Denville Township, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Denville Township, New Jersey
Township
E.C. Peer & Sons Store Ayres Farmstead Cedar Lake
Seal
Nickname(s):  "Hub of Morris County"
Location of Denville Township in Morris County highlighted in red (right). Inset map: Location of Morris County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (left).
Census Bureau map of Denville, New Jersey <mapframe text="Interactive map of Denville, New Jersey" zoom="8" width="250" height="250"> { "type": "ExternalData", "service": "geoshape", "ids": "Q3016777" } </mapframe>
Denville Township, New Jersey Location in Morris County, New Jersey Show map of Morris County, New Jersey Denville Township, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Denville Township, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Morris
Incorporated	April 14, 1913
Named for	Daniel Denton
Government
• Type	Faulkner Act (mayor–council)
• Body	Township Council
Area
• Total	12.74 sq mi (32.99 km2)
• Land	11.99 sq mi (31.06 km2)
• Water	0.75 sq mi (1.94 km2)  5.86%
Area rank	185th of 565 in state 14th of 39 in county
Elevation	505 ft (154 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	17,107
• Estimate  (2023)	17,148
• Rank	156th of 565 in state 12th of 39 in county
• Density	1,426.5/sq mi (550.8/km2)
• Density rank	343rd of 565 in state 20th of 39 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07834
Area code(s)	973
FIPS code	3402717650
GNIS feature ID	0882204

Denville Township is a township in Morris County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a commuter town of New York City in the New York metropolitan area, located 35 miles (56 km) west of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 17,107, an increase of 472 (+2.8%) from the 2010 census count of 16,635, which in turn reflected an increase of 811 (+5.1%) from the 15,824 counted in the 2000 census.

Located at the center of the county, Denville's access to major transportation routes has made it known as the Hub of Morris County. The township's location in Morris County has contributed to the growth of its "eclectic downtown", along with four membership lake communities developed a century ago as summer colonies.

NJ Transit rail service is available at the Denville station, a large three-platform station serving both the Morristown and the Montclair-Boonton train lines, with service to Hoboken Terminal or to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan via Midtown Direct.

Denville was formed as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 14, 1913, from portions of Rockaway Township.

History

Lenape Native Americans were known to travel the Minisink Trail for centuries before Europeans arrived in New Jersey. Part of that trail cut across what is now southern Denville, roughly following the course of Route 10 and Mount Pleasant Turnpike. Some research has indicated that there was a Lenape campsite along the trail in Denville, on or near the Ayres / Knuth Farm Historic Site along Route 10.

When Dutch and English settlers began to arrive in the new world in the early 17th century, the Minisink Trail was the likely route they traveled to explore the interior. Daniel Denton, one of the purchasers of what is known as the Elizabethtown Tract in 1664, led an expedition into the interior of northern New Jersey. In 1670, he wrote the first English language description of the area. Some researchers conclude that the name "Denville" derives from Denton.

Some researchers have suggested that European settlers began to come to the Denville area as early as 1690. These early settlers were primarily Dutch and English from Long Island, Quakers from Philadelphia, and Germans. William Penn and several other proprietors began to survey and stake out lands in the Denville area around 1715. These surveys are the first documentation of Denville. Between 1730 and 1760, several forges and mills were erected in Denville along the Rockaway River and the Denbrook. A number of communities associated with the forges and mills began to emerge. Ninkey and Franklin in southern Denville developed around the forges there of the same names. Denville village developed around the Job Allen Iron Works. Early developers of Denville, such as the Hussa family and A.B Crane & Co., were intrinsic in shaping the residential and lake communities.

An alternative explanation for the derivation of the township's name came from a letter from early Denville settler John Hinchman in the year 1800, in which he recounted some of the oral history of Denville from 50 years earlier, as stated to him by some of the elders of the time. Hinchman explains in his letter that the naming of Denville can be traced to a "den" of wild animals located in the swampy regions along the Denbrook and Rockaway River. The animals would bask on a knoll that juts out into the meadows where they were hunted by the native Lenape. This "den", Hinchman wrote, was the basis for the name of Denville and the Denbrook.

Geography

Broadway, Denville's main street

The township had a total area of 12.74 square miles (32.99 km²), including 11.99 square miles (31.06 km²) of land and 0.75 square miles (1.94 km²) of water (5.86%).

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Cedar Lake, Cooks Pond, Cooper Lake, Franklin, Indian Lake, Lake Arrowhead, Lake Estling, Lake Openaka, Openaka Lake, Rock Ridge, Snake Hill, and Union Hill.

The township borders the Morris County municipalities of Mountain Lakes and Parsippany-Troy Hills to the east, Morris Township to the South, Randolph to the south and west, Rockaway Borough to the west, Rockaway Township to the north and west, and Boonton Township to the north and east.

Denville has 11 named bodies of water within township limits. The four major residential lake communities are Cedar Lake, Indian Lake, Rock Ridge and Lake Arrowhead (including Great Bay and Bay of Deep Waters). Estling Lake is a private summer community. The three minor lakes are Cooper Lake, Hollstein Lake, and Openaki Lake. The town also has Cooks Pond, a recreational lake available for public use by membership.

Most residents of Denville live in the non-lake communities in the township, including Bald Hill, Beacon Hill and Union Hill.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 16,635 people, 6,432 households, and 4,509 families in the township. The population density was 1,401.8 per square mile (541.2/km²). There were 6,734 housing units at an average density of 567.4 per square mile (219.1/km²). The racial makeup was 89.49% (14,887) White, 1.42% (236) Black or African American, 0.12% (20) Native American, 6.52% (1,084) Asian, 0.01% (1) Pacific Islander, 0.78% (129) from other races, and 1.67% (278) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.31% (883) of the population.

Of the 6,432 households, 32.1% had children under the age of 18; 59.8% were married couples living together; 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present and 29.9% were non-families. Of all households, 25.6% were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.12.

23.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 31.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.4 years. For every 100 females, the population had 91.4 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 87.9 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $103,435 (with a margin of error of +/− $5,379) and the median family income was $122,600 (+/− $7,473). Males had a median income of $85,571 (+/− $9,730) versus $61,382 (+/− $2,135) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $49,990 (+/− $3,235). About none of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

In 2003, the Shoppes at Union Hill, a 92,000-square-foot (8,500 m²) outdoor lifestyle center, opened along Route 10.

Sports

The game of American flag rugby was first played in Denville, introduced to the township by resident Tom Feury.

Parks and recreation

The Tourne county park is in portions of Denville, Boonton Township and Mountain Lakes. The park covers more than 540 acres (220 ha) of undeveloped land and offers a view of the New York City skyline from its peak standing 897 feet (273 m) high.

Chamber of Commerce

Saint Clare's Hospital, Denville's largest employer

The chamber is focused on making the community and business districts a better place for businesses, residents and visitors. Each year a pair of teenagers are crowned as Mr. and Miss Denville. They are participants in a winter holiday parade and weekend-long celebration. They are chosen for their volunteer work in Denville, and overall hard work.

Education

Morris Knolls High School

The Denville Township School District serve public school students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of three schools, had an enrollment of 1,629 students and 152.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.7:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Lakeview Elementary School with 649 students in grades Pre-K–5, Riverview Elementary School with 382 students in grades K–5 and Valleyview Middle School with 587 students in grades 6–8. Riverview Elementary School was one of nine schools in New Jersey honored in 2020 by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, which recognizes high student achievement.

Students in public school for ninth through twelfth grades typically attend Morris Knolls High School, which is located in Denville, but has a Rockaway address, along with most students from Rockaway Township. The high school is part of the Morris Hills Regional High School District, which also serves the residential communities of Rockaway Borough and Wharton. As of the 2018–2019 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,434 students and 128.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.2:1.

Morris Catholic High School is a four-year comprehensive Roman Catholic regional high school that was founded in 1957, which is operated as part of the Diocese of Paterson.

Assumption College for Sisters is a two-year Roman Catholic women's college. Founded in 1953 through an affiliation with Seton Hall University, Assumption is run by the Sisters of Christian Charity. Primarily designed to prepare women for work in religious vocations, Assumption specializes in theological studies and the liberal arts. It is the last remaining sisters' college, or college primarily designed to educate nuns, in the United States. In 2014, the school relocated to a convent on the campus of Morris Catholic High School.

Transportation

Interstate 80 westbound at the exit for U.S. Route 46 and Route 53 in Denville.

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 94.01 miles (151.29 km) of roadways, of which 83.83 miles (134.91 km) were maintained by the municipality, 2.60 miles (4.18 km) by Morris County and 7.58 miles (12.20 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Route 10, Route 53, U.S. Route 46 and Interstate 80 pass through the Township.

Public transportation

Denville station services both of the New Jersey Transit's lines of Morristown and Montclair-Boonton.

The Denville station offers train service to Hoboken Terminal or to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan via Midtown Direct on NJ Transit's Morristown Line and Montclair-Boonton Line. Denville is actually two stations located within the same property. The Morristown Line station is two platforms located on a curve while the Montclair-Boonton Line station is a single platform next to the closed Denville Tower.

NJ Transit offers local bus service on the 875 and 880 routes, which replaced service that had been offered on the MCM2 and MCM10 routes until June 2010, when NJ Transit pulled the subsidy.

Denville is served by Lakeland Bus Lines with frequent service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.

Newark Liberty International Airport, is located 27.5 miles (44.3 km) southeast of Denville in Newark, New Jersey. Other nearby airports include LaGuardia Airport (43 miles from Denville) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (54 miles from Denville), both of which are in Queens, New York City.

Popular culture

• The farm scene from the film version of Torch Song Trilogy was filmed at the Knuth Farm.
• Saint Clare's Hospital was where Tony and Christopher were taken after their accident in episode 83 of The Sopranos, "Kennedy and Heidi".
• Married to Jonas, starring Kevin Jonas and wife Danielle, was filmed at their house in the township.

Community

• Our Hometown: Celebrating Denville's Centennial, a feature-length documentary about the history of the township, was released in June 2013, in conjunction with Denville's centennial celebration. It features audio interviews with local historians, business leaders, and politicians.

Climate

The lowest recorded temperature in Denville is −20 °F (−32 °C), and the highest recorded temperature is 102 °F (39 °C).

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Denville include: