Convent Station is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
located within
Morris Township, in
Morris County, 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 so ...
of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. The community is named after the
Convent Station railroad station that was constructed along the
Morris and 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 ...
during the 1870s.
[Scheireik, Susan]
"If You're Thinking of Living in: Convent Station"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', March 14, 1993. Accessed May 18, 2023. "Convent Station owes its name to the nuns who provided funds in the 1870's for a train station next to St. Elizabeth's Academy for girls, a forerunner of one of the first women's colleges in New Jersey."
Among the neighborhoods of Convent Station are Bradwahl, Cromwell Hills, and the
Normandy Park Historic District; which was added in 1996 to both the
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
and New Jersey registers of historic places. The Morris Township Municipal Building and Police Headquarters are located in Convent Station.
The community is home to the
Morris County Golf Club, the
Morris Museum
Actively running since 1913, the Morris Museum is the second-largest museum in New Jersey at . The museum is fully accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
Museum history
1913–1957: early years
The Morris Children's Museum was found ...
, and
Saint Elizabeth University, a private
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, coeducational, four-year,
liberal arts university founded in 1899.
History
The community is named after the
railroad station
A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such ...
that was constructed there during the 1870s to serve the complex of the
Academy of Saint Elizabeth, a
Catholic school
Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...
currently operating under the auspices of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson
The Diocese of Paterson () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in North Jersey, northern New Jersey. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese ...
.
[Morris County](_blank)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson
The Diocese of Paterson () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in North Jersey, northern New Jersey. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese ...
Catholic Schools Office. Accessed June 7, 2016. The academy, the first secondary school for young women in the state, was founded in 1860 by the
Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth of New Jersey. The academy is a private
college preparatory school
A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily design ...
for young women with an enrollment of two hundred and thirty students.
In 1865, Morristown incorporated with a boundary that excluded the convent's large land holdings. That boundary line separated the two in 1895 when Morristown was formally set off from the township.
["The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 195.]
The
Saint Elizabeth University, which was founded on the campus in 1899, is the oldest college for women in New Jersey and one of the first Catholic colleges in the United States to award degrees to women. The Saint Elizabeth campus also includes the Villa of Saint Ann. At one time there also was a kindergarten and elementary school on the campus and, for many years, the complex was sustained by dairy products and produce from its own large farm.
Industry
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 automation, industrial automa ...
's global
headquarters
Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...
was previously located here, before controversially relocating to nearby
Morris Plains for a $40 million incentive package in 2015. Despite the relocation of their headquarters, Honeywell continues to inhabit office/lab space in Convent Station. The roughly site was redeveloped into 235 luxury townhomes, additional lab/office space (approximately ), a community center, and open, free-use space (including 4 ponds and of walking trails).
Points of interest
Morris Museum
Actively running since 1913, the
Morris Museum
Actively running since 1913, the Morris Museum is the second-largest museum in New Jersey at . The museum is fully accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
Museum history
1913–1957: early years
The Morris Children's Museum was found ...
is the second largest museum in New Jersey at . The museum is fully accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
Morris County Golf Club
Founded in 1894, the
Morris County Golf Club (MCGC) is a
private, members-only golf club
A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety o ...
located on .
[ The club was the first in the nation to be both managed and organized solely by women.]
In 1895, MCGC was among the first group of members the 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 rule ...
.["USGA Celebrates Pioneers in the Women's Game Through New Golf Museum Exhibit"](_blank)
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 rule ...
, July 26, 2017. Accessed June 15, 2023. "Located less than 30 miles from the present-day USGA campus, Morris County Golf Club was the first all-women's golf club to become a USGA Associate Member Club." In 1900, the club was one of the 10 founding member clubs of the New Jersey State Golf Association
Education
As part of Morris Township, residents of Convent Station are served by the Morris School District.
The Academy of St. Elizabeth is a Catholic school
Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...
for girls that admitted its first students in 1860. It operates independently of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson
The Diocese of Paterson () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in North Jersey, northern New Jersey. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese ...
. The school has an enrollment of 230 students and is the oldest school for girls in New Jersey.
The Saint Elizabeth University is a private Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, a private Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, coeducational, four-year, liberal arts university. The college was founded in 1899 by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth of New Jersey. The college began transitioning into a co-educational institution, starting with the 2016 freshman intake. The final all-female class graduated in 2019. The institution was accorded university status by the New Jersey Department of Education
The New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE) administers state and federal aid programs affecting more than 1.4 million public and non-public elementary and secondary school children in the state of New Jersey. The department is headquartered ...
as of July 1, 2020.
Transportation
Roads and highways
A few major roads pass through the community including Route 124, Route 24, and CR 510.
Public transportation
Convent Station is a NJ Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...
rail station located on the grounds of Saint Elizabeth University's campus. It provides rail transportation both east and west of Convent Station. The trains provide Midtown Direct service on the Morris & Essex Lines. Service is available on the Morristown Line to Newark Broad Street Station, Secaucus Junction
Secaucus Junction (signed as Secaucus) is an intermodal transit hub served by New Jersey Transit Rail Operations, New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) and Metro-North Railroad in Secaucus, New Jersey, Secaucus, New Jersey. It is one of the List of b ...
, and Penn Station New York. Service to 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 eight NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, an NJ T ...
is also provided.
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Convent Station include:
* A. B. Frost (1851-1928), illustrator and painter
* Connor Lade (born 1989), professional soccer player.[Canfarotta, Michael]
"SJU's homegrown Red Bull"
''Times Ledger'', December 16, 2011. Accessed July 18, 2012. "On Dec. 5, it was announced that Lade signed a contract with his hometown club. The Convent Station, N.J. native — from just outside Morristown — native was thrilled that he would be getting an opportunity to play for the team he grew up watching."
References
External links
Honeywell
The Morris Museum
College of Saint Elizabeth
Sisters of Charity
{{Authority control
Morris Township, New Jersey
Unincorporated communities in Morris County, New Jersey
Unincorporated communities in New Jersey