About Morris Plains NJ

The History

The American Indians of the Lenape tribe were the earliest residents of Morris Plains. Dutch and English settlements popped up in 1685. Thomas Pierson built a saw mill beside Thomson’s Pond. The area became known as Watnong Plains and was sparsely populated for many years. Early industry consisted of small mills and forges that used the Watnong Brook for power.

Over the years Watnong Plains became known as the Plains of Morris and was centered on the “Five Corners“ area where Speedwell Avenue, Hanover Avenue and Mountain Way intersect. The Morris and Essex Railroad arrived in 1848. Development began in town in late 19th century as its location along the rail road and its close proximity to New York City and other urban areas made it attractive to wealthy commuters, they built large estates whose names remain with us today. Idlewild, Mayfair to name a few.

In 1876 the New Jersey Asylum for the Insane (now the Greystone Psychiatric Hospital) opened its doors. Something of note will be that Greystone will be featured in the opening episodes of the dramatic TV series “House” during this fall’s 2009 TV season. With the opening of the hospital brought more jobs and commerce to the area. New immigrants flowed into the town requiring housing. The first planned subdivision in Morris Plains was developed in 1898 by local landowner F.W. Jaqui when he laid out 43 small building lots on what is now Jaqui Avenue. In addition across town Father Brennan pastor of Saint Vigilius (now Saint Virgil’s) made 56 lots available to his parishioners in the area known as Fairchild.

Improvements in transportation continued to encouraged commerce and development of the area. At the end of the Century Daniel Merchant developed a commercial area near the train station. The Merchant building still stands today and is home to a bank, grocery store and office space. Newer neighborhoods rose up around the area many of the designs were influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement of the time. These homes featured wide roof over hangs and square porch piers. The most famous is the Stickley House known as Silver Birch or the Parker House depending on who you talk to, located at the corner of Littleton and Court Road.

Originally a part of Hanover Township, Morris Plains became an independent municipality in 1926. Today Morris Plains is a thriving family community with a compact downtown of small friendly shops clustered around the train station. The current population is about 5,200 with 2,000 families and covers an area of 2.6 square miles. Despite growth and change many of the town’s historic buildings can still be seen today.

Styles of Homes and Sections

Morris Plains offers many different styles of Homes. There are the early colonial 4 square style homes of the Glenbrook Road section to the smaller Cape Cod and bungalow style homes that can be found in the Flats. The 1960’s saw the continued development of larger homes on the Hill what is known as Holiday Ridge Section. These homes consist of split levels ranches and center and side hall colonials. As the need for more housing became apparent during the baby boomer years the sections of Watnong, Beech Wood, Greenwood and Forest Drive areas where built in a very nice mix of different styles, consisting of colonial’s splits ranches and bi levels.

Recreation

The Town offers a wonderful Recreational Department. This group of dedicated volunteers oversees recreational programs that offer something for everyone. The Community Park Recreational Facility offers lighted baseball fields, softball Fields, tennis s courts a volley ball court and a pond that is the site for the annual “Uncle Frank’s Fishing Tournament”. The two jewel s of the complex are the Morris Plains Community Pool and the Community Center. The pool is the home of the Morris Plains Marlins Swim team that has gone undefeated in their last two seasons. The town Community Center offers adult education classes, exercise classes and is the home of The Morris Plains Museum.

It also offers meeting space for the many town organizations. It was the foresight of Honorable Paul Bangiola a past mayor and the town fathers that saw the need for this facility and took the steps to develop the site in 1963.

The town offers facilities for Little League, soccer, lacrosse and roller hockey organizations and is very supportive of these programs. Each summer the town offers a half day camp for six weeks that features recreation and artistic programs for children of the town. These programs have gone a long way to awakening the talents of future artists and athletes , allowing them to blossom at the high school level. http://db.morrisplainsboro.org/recreation-news.asp https://www.morrisplainssports.com/source/ControllingFramePage.asp

The senior citizens group offers classes, trips and presentations for all that are interested. The Garden club is involved in town beautification and does a wonderful job. The garden at Roberts Gardens is a testament to their talent and is worth the time to visit. The club is opened to anyone who wishes to join. http://db.morrisplainsboro.org/docs/ALLSEASONSGARDENCLUB.pdf

Other Highlights are the Memorial Day Parade, Family Day and the July Forth Fireworks, the Labor Day Block Party, the Bon Fire in the Fall and the Holiday Tree Lighting , just to name a few.

Education

The Morris Plans School District consists of two grammar schools that provide wide range of excellent programs for the students from kindergarten through 8th grade.

The Mountain Way School has approximately 230 students enrolled and runs from grades kindergarten though second.

The Borough School has approximately 370 students and children are enrolled for the third grade through eighth. http://www.morris.k12.nj.us/mps/MPS%20Website/indexeve.html

Saint Virgil’s Catholic School serves students from pre-kindergarten through Grades Eight and operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson. http://www.stvirgil.org

Students in public school for grades 9-12 attend Morristown High School as part of a sending receiving relationship with the Morris School District which also serves the communities of Morristown and Morris Township (for grades K-12) http://www.morristownhighschool.org/

There are many other prestigious private high schools in the area Delbarton Morristown Beard School and St Elizabeth’s Morris Township, Newark Academy in Livingston and Morris Catholic in Denville to name a few.

Places of Worship

There are number of houses of worship that serve the religious needs of the residents of Morris Plains. Saint Virgil’s Catholic Church was founded in 1881 and has had a proud role in the town history. The church is located at the intersection of Speedwell and Hanover Avenues. The Saint Virgil Choir is well known through out the area. The Saint Virgils School provides an excellent education for students from pre-k through the eighth grade. http://www.stvirgil.org/contactus.html

The Presbyterian Church of Morris Plains is a vibrant and growing church family and invites all to join in any of their worship services, ministries, or fellowship opportunities. The Bell Choir at the Presbyterian Church is a must see during the holidays and have won many awards. The Joyful Noise Preschool provides full day care for children ages 2 ½ to 5 years of age http://pcmp.communityspice.com/content/

The Trinity Lutheran Church also known as TLC is and active caring and growing fellowship. Members of Trinity consider themselves a close dynamic welcoming church family strongly committed to community outreach. Their doors are open to all people. http://www.tlcmp.com/index.html

St. Paul's is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark and of the Anglican Communion. It first opened it doors in Morris Plains in 1922. They have grown from a small group of members worshipping at a fraternal hall to a larger group joining for worship and ministry. They are a friendly, welcoming church. The Homeless Solutions Program 2009 and the involvement in the Interfaith Food Pantry are programs well supported by the congregation. http://www.stpaulsmp.org/aboutus.htm

Temple B’nai Or, a reformed Congregation has been in existence for over 100 hundred years. Its congregation has had a long history of community and social service with involvement in the local soup kitchen and the coalition for the homeless. Through the years, Temple has received grants for special projects focusing on seniors and the ecology and recognition for its devotion to interfaith families and victims of domestic abuse. http://www.templebnaior.org/who/history

Transportation

Morris Plains is served by the Morristown Line of the NJ Transit rail road system. It offers service to the Hoboken Path Terminal and Mid down Direct to New York Penn Station. Its close proximity to interstates 80, 280, 78, and 287 make it convenient to travel by car. Newark Liberty International Airport is with 45 minutes of Morris Plains. Morris Plains is also served by the Morris County Metro which provides for bus service to the surrounding towns. http://www.njtransit.com/