A History of Morris Township
Morris Township has steadily decreased in size since its formation on March 1, 1740. Originally it included nearly half of Morris County. Roxbury Township was the first to be set off from Morris in 1740, followed by Mendham Township in 1749, Chatham Township in 1806 and Passaic Township, including the present Harding, in 1867.
Today, Morris Township has an area of 15.45 square miles surrounding the town of Morristown in an irregular circle.
For 115 years Morristown and Morris Township were one legal and political entity living together amicably. The 1860 census gave some portent of what was to come. The Jerseyman reported on September 22, 1860:
- "The total population of Morris Township is 6,024, being an increase of 1,032 since 1850 and of 348 since 1855.
- Number of families 1,147;
- Dwellings 1,124;
- Farms 256;
- Churches 11, denominations., 3 Presbyterian, 3 Methodist, 2 Episcopalian, 1 Baptist, 1 Roman Catholic, 1 African.
- Deaths during the year, 67.
- Raised last year 9,191 bushels of Wheat, 5,649 of Rye, 64,808 of Oats, 118,245 of Corn, 7,262 tons of Hay and 8,730 lbs. of Tobacco; and 92,366 lbs. of Butter were made.
- There are in the Township 1,642 Horses, 36 Mules, 1500 Cows, 200 Oxen, 1100 Young Cattle, 1262 Sheep and 1600 Swine."
At that time, Morristown was a small village with a population of 3,426. The eleven churches were within walking distance of Morristown Green. Morristown was then, as now, the primary retail center for the entire Township. As with most urban areas it was beginning to have problems. Despite the best efforts of the Temperance Societies, the saloons did a thriving business on Saturday nights resulting in brawls and damage to property. Transients and incendiary fires were vexing problems indicating a need for better police and fire protection. If the Town were incorporated, said the prominent men who had recently formed the Morristown Gas Light Company, the streets could be lighted by gas, thereby alleviating some of these problems.
Morris Township, on the other hand, was a rural community where the wheat, oats and corn were grown. Except for the mills on Lake Valley Road and the brickyard on Mt. Kemble Avenue, industry was nonexistent. The Township was primarily concerned with maintaining its miles of roads, which extended far into the present Passaic Township, and with keeping wild dogs away from the sheep population.
Throughout the long years of the Civil War no mention was made in the newspapers of the possibility of a separation of the Town and Township. A special income tax of 5 percent, called a War Tax, was levied in 1863. The names of the inhabitants of Morris County with the amount of their income and the amount of their tax appeared in the newspapers for the years 1863, 1864 and 1865. It was obvious where the wealth in Morris Township was. It was in the Town and not in the hinterlands with the farmers.
