Morris Township dates to 1740, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #39 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
13 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 164 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1810.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1777.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Morris Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Morris Township is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #39 of 468 in New Jersey. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Morris Township’s overall grade.
New Jersey towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Jersey town has 3.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Morris Township’s 81.1 sits above most of its state (84% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 190 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1740.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Morris Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Morris Township was originally formed as of March 25, 1740. The township was named for Lewis Morris, colonial governor of New Jersey.
Portions of the township were taken on December 24, 1740, to form Roxbury Township and on March 29, 1749, to form Mendham Township. Morris Township was incorporated as a township by the Township Act of 1798 by the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798, as part of the state's initial group of 104 townships.
Portions of the township were later taken to create Chatham Township (February 12, 1806), Morristown (April 6, 1865, fully independent in 1895) and Passaic Township (on March 23, 1866, now Long Hill Township).
Passages that mention Morris Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Morris County, New Jersey1914 · page 370Read the page →
Read the text
March 6, 1849. The Trustees gave a call to Mr. Stiles of Morris Township to take charge of our school. April 7, 1851. B. C. Magie, chairman. Charles Sammis, Secretary. Resolved that the Trustees take necessary action to become incorporated.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Morris Township, 1740 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Morris Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Morristown sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Morris Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewMorris Canal, near Morris, 1911
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Morris Township’s page.
In 1740, according to Wikidata. Morris Township’s post office opened in 1777, and the census of 1810 counted 3,753 people here.
How does Morris Township rank for history?
Morris Township is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #39 of 468 in New Jersey. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Morris Township?
13 listings: 9 buildings, 3 historic districts, the Washington Valley Historic District, the Normandy Park and the Pruddentown Historic District, with 164 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 190 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Morris Township?
15% of Morris Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1968.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (8), the National Register of Historic Places (13), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
c. 1915
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