Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown (/ˈmɒrɪstaʊn/) is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[20] Morristown has been called "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the war for independence from Great Britain.[21][22] Morristown's history is visible in a variety of locations that collectively make up Morristown National Historical Park, the country's first National Historical Park.[23]
This article is about the town in Morris County. For other uses, see Morristown, New Jersey (disambiguation).
Morristown, New Jersey
1715
April 6, 1865
Town Council
Jillian Barrick[5]
Margot Kaye[6]
3.01 sq mi (7.79 km2)
2.91 sq mi (7.53 km2)
0.10 sq mi (0.25 km2) 3.26%
333rd of 565 in state
25th of 39 in county[1]
315 ft (96 m)
20,180
20,339
137th of 565 in state
9th of 39 in county[13]
6,937.1/sq mi (2,678.4/km2)
67th of 565 in state
2nd of 39 in county[13]
According to British colonial records, the first permanent settlement in Morristown was New Hanover, founded in 1715 by colonists from New York and Connecticut. Morris County was created on March 15, 1739, from portions of Hunterdon County. The county, and ultimately Morristown itself, was named for the popular Governor of the Province, Lewis Morris, who championed land ownership rights for colonists.[24][25]
Morristown was incorporated as a town by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 6, 1865, within Morris Township, and it was formally set off from the township in 1895.[26] As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 20,180,[10][11] an increase of 1,769 (+9.6%) from the 2010 census count of 18,411,[27][28] which in turn reflected a decline of 133 (−0.7%) from the 18,544 counted in the 2000 census.[29]
Sports[edit]
The New Jersey Stampede (formerly the Minutemen) are a professional inline hockey team that competes in the Professional Inline Hockey Association.[146]
The United States Equestrian Team, the international equestrian team for the United States, was founded in 1950 at the Coates estate on Van Beuren Road in Morristown.[147]
Morristown has a cricketing club, the first in North America.[148]
The Morristown 1776 Association Football Club is a soccer club that competes in the North Jersey Soccer League and MCSSA.
Government[edit]
Local government[edit]
Morristown is governed within the Faulkner Act, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under a Plan F Mayor-Council system of New Jersey municipal government, which went into effect on January 1, 1974.[7][149][150] The town is one of 71 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government.[151] The Morristown Town Council is composed of seven members, of which three members are elected at-large representing the entire town and one representative is chosen from each of the town's four wards. Members are elected on a partisan basis to four-year terms of office on a staggered basis in odd-numbered years as part of the November general election, with the four ward seats up for vote together and the at-large and mayoral seats up for vote together two years later. As the legislative arm of the government, the council is responsible for making and setting policy for the town.
As of 2024, the Mayor of Morristown is Democrat Timothy Dougherty, whose term of office ends December 31, 2025.[3] Members of the Morristown Town Council are Council President Nathan Umbriac (D; At Large, 2025), Council Vice President David Silva (D; At Large, 2025), Toshiba Foster (D; At Large, 2025), Robert Iannaccone (I, Ward I, 2027), Tina Lindsey (D, Ward II, 2027), Steven Pylypchuk (D, Ward III, 2027), and Christopher Russo (D; Ward IV, 2027).[152][153][154][155][156][157]
In 2019, Mary Dougherty, wife of Mayor Tim Dougherty was criminally charged with accepting bribe money from Attorney Matt O'Donnell. Mary had been running for a seat on the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 2018 when O'Donnell offered her $10,000, presumably to help him get awarded more contracts from the county for legal work.[158][159] In a plea agreement, Mary pled guilty in February 2021 to a reduced charge of falsifying a campaign finance report in exchange for dropping the bribery charge; she would face probation and a fine of $10,000.[160]
Media[edit]
Due to its proximity to New York City and Newark, daily newspapers serving the community are The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Star-Ledger.
The Morristown Daily Record was published locally, before being renamed the Daily Record and moving to a near-by location. The New Jersey Monthly magazine is published locally.[236]
WMTR is an AM radio station at 1250 kHz is licensed to Morristown. The station features an oldies format.[237]
WJSV radio (90.5 FM) is the nonprofit radio station of Morristown High School, which also has a television show, Colonial Corner.[238]
Hometown Tales, a public-access television show and podcast chronicling stories and urban legends from around the world, is loosely based in Morristown.