jersey) as of 2009. The county ranked third in the New York metropolitan area in terms of median income. Morris County was recently ranked number 2 of 21 NJ counties as one of the healthiest counties in New Jersey, according to an annual report by County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. The county is part of the

North Jersey North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrati ...

region.

History

Etymology

Morris County was named after Colonel Lewis Morris, governor of New Jersey in 1738-39, the year the county was named.

Paleo Indians and Native Americans

The

Wisconsin Glacier The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cord ...

covered the northern section of Morris County from about 23,000 B.C. to 13,000 B.C. After the Wisconsin Glacier melted around 13,000 B.C., Paleo Indians moved into the area from the south in search of big and small game as well as plants. The area was first tundra with grasses growing. Rabbits and fox moved into the area from the south. Around the year 1000, the area of Morris County was inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans prior to the arrival of European settlers. They came from the Mississippi River area. They lived along the rivers and hunted game, fished, collected plants and nuts.

Dutch and English colonization

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

explored the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

area in 1609, and later the Dutch did surveys of the area. From 1611 to 1614, the Dutch established the colony of

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...

, which claimed territory between the 40th and 45th parallel north, a zone which included northern New Jersey. Dutch forts were established along the Hudson River beginning in 1613. As the years went by, more forts were established to trade with Native Americans. The Native Americans traded furs and food with the Dutch for various goods. In return the Dutch gave the Native Americans metal pots, knives, guns, axes, and blankets. Trading with the Native Americans occurred until 1643 when a series of wars broke out between the Dutch and Native Americans. There were hostile relations between the Dutch and Native Americans between 1643 and 1660. This prevented colonization by the Dutch of the Morris County region which was technically included in their claimed "New Netherland". On August 27, 1664, three English ships approached Fort Amsterdam and the fort was surrendered to the English. The English now controlled New Netherland and Morris County was now under control of the colony of New York. Relations with the Native Americans improved for a while. There was a war with the Dutch ten years later. The Dutch re-took control of New Amsterdam but after a year returned it to the English. Relations with the Native Americans and English improved for a while. European settlements began in the early 18th century while the area was known as Hunterdon County. Native Americans were still in the area at that time. Land was purchased from the Native Americans for various things such as blankets, shirts, rum, guns, knives, pots and gunpowder. European colonization occurred along the Atlantic coast and moved inland. The first European settlement in the area today known as Morris County occurred in Pompton Plains by the Dutch in 1695.Morris County profile
Choose: New Jersey. Accessed October 6, 2013. From 1710 to 1730, various iron mines and forges were established. The first was in Whippany in 1710 and then in Succasunna in 1713. By 1750, nearly all Native Americans had left New Jersey. This was due to land purchases from the Native Americans, diseases that the Native Americans contracted from Europeans, and due to starvation from the Little Ice Age, during which Native American corn crops failed and rivers froze, preventing fishing. Snow storms sent game into semi-hibernation or made them difficult to find. Nut crops such as oak, hickory, beech, walnut, chestnut and butternut failed some years due to late frosts in spring. Many of the Morris County Native Americans went to eastern Canada and others went to the Ohio Valley. The

Walking Purchase The Walking Purchase (or Walking Treaty) was a 1737 agreement between the Penn family, the original proprietors of the Province of Pennsylvania, later the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Lenape native Indians (also known as the Delaware In ...

in September 1737, prevented Native Americans from going to eastern Pennsylvania. At that time, European settlement grew swiftly as there was now land to be farmed and settled. Morris County was originally part of Burlington County which had been established in 1694. It then became part of Hunterdon County, which separated from Burlington County in 1714. Morris County was created on March 15, 1739, from portions of

Hunterdon County Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 191. Accessed January 21, 2013. The county was named for the Governor of 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 t ...

, Colonel Lewis Morris. In later years Sussex County (on June 8, 1753) and, after the revolution,

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

(on November 20, 1824, from portions of Sussex County) were carved out of what had been the original area of Morris County under English rule. The county was the site of the winter camp of the Continental Army after the Battles of Trenton and Princeton during the winter of 1777, as well as another winter camp at

Jockey Hollow Jockey Hollow is the name for an area in southern Morris County, New Jersey farmed in the 18th century by the Wick, Guerin and Kemble families. The origin of the name is still uncertain, but was used as such at the time of the American Revolution ...

during an extremely cold winter of 1779–80. In the 1880s, Dover was the center of iron ore mining with the 132 mines producing 700,000 tons of ore annually. The mines were mostly worked by Cornish miners, with the bulk of the population in Dover and Port Oram of Cornish extraction. At that time the Cornish had kept their customs and dialect, were deeply religious and predominantly

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Geography and geology

According to the 2010 census, the county had a total area of , including of land (95.5%) and of water (4.5%).Census 2010 U.S. Gazetteer Files: New Jersey Counties

, Backed up by the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

as of June 11, 2012. Accessed October 6, 2013. Morris County, NJ, highest point

The county rises in elevation and relief from east to west, with only the more developed eastern suburbs in the Passaic River valley being relatively level. The highest point is at above sea level on a mountain south of Pine Swamp in western Jefferson Township. The second-highest point is on a mountain just north of Riker Lake at . The lowest point is about in elevation, at Two Bridges, the confluence of the Passaic and Pompton rivers. The county is drained by several rivers. The Rockaway River drains , of the northern section of the county. The

Whippany River The Whippany River is a tributary of the Rockaway River, approximately 20 mi (30 km) long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. It rises in Morris County, in Mendham Township west of Morristown, and flows generally ENE in a m ...

drains of the middle of the county. The South Branch of the Raritan River and the Black River drain the western area. Most of the county's borders are rivers. The Pequannock River drains the northern boundary area. The Pompton River drains the eastern section. The Passaic River also drains the eastern border area. The western border is drained by the

Musconetcong River The Musconetcong River is a tributary of the Delaware River in northwestern New Jersey in the United States.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It flows through ...

. There are several large lakes in Morris County; among them are

Lake Hopatcong Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in New Jersey, United States, about in area. Located from the Delaware River and from Manhattan, New York City, the lake forms part of the border between Sussex and Morris counties in the state's ...

, Budd Lake, Lake Parsippany, and the

Boonton Reservoir The Boonton Reservoir is a reservoir located between Boonton and Parsippany–Troy Hills, New Jersey. Boonton, along with nearby Splitrock Reservoir, provides water for Jersey City, New Jersey. It was formed by the construction of a dam on t ...

, also known as the Jersey City Reservoir.

Climate

Morris has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''Dfa''/''Dfb'') and the hardiness zones are 6a and 6b.

Weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Morristown have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1934 and a record high of was recorded in August 2001. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in September.

Geology

Image-Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge New Jersey04

Around 500 million years ago, a chain of volcanic islands shaped like an arc collided with proto-North America. The islands rode over top of the North American plate. This created the highlands in western Morris County and the eastern section of Morris County.USGS Around 400 million years ago, a small continent long and narrow collided with proto-North America. This created folding and faulting, as compression occurred. Then around 350 million years ago, the

African plate The African Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes much of the continent of Africa (except for its easternmost part) and the adjacent oceanic crust to the west and south. It is bounded by the North American Plate and South American Plate ...

collided with North America creating the folding and faulting in the Appalachians. But when the African plate pulled away from North America, an aborted rift valley was created. This half graben, starts east of Boonton and goes through the middle of Parsippany, south to Morristown, to the south end of Great Swamp. From Parsippany and the Boonton area the half graben goes east to the western side of Paterson, where there was another fault by the lava flows. East of the

Ramapo Fault The Ramapo Fault zone is a system of faults between the northern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont areas to the east.active fault An active fault is a fault that is likely to become the source of another earthquake sometime in the future. Geologists commonly consider faults to be active if there has been movement observed or evidence of seismic activity during the last 10,0 ...

. The last major earthquake occurred in 1884, with a strength measured at 5.3 on the Richter scale. Around 21,000 BCE., the

covered about half of Morris County. The terminal moraine went from Hackettstown east to north of Budd Lake, east to Rockaway and Denville, then southeast to Morristown then south to the south end of Great Swamp. When the glacier melted around 13,000 B.C. the melt water created

Glacial Lake Passaic Lake Passaic was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed in northern New Jersey in the United States at the end of the last ice age approximately 19,000–14,000 years ago.Stanford, Scott D. “Glacial Lake Passaic.” ''Unearthing New Jerse ...

. The lake extended from what is now Pompton Lakes through Parsippany south to the south end of Great Swamp. From Parsippany the lake went east to the lava flows of western Paterson. This lake was long and miles wide and the depth was about . When the Wisconsin glacier covered Morris County, the ice sheet was about deep. Due to debris from the glacier, the lake was unable to drain through the

Watchung Mountains The Watchung Mountains (once called the Blue Hills) are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between high, lying parallel to each other in northern New Jersey in the United States. The name is derived from the American Native Lena ...

near Short Hills. Instead, it drained through Moggy Hollow at the southwestern end of the lake. But when the glacier melted and receded to the New York State line, the lake drained though the Little Falls area, as this was lower in elevation than Moggy Hollow. And thus the Passaic River formed. The swamps of the Great Piece Meadows, Hatfield Swamp, Troy Meadows, Lee Meadows and Great Swamp were all under the Lake Passaic until it drained, and then these areas were created.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had 509,285 people, 184,885 households, and 129,707 families. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 197,722 housing units at an average density of . The county's racial makeup was 67.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 3.06%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.07% Native American, 11.3% Asian, and 3.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race accounted for 15.05% of the population. Of the 184,885 households, of which 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 22.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 13.5% had a male householder with no wife present and 29.8% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.17. About 21.4% of the county's population was under age 18, 8.5% was from age 18 to 24, 35.9% was from age 15 to 44, and 17.5% was age 65 or older. The median age was 43.3 years. The gender makeup of the city was 49.2% male and 50.8% female. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males. The city's median household income was $116,283, and the median family income was $141,633. About 5.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

2010 Census

Government

County government

Morris County is governed by a Board of County Commissioners comprised of seven members who are elected at-large in partisan elections to three-year terms on a staggered basis, with either one or three seats up for election each year as part of the November general election. Actual day-to-day operation of departments is supervised by County Administrator, John Bonanni.''Morris County Manual 2022''
Morris County Clerk. Accessed June 1, 2022. In 2016, freeholders were paid $24,375 and the freeholder director was paid an annual salary of $25,350. , Morris County's Commissioners are Commissioner Director Tayfun Selen ( R, Chatham Township, term as commissioner ends December 31, 2023; term as director ends 2022), Commissioner Deputy Director John Krickus (R, Washington Township, term as commissioner ends 2024; term as deputy director ends 2022), Douglas Cabana (R, Boonton Township, 2022), Kathryn A. DeFillippo (R, Roxbury, 2022), Thomas J. Mastrangelo (R, Montville, 2022), Stephen H. Shaw (R,

Mountain Lakes A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

, 2024) and Deborah Smith (R, Denville, 2024). MorrisCounty1872

Former commissioners

Former county commissioners include: * 2018–2020: Heather Darling ( R) * 2013–2019: John Cesaro ( R) * 2012–2018: Hank Lyon ( R) * 2013–2015: David Scapicchio ( R) * 2007–2012: Eugene Feyl ( R) * 1999–2012: Margaret Nordstrom ( R) * 2006–2012: William Chegwidden ( R) * 1998–2012: John Murphy ( R) * 1999–2010: Jack Schrier ( R) * 2007–2010: James Murray ( R) * 2001–2007: John Inglesino ( R) * 1992–2006: Cecilia Laureys ( R) * 1984, 1992–2006: Frank Dreutzler ( R) * 1995–1997:

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

( R) * 1975–1978: Douglas Romaine ( D)

Constitutional officers

Pursuant to Article VII Section II of the New Jersey State Constitution, each county in New Jersey is required to have three elected administrative officials known as constitutional officers. These officers are the County Clerk and County Surrogate (both elected for five-year terms of office) and the

County Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

(elected for a three-year term). , they are County Clerk Ann F. Grossi (R, Parsippany–Troy Hills, 2023), Sheriff James M. Gannon (R, Boonton Township, 2022) and Surrogate Heather Darling (R, Roxbury, 2024). The County Prosecutor is Robert J. Carroll of Roseland, who was sworn into the position in October 2020 following the retirement of Frederic M. Knapp. Morris County is a part of Vicinage 10 of the

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts.Jeffrey S. Mandel, New Jersey Appellate Pr ...

(along with Sussex County), which is seated at the Morris County Courthouse in Morristown; the Assignment Judge for Vicinage 10 is Stuart A. Minkowitz. Law enforcement at the county level is the Morris County Sheriff's Office. The Morris County Park Police was disbanded and merged with the Sheriff's Office on January 1, 2022. The County law enforcement organization includes the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

Federal representatives

The 7th and 11th

Congressional Districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

cover the county.

State representatives

The 39 municipalities of Morris County are represented by six separate legislative districts.

Politics

Though New Jersey is mainly a Democratic state, Morris County has generally leaned towards the Republican Party. The GOP has carried the county in all but three presidential elections since 1896: in 1912,

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

. Republicans hold every countywide elected office and the majority of the county's seats in the state legislature. The last Democrat to win a county office was Commissioner Douglas Romaine in 1973. As of October 1, 2021, there were a total of 397,571 registered voters in Morris County, of whom 136,127 (34.2%) were registered as Republicans, 117,323 (29.5%) were registered as Democrats and 140,145 (35.3%) were registered as unaffiliated. There were 3,976 voters (1.0%) registered to other parties. In the 2008 election, Democrat Barack Obama came within 9 points of winning the county. In the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

, Democrat Barack Obama lost the county by 10.8%. In

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

came closer than any Democrat to carry the county since Lyndon Johnson's win in

, finishing just 4.2 percent behind

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

despite the rightward shift in the nation in this election. In

, Joe Biden accomplished that feat, carrying Morris County by 4.2 percent, and at the same time,

Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. se ...

became the first Democrat to win Morris County in a Senate election since Bill Bradley in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican

received 60.0% of the vote (99,085 votes) to Democratic Governor Jon Corzine's 31.26% (51,586 votes), while Independent Chris Daggett received 8.1% of the vote (13,321). In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 70% of the vote here (98,888 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

with 28.2% (39,824 votes), and other candidates with 1.8% (2,560 votes), among the 143,745 ballots cast by the county's 324,817 registered voters, yielding a 44.25% turnout. In the 2017 gubernatorial election, Republican

Kim Guadagno Kimberly Ann Guadagno (; ''née'' McFadden; born April 13, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the first lieutenant governor and 33rd secretary of state of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Guadagno was the Republican nominee ...

received 53.08% of the vote (77,203 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat

Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American financier, diplomat, and politician serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since January 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the United States ambassador to Germa ...

with 45.04% (65,507 votes), and other candidates with 1.88% (2,742 votes). In the 2021 gubernatorial election, Republican

Jack Ciattarelli Jack M. Ciattarelli ( ; born December 12, 1961) is an American politician and businessman. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2011 to 2018, representing the 16th legislative district. He was also t ...

received 55.25% of the vote (102,769 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Phil Murphy with 44.04% (81,915 votes).

Municipalities

The 33 municipalities in Morris County (with 2010 Census data for population, housing units and area) are:

Economy

Morris County has the third-highest

in the United States ($77,340). Based on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Morris County had a

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...

(GDP) of $52.5 billion in 2018, which was ranked 3rd in the state behind

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

counties and represented an increase of 1.7% from the previous year.

Taxation

Based on

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

data for the 2004 tax year, Morris County had the tenth-highest average federal income tax liability per return in the country. Average tax liability was $15,296, representing 16.3% of

adjusted gross income In the United States income tax system, adjusted gross income (AGI) is an individual's total gross income minus specific deductions. It is used to calculate taxable income, which is AGI minus allowances for personal exemptions and itemized deduc ...

. Mountain Lakes ranked among the highest annual

property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inhe ...

bills in New Jersey, and highest in Morris County, in 2018 of $20,471, compared to a statewide average of $8,767.

Business

Morris County is home to 33 Fortune 500 businesses that have headquarters, offices or a major facility in Morris County. These include

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...

, Colgate-Palmolive,

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

, Johnson & Johnson, ExxonMobil,

Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loc ...

BASF BASF SE () is a German multinational chemical company and the largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries ...

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...

, and Bayer, among others. Major industries include finance, insurance, real estate, pharmaceuticals, health services, research and development, and technology. There are set aside for 28 county parks. Four county golf courses and 16 public and private courses are in Morris. Major employers in the county include:

Housing expense

By national standards, housing is expensive in Morris County. In 2018, the median house price in Morris County was $469,900, the 2nd highest in the state behind Bergen County (with a median home price of $476,200). In the ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' magazine 2012 ranking of the ''Most Expensive ZIP Codes in the United States'', New Vernon (located within Harding Township) was ranked as the 32nd most expensive in the country, with a median home sale price of $2,701,885. There were a total of 6 Morris county zip codes listed in the top 500, which were

(No. 288; $909,474), Mendham (includes both Mendham Borough and Mendham Township) (No. 356; $800,672), Chatham (includes both Chatham Borough and Chatham Township) (No. 375; $776,703),

Florham Park Florham Park is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 11,696,Kinnelon (No. 462; $630,414). In the magazine's 2006 listing, New Vernon ( Harding Township) was ranked as the 23rd most expensive in the country, with its median home sale price in 2005 of $1,596,587 ranking as the state's 2nd highest behind

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

located Bergen County. In all, 5 Morris County zip codes were represented on the list in addition to New Vernon, including Mendham (includes both Mendham Borough and Mendham Township) (ranked No. 209; median sale price of $835,000),

(No. 217; $826,250), Green Village (located within portions of both Harding Township and Chatham Township) (No. 282; $777,465), and Chester (includes both Chester Borough and Chester Township) (No. 288; $775,000).

Education

As of 2018, 56.1 percent of Morris County residents were college graduates, the 2nd highest percentage in the state behind neighboring Somerset County with 58.0 percent. * The County College of Morris is a two-year public

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior se ...

serving students from Morris County, with its main campus in Randolph and was founded in 1965. * The Assumption College for Sisters is another two-year college, the private

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male stud ...

located in Mendham. The

Florham Park Florham Park is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 11,696,Madison– Convent Station ( Morris Township) area is also the home of three universities. * The Florham Campus of

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

, is located on the border of these three municipalities. *

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three sch ...

is a small, private

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

in Madison. * The

College of Saint Elizabeth Saint Elizabeth University (SEU) (formerly College of Saint Elizabeth) is a private Catholic, coeducational, four-year, liberal arts university in Morris Township, New Jersey. Portions of the campus are also in Florham Park. SEU has 25 unde ...

is a private

, four-year, liberal arts college located in Convent Station that has been coeducational starting in September 2016, after being women-only since it opened in 1899. The Morris Automated Information Network, which supplies Internet service to area libraries, turned down $10,000 per year in federal funding, starting in 2004. Acceptance of the grants would have required the network to install anti-porn content filters to comply with the

Children's Internet Protection Act The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is one of a number of bills that the United States Congress proposed to limit children's exposure to pornography and explicit content online. Background Both of Congress's earlier attempts at restri ...

. As these filters excluded legitimate information—such as pages with the word "breast" in online searches regarding "breast cancer"—the network declined to accept these grants. Another organization having the power to affect the county budget without county governmental control is the Morris County Board of Taxation, (also called the Morris County Tax Board). " e freeholders, and county government in general, do not have control over tax board spending. ... e tax board is an entity of state government, even though it submits expense vouchers to county government."

Arts and culture

THE GREEN, MORRISTOWN DISTRICT, MORRIS COUNTY

Mayo Performing Arts Center The Mayo Performing Arts Center (MayoPAC) is a nonprofit multi-use performing arts center located in Morristown, New Jersey, United States. History The Community Theatre was built in 1937 and was once the crown jewel of Walter Reade's chain o ...

(MPAC) is a former Walter Reade movie theater originally constructed in 1937 that has been converted into a 1,302-seat performing arts center. * Morris Museum – formally incorporated in 1943. The museum's permanent displays include rocks, minerals, fossils, animal mounts, a model railroad, and Native American crafts, pottery, carving, basketry and textiles. *

Morristown National Historical Park Morristown National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park, headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, consisting of four sites important during the American Revolutionary War: Jockey Hollow, the Ford Mansion, Fort Nonsense ...

— Four historic sites around Morristown associated with the American Revolutionary War, including

, a park that includes a visitor center, the Revolution-era Wick farm, encampment site of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

's Continental Army, and around 25 miles of hiking trails, and the Washington's Headquarters & Ford Mansion, a Revolution-era Georgian-style mansion used by George Washington as his headquarters during the Jockey Hollow encampment. *

Morristown Green Morristown Green, most commonly referred to as the Green, is a historical park located in the center of Morristown, New Jersey. It has an area of two and a half acres and has in the past served as a military base, a militia training ground, ...

– Park at the center of town which was the old town "common" or "green". It is the site of several Revolutionary War and Civil war monuments, and is surrounded by historic churches, the colonial county-courthouse, and a shopping and restaurant district. * St. Peter's Episcopal Church — Large McKim Mead and White church with bell tower, fine stained glass and medieval furnishings. *

Acorn Hall Acorn Hall is an 1853 Victorian architecture, Victorian Italianate mansion located at 68 Morris Avenue in Morristown, New Jersey, Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 1973, f ...

– 1853 Victorian Italianate mansion and home to the Morris County Historical Society. Donated to the historical society in 1971 by actress and political activist Mary Crane Hone, the mansion retained much of its original furnishings and accouterments as it remained in the same family for over a century. It is currently operated as a museum and is the headquarters of the Morris County Historical Society. *

Speedwell Ironworks Speedwell Ironworks was an ironworks in Speedwell Village, on Speedwell Avenue (part of U.S. Route 202), just north of downtown Morristown, in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. At this site Alfred Vail and Samuel Morse first demonstrate ...

is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

and museum at the site where the

electric telegraph Electrical telegraphs were point-to-point text messaging systems, primarily used from the 1840s until the late 20th century. It was the first electrical telecommunications system and the most widely used of a number of early messaging systems ...

was first presented to the public, on January 11, 1838. *

Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is one of the largest professional Shakespeare companies in North America, serving over 100,000 adults and children annually. Located in Madison, New Jersey, it is the state's largest theatre company dedica ...

, located in Madison is one of 25 professional theatres in the state. Serving 100,000 adults and children annually, it is New Jersey's only professional theatre company dedicated to Shakespeare's canon and other classic masterworks. The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, the company's main stage, is a short walk from Madison's downtown shopping district.

Sports

The

United States Equestrian Team The United States Equestrian Team (USET) refers to the American national teams in Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines of horse sport. US Equestrian, the governing body of horse sport in the United States, selects, trains and funds the teams. The O ...

, 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

Mennen Arena Mennen is a brand owned in most parts of the world by the Colgate-Palmolive Company. Its most notable product, Mennen Speed Stick, with its fougère perfume and green wide stick, was the US market leader among deodorants and antiperspirants for ...

in Morris Township, facilitated by The Morris County Park Commission, hosts various sporting events from ice hockey, figure skating, indoor football and outdoor rugby, to professional wrestling,

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

and Shrine Circus.

Points of interest

The County boasts 13,000 acres that encompass 28 parks making it the largest county park system in New Jersey based on acreage. Notably,

became the country's first National Historical Park in 1933.

National protected areas

Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is located in Morris County, New Jersey. Established in 1960, it now is among what has grown to be more than 550 refuges in the United States National Wildlife Refuge System. The initial portion of th ...

(part) *

* Troy Meadows

Other points of interest

* Morris County Golf Club, founded in 1894, was unique at the time in that it was established and operated by women. Two of the club's presidents have served as

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

presidents, which the club joined in 1895. The current course was designed in 1916 by architect

Seth Raynor Seth Jagger Raynor (May 7, 1874 – January 23, 1926) was an American golf course architect and engineer. He designed approximately 85 golf courses in about 13 years, his first in 1914, at age 40. His mentor was Charles Blair Macdonald, the creat ...

. The current clubhouse was built in 1919. * Rockaway Townsquare located in Rockaway Township is a super-regional mall anchored by

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

Lord & Taylor Lord & Taylor was the oldest brick and mortar department store in the United States, in business from 1826 to 2020. The brand was purchased during former owner Le Tote's 2020 liquidation bankruptcy and relaunched by new owner, Saadia Group, as ...

, J. C. Penney, &

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

with a

gross leasable area In architecture, construction, and real estate, floor area, floor space, or floorspace is the area (measured as square feet or square metres) taken up by a building or part of it. The ways of defining "floor area" depend on what factors of the buil ...

of , placing it in the top ten among the largest

shopping malls in New Jersey Shopping malls in New Jersey have played a major role in shaping the suburban landscape of the state following World War II. History New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the United States, and in the suburban sphere of influence of b ...

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the county had a total of of roadways, of which are maintained by the local municipality, by Morris County and by the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transporta ...

. Morris County is served by several major roadways including: * Interstate 80 * Interstate 280 *

Interstate 287 Interstate 287 (I-287) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US states of New Jersey and New York. It is a partial beltway around New York City, serving the northern half of New Jersey and the counties of Rockland and Westchester in ...

U.S. Route 46 U.S. Route 46 (US 46) is an east–west U.S. Highway completely within the state of New Jersey, running for , making it the shortest signed, non-spur U.S. Highway. The west end is at an interchange with Interstate 80 in New Jersey, Intersta ...

* U.S. Route 202 * U.S. Route 206 * Route 10 * Route 15 * Route 23 * Route 181 (Only in Jefferson Township) * Route 24 * Route 124 * County Route 513 * County Route 517 (Only in Washington Township) * County Route 510

Public transportation

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

also provides rail service with Morris County via its

Morris & Essex Lines The Morris & Essex Lines are a group of former Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad (DL&W) railroad lines in New Jersey now owned and operated by NJ Transit. The lines include service offered on the Morristown Line and the Gladstone Branch. P ...

and

Montclair-Boonton Line The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations in the United States. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R ...

Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by nine NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, one Metr ...

and to

via its

Midtown Direct The Kearny Connection is a railroad junction in Kearny, New Jersey that allows passenger trains from New Jersey Transit's Morris and Essex Lines to enter Amtrak's Northeast Corridor (NEC) and travel to and from New York Penn Station. The junc ...

service. Rail stations are located in the county providing electrified train service seven days a week from: Chatham, Madison, Convent Station, Morristown, Morris Plains, Denville, and Dover on NJ Transit's

; electrified train service seven days a week from Gillette, Millington and

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

on the Gladstone Branch; and diesel train service (weekdays only) from Mount Arlington,

, Netcong, Mount Olive,

, Boonton, Towaco (Montville) and Lincoln Park. Bus transportation is also offered by several carriers including Lakeland Bus Company and NJ Transit.

Air

Morristown Municipal Airport Morristown Airport is in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, three miles east of downtown Morristown and 27 miles west of Manhattan, New York City. Operated by DM AIRPORTS, LTD, it is in the Whippany section of Hanover. The National Plan ...

is a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

reliever airport A relief airport or reliever airport is an airport that is built or designated to provide relief or additional capacity to an area when the primary commercial airport(s) requires additional capacity, on a long-term or temporary basis. Reliever a ...

located east of downtown Morristown. Operated by DM Airports, Ltd, it is in the Whippany section of Hanover Township.

Local media

* WMTR is an AM radio station at 1250 kHz is licensed to Morristown and features an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...

format. * WDHA is an FM radio station (105.5 FM) broadcasting from Dover with their main studios in Cedar Knolls, featuring a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

format. * WJSV radio and television (90.5 FM) is also in Morristown,WJSV(FM)
FCCInfo.com. Accessed October 6, 2013. the non-profit radio station of

Morristown High School Morristown High School (MHS) is a four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from three communities in Morris County, United States, operating as part of the Morris School District. The school serves students ...

, which also has a television show which is shown on cable television, ''Colonial Corner''. *The ''

Morristown Daily Record Morristown may refer to: Places Canada *Morristown, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Morristown, Arizona *Morristown, Indiana ** Morristown station (Indiana) *Morristown, Minnesota ** Morristown Township, Rice County, Minnesota *Morrist ...

'' and ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...

'' and New Jersey Hills Media are published locally. *'' Hometown Tales'', a

Public-access television Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

cable TV show and podcast chronicling stories and urban legends from around the world, is loosely based in Morristown.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1739 establishments in New Jersey Counties in the New York metropolitan area North Jersey Populated places established in 1739