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AHistory
History · Morristown

Morristown dates to 1808, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns. What drives it

9 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1820.

1808founded
9on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Morristown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Morristown began

When was Morristown founded?

1808

Morristown dates its founding to 1808 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 827 in 18202020 census: 2,082218 years

How historic is Morristown?

A

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1816.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Morristown’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Morristown is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Morristown’s overall grade.
Founding era1808, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194031.3% of homes (±6.3) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register9 listings, 12 historic buildings, 46.7 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 91%
NewerOlder

New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Morristown’s 46.7 sits above most of its state (68% of New York towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). Two sources give 1808.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Morristown’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Morristown, and 7 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,809 in 1840; 2,082 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19064 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1982. Watch Morristown change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Morristown’s post office has been open since 1816. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Morristown
1816–today
Edwardsville
1837–1925
Black Lake
1850–1899
Brier Hill
1851–today
Cedars
1892–1899
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Black LakeBrier HillCedarsEdgewater ParkEdwardsvilleMorristown CenterTerrace Park
Gone or out of use
School Number 11schoolSchool Number 11schoolSchool Number 14schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 7schoolSchool Number 9school
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Morristown
Black LakeGreenwoodPine HillSunnyside

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Start Morristown’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Morristown’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLAND OFFICE: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Morristown, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0001850190019502000Peak: 2,809

Peaked at 2,809 in 1840; 2,082 people lived here in 2020.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Morristown’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Morristown came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Morristown.

Read it all →

The town, part of Macomb's Purchase, was first settled permanently circa 1808 on the site of the present hamlet (and former village) of Morristown.

One of the first battles in the War of 1812 was a naval battle in the St. Lawrence River between two warships.

The town was established in 1821 from part of the Town of Oswegatchie, where it was known as "Haque.". Morristown was reduced twice to make new towns: Hammond (1827) and Macomb (1841).

Due to the lack of waterpower, a windmill was erected in 1828, but stopped working and was abandoned two years later.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Morristown, 1808 to 1970

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1808
    FoundingMorristown is established
  3. 1816Post officeThe Morristown post office opens
  4. 1837Post officeThe Edwardsville post office opens
  5. 1840CensusPopulation peaks at 2,809
  6. 1846Born hereJohn E. Haggart is born here
  7. 1850Post officeThe Black Lake post office opens
  8. 1879Born hereCharles Shepard Chapman is born here
  9. 1899Post officeThe Black Lake post office closes
  10. 20th century
  11. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  12. 1925Post officeThe Edwardsville post office closes
  13. 1970In the archiveLAND OFFICE
By decade

Morristown, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s3 items
LAND OFFICE1970LAND OFFICEMORRISTOWN SCHOOL1970MORRISTOWN SCHOOLUnited Methodist Church1970United Methodist Church
1980s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Amish farm2012Amish farmMorristown NY2011Morristown NY
On the map

Morristown on the map, 1906 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Morristown. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Morristown on the 1906 USGS mapMorristown on the 1942 USGS mapMorristown on the 1963 USGS mapMorristown on the 1982 USGS map1906Brier Hill 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 Morristown.

Every building

Morristown, building by building, 1909

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Morristown fire insurance map, 1909, sheet 21909Sheet 2 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

LAND OFFICE
Retake this viewLAND OFFICE, 1970

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Morristown’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

9 historic places in Morristown

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
12
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Jacob Ford House
Jacob Ford HouseLand OfficeMorristown SchoolhousePaschal Miller HouseStone WindmillUnited Methodist ChurchWright's Stone StoreYoung Memorial ChurchSamuel Stocking House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival3
Federal2
Early 20th Century1
Arts and Crafts1
Jacob Ford HouseFederal
Land OfficeGreek Revival
Morristown SchoolhouseBuilding
Paschal Miller HouseGreek Revival
Stone WindmillBuilding
United Methodist ChurchBuilding
Wright's Stone StoreBuilding
Young Memorial ChurchEarly 20th Century
All 9 listings
Samuel Stocking HouseBuilding · listed 1982

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Morristown

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Charles Shepard ChapmanAmerican painter · b. 1879
J
John E. HaggartAmerican politician · b. 1846
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

MacombIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHammond1 historic placeA−Oswegatchie2 historic placesA−

Questions about Morristown’s history

What year was Morristown founded?

In 1808, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Morristown’s post office opened in 1816, and the census of 1820 counted 827 people here.

How does Morristown rank for history?

Morristown is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns. 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 Morristown?

9 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Jacob Ford House (listed 1982, the first). 12 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Morristown?

31% of Morristown’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1964.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.