Morristown, New Jersey

• 1. The Military Capital

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  In the winter of 1779, General George Washington and his Continental Army huddled inside the Ford Mansion near Morristown. The air was so cold that soldiers froze to death on the frozen ground outside. This location became known as the military capital of the American Revolution because of its strategic importance during the war for independence from Great Britain. Washington chose this spot between Philadelphia and New York while being protected by the Watchung Mountains from British troops camped in New York City. The community provided food and arms through local industries and natural resources. Churches were used for inoculations against smallpox which threatened the army's health. From December 1779 to June 1780, the second encampment at Jockey Hollow saw the worst winter of the Revolutionary War. Starvation complicated extreme inflation and lack of pay for the army. The entire Pennsylvania contingent successfully mutinied while later 200 New Jersey soldiers also attempted unsuccessfully to mutiny. Many soldiers died due to weak health during this harsh period. Martha Washington traveled from Virginia and remained with her husband each winter throughout the war. The Marquis de Lafayette came to Washington in Morristown to inform him that France would be sending ships and trained soldiers to aid the Continental Army. Benedict Arnold was court-martialed at Dickerson's Tavern on Spring Street for charges related to profiteering from military supplies at Philadelphia. Alexander Hamilton courted and wed Elizabeth Schuyler at a residence where Washington's personal physician resided. Locally known as the Schuyler-Hamilton House, the Dr. Jabez Campfield House is listed on both the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places.

• 2. The Telegraph Birthplace

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  Samuel F. B. Morse and Alfred Vail built the first telegraph at the Speedwell Ironworks in Morristown on the 6th of January 1838. The first telegraph message read A patient waiter is no loser. The first public demonstration of the invention occurred five days later as an early step toward the Information Age. This eight-acre National Historic Landmark has established its place in world history several times over. It was here in 1838 at the start of the Industrial Revolution that Samuel F.B. Morse and Alfred Vail demonstrated a perfected electromagnetic telegraph to the public. The factory building stands today as a museum preserving this pivotal moment in communication history. George P. Macculloch conceived the idea for the Morris Canal in 1822 and convened a group to discuss his concept. Governor Isaac Halstead Williamson joined the discussion leading to approval by the New Jersey Legislature later that year. The canal was used for a century before falling into disuse. In 1827 St. Peter's Episcopal Church was founded at the behest of Bishop George Washington Doane and many prominent Morristown Families including George P. Macculloch of the Morris Canal. When rebuilt by the internationally famous architectural firm McKim Mead and White beginning in 1889 the congregation erected one of the United States finest church buildings. Antoine le Blanc murdered the Sayre family and their servant Phoebe on the 13th of August 1833. He became the last person hanged on the Morristown Green on the 6th of September 1833.

• 3. Millionaires Row

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  Starting in the mid-1800s Morristown became a popular summer retreat for some of New York City's wealthiest residents. From the 1870s onwards immense estates were built up along once rural thoroughfares. Madison Avenue which runs along Morristown and Madison New Jersey became known as the street of the 100 millionaires due to the sheer extravagance of the houses constructed. Between 1880 and 1929 the Gilded Age of Morristown occurred when dozens of millionaires with large fortunes built their estates. By 1896 an estimated 54 millionaires lived in the Morristown area with a total wealth of $289,000,000. Six years later in 1902 there were at least 91 millionaires including lawyer George Griswold Frelinghuysen carpet-making heir Eugene Higgins banker Otto Hermann Kahn Luther Kountze and Louis A. Thebaud. Charles Grant Foster bought the farm estate and mansion of Union Army general Joseph Warren Revere in 1881. This became Fosterfields a Jersey cow farm later managed by Caroline Rose Foster though most of its herd was sold in a 1927 auction. In 1979 it was donated to the Morris County Park Commission. The site currently houses a living history museum and Revere's historic house. Even smaller estates without deer herds polo fields or private gas plants necessitated multiple indoor and outdoor employees such as butlers housekeepers parlor-maids and upstairs maids. The Gilded Age ended in 1929 due to high cost of maintaining estates increasing income taxes and the stock market crash that led to the Great Depression. Many mansions closed or burned during this economic collapse.

• 4. Modern Population And Economy

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  As of the 2020 United States census the town's population was 20,180 its highest decennial census count ever. This represented an increase of 1,769 plus 9.6% from the 2010 census count of 18,411. The racial makeup included 49.29 percent white 10.05 percent black or African-American 1.71 percent Native American or Alaska Native 4.8 percent Asian 0.06 percent Pacific Islander 20.47 percent from other races and 13.63 percent from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race made up 25.6 percent of the population. The median household income was $111,130 with a margin of error of plus minus $13,384. Morristown Medical Center with 5,500 employees is Morristown's largest employer. In a ruling issued in June 2015 Tax Court Judge Vito Bianco ruled that the hospital would be required to pay property taxes on nearly all of its campus. Since 1929 more than 16,000 guide dogs for the blind from The Seeing Eye Inc have been trained on the streets of Morristown. The oldest such school in the United States continues to operate today connecting guide dogs with blind and visually impaired students. Companies based in Morristown include Capsugel Reworld Louis Berger Group Schindler Group and Honeywell. The town has attempted to implement transit-oriented development since being designated one of New Jersey's first five transit villages in 1999.

• 5. Preserving History

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  Morristown National Historical Park stands as the country's first National Historical Park established by the National Park Service. Four historic sites around Morristown are associated with the American Revolutionary War including Jockey Hollow a park that includes a visitor center the Revolution-era Wick farm encampment site of George Washington's Continental Army and around 25 miles of hiking trails. Ford Mansion served as Washington's headquarters during the Jockey Hollow encampment from December 1779 to June 1780. Acorn Hall is an 1853 Victorian Italianate mansion and home to the Morris County Historical Society. Mary Crane Hone donated the mansion and five acres of surrounding property in 1971. It retained much of its original furnishings and accouterments as it remained in the same family for over a century. Speedwell Ironworks remains a National Historic Landmark where the electric telegraph was first presented to the public on the 11th of January 1838. An equestrian statue of George Washington by sculptor Frederick Roth is located near the Ford Mansion dedicated on the 19th of October 1928. One of only two heroic statues of Thomas Paine in the United States is located in Morristown. The Alliance featuring bronze figures of George Washington Alexander Hamilton and Marquis de Lafayette stands in the Morristown Green. A statue of Morris Frank co-founder of The Seeing Eye guide dog school for the blind and his dog Buddy stands in a corner of the green.