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HISTORY 18th Century Morristown was settled around 1715 by English Presbyterians from Southold, New York on Long Island and New Haven, Connecticut as the village of New Hanover. The town became the seat of the new Morris County shortly after its separation from Hunterdon County on March 15 , 1739 . The village and county were named for Lewis Morris , the first and then sitting Royal Governor of a united colony of New Jersey . By the mid-century the 250 people shared the village with two churches, a courthouse, two taverns, two schools, several stores, and numerous mills nearby. George Washington and the Continental Army was encamped near Morristown from January to May 1777. Washington had his headquarters during that first encampment at Jacob Arnold's Tavern located at the Morristown Green. The churches were used for Inoculation s for Smallpox . (That Headquarters, Arnold's Tavern, was eventually moved 1/2 mile south of the green to become All Souls Hospital in the late 1800's. It suffered a fire in 1918, and was demolished). All Souls During the second encampment from December 1779 to June 1780 at Jockey Hollow. Washington's second headquarters, here, was located at the Ford Mansion, a large mansion near what was then the 'edge of town.' Ford's widow and children shared the space with Martha and officers of the Continental Army. The winter of 1780 was the worst winter of the Revolutionary War. The starvation was complicated by extreme inflation of money and lack of pay for the army. During Washington's second stay, in March 1780, he declared , 2006 Martha Washington traveled from Virginia and was present with George each winter throuout the war. The Marquis De Lafayette brought news here in 1780 of aid from France. See http://Morristowns.com for images and history of the region. The Ford Mansion, Jockey Hollow, and Fort Nonsense are all preserved as part of Morristown National Historical Park managed by the National Park Service . During Washington's stay, Benedict Arnold was court-martialed at Dickenson's Tavern on Spring Street in Morristown, not for treason, but on lesser charges related to profiteering from military supplies at Philadelphia. His admonishment was made public, but Washington quietly promised the hero, Arnold, to make it up to him. He was later given control of West Point, New York , which he almost succeeded in giving to the British. Alexander Hamilton courted and wed Betsy Schuyler at the residence used by Washington's personal physician. The home on Olyphant Place is owned and operated by the Daughters Of The American Revolution as the Schuyler-Hamilton House. 19th Century The Marquis de Lafayette returned to Morristown in July 1825 on his return tour of the United States, where a ball was held in his honor at the 1807 Sansay House on DeHart Street, which still stands. Antoine Le Blanc , a French immigrant laborer murdered the Sayre family and their servant (or possibly slave) Phoebe. He was tried and convicted of murder of the Sayres (but not Phoebe) on August 13 , 1833 . On September 6 , 1833 , Le Blanc became the last person hanged on the Morristown Green. The house where the murders were committed is today known as Jimmy's Haunt which is purported to be haunted by Phoebe's ghost since her murder never saw justice. Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail built the first telegraph at the Speedwell Iron Works on January 6 , 1838 . The first telegraph message was "A patient waiter is no loser." The first public demonstration occurred eleven days later as the first step towards the information age we enjoy today. Jacob Arnold's Tavern was purchased by the Colles family to save it from demolition in 1886. It was moved by horse-power in the winter of 1887 from "the green" (after being stuck on Bank street for about six weeks) to a site 1/2 mile south on Mount Kemble Avenue at what is now a parking lot for the Atlantic RIMM Rehabilitation Hospital. It became a boarding house for four years until it was converted by the Grey Nuns from Montreal into the first All Souls Hospital. George and Martha's 2nd floor ballroom became a chapel and the first floor tavern became a ward for patients. The building was lost to a fire in 1918. The organization, Nurses, Doctors and patients of All Souls Hospital were then moved across Mt. Kemble Avenue (Route 202) to the newly built brick hospital building. See many photos of Washington's Jacob Arnold Tavern Headquarters at http://Morristown.org/AllSouls.htm . Many images : http://Morristown.org/ About the town and the RevWar heros here. http://Morristown.org/tompaine.htm His statues around the world. http://Morristown.org/green.htm Old post cards and photos of the green. GEOGRAPHY Morristown is located at 40°47'56" North, 74°28'43" West (40.798900,-74.478526). According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 7.8 Km&2 (3.0 Mi&2 ). 7.6 km&2 (2.9 mi&2) of it is land and 0.2 km&2 (0.1 mi&2) of it is water. The total area is 2.00% water. DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census of 2000, there were 18,544 people, 7,252 households, and 3,698 families residing in the town. The Population Density was 2,435.3/km&2 (6,303.9/mi&2). There were 7,615 housing units at an average density of 1,000.1/km&2 (2,588.7/mi&2). The racial makeup of the town was 67.63% White , 16.95% Black or African American , 0.22% Native American , 3.77% Asian , 0.06% Pacific Islander , 8.48% from Other Races , and 3.36% from two or more races. 27.15% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 7,252 households out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.4% were Married Couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.0% were non-families. 38.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.19. In the town the population was spread out with 18.4% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 40.4% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $57,563, and the median income for a family was $66,419. Males had a median income of $42,363 versus $37,045 for females. The Per Capita Income for the town was $30,086. 11.5% of the population and 7.1% of families were below the Poverty Line . 11.5% of those under the age of 18 and 14.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. GOVERNMENT Local government Morristown is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government. The Mayor of Morristown is Donald Cresitello ( Democrat ), elected in November 2005 to office for a 4-year term starting January 1 , 2006 , succeeding two-term Mayor John J. DeLaney ( Republican ), who did not run for re-election. Members of the Morristown Town Council are:
Federal, state and county representation Morristown is in the Eleventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 25th Legislative District. EDUCATION The Morris School District is a regional school district that serves the communities of Morristown and Morris Township (for grades K-12), along with students Morris Plains for grades 9-12 only, as part of a sending / receiving relationship. The district provides a supportive and challenging educational environment 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 . TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT " in Morristown]] Morristown has been one of the leading New Jersey municipalities in terms of implementing Transit-oriented Development . The administration of New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey embraced " Smart Growth " as a way of curing New Jersey’s ills caused by sprawling development. Morristown was one of the first five “transit villages” designated in New Jersey in 2000. In 1999, Morristown changed it’s zoning code to designate the area around the train station “Transit Village Core” for mixed-use. The designation was at least partly responsible for a development frenzy that includes plans for several mixed-use condominium developments with asking prices ranging from $600,000 to over $1,000,000 per unit. As a town located on New Jersey Transit rail service, it benefitted from shortened commuting times to New York City due to the "Midtown Direct" service New Jersey Transit instituted in the 1990's. INTERESTING FACTS
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