Parsippany–Troy Hills, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Parsippany–Troy Hills, New Jersey
Township
Rainbow Lake Bowlsby–Degelleke House Stephen Condit House Mount Tabor Craftsman Farms Swaminarayan Hindu temple Benjamin Howell Homestead
Seal
Parsippany–Troy Hills, New Jersey Location in Morris County, New Jersey Show map of Morris County, New Jersey Parsippany–Troy Hills, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Parsippany–Troy Hills, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Morris
Incorporated	May 9, 1928
Government
• Type	Faulkner Act (mayor–council)
• Body	Township Council
Area
• Total	25.35 sq mi (65.65 km2)
• Land	23.63 sq mi (61.20 km2)
• Water	1.72 sq mi (4.45 km2)  6.79%
Area rank	105th of 565 in state 6th of 39 in county
Elevation	302 ft (92 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	56,162
• Estimate  (2023)	56,289
• Rank	30th of 565 in state 1st of 39 in county
• Density	2,376.5/sq mi (917.6/km2)
• Density rank	261st of 565 in state 13th of 39 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07054
Area code(s)	973
FIPS code	3402756460
GNIS feature ID	0882206

Parsippany–Troy Hills, commonly known as Parsippany (/pɑːrˈsɪpəni/ PAR-sip-Ə-nee), is a township in Morris County, in the northern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 56,162, an increase of 2,924 (+5.5%) from the 2010 census count of 53,238, which in turn had reflected an increase of 2,589 (+5.1%) from the 50,649 counted at the 2000 census.

The name Parsippany comes from the Lenape Native American sub-tribe, which comes from the word parsipanong, which means "the place where the river winds through the valley". Parsippany–Troy Hills is the most populous municipality in Morris County. The name Troy Hills was changed from Troy, to avoid confusion of mail being sent erroneously to Troy, New York.

Parsippany–Troy Hills was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 12, 1928, from portions of Hanover Township, based on the results of a referendum held on May 9, 1928, that split off both East Hanover Township and Parsippany–Troy Hills from Hanover Township.

Since 2006, Parsippany–Troy Hills has been appeared eight times on Money magazine's list of "Best Places to Live in the United States", ranking 17th-best in 2006, 13th-best in 2008, 15th-best in 2012, 17th-best in 2014, fifth-best in 2016, 33rd-best in 2017, 26th-best in 2018, and 15th-best in 2022.

History

After the Wisconsin Glacier melted around 13,000 BCE, half of Parsippany was filled with water as this was Lake Passaic. Around the area grasses grew, as the area was tundra and then turned into a taiga/boreal forest as the area warmed.

Native Americans

Paleo-Indians moved in small groups into the area around 12,500 years ago, attracted by the diversity of plant and animal life.

Native Americans relocated to the area several thousand years ago, dwelling in the highlands and along the Rockaway River and the Whippany River, where they hunted and fished for the various game that lived in the area and migrated through the area in autumn. Paintings in a rock cave were found in the late 1970s in western Parsippany in the highlands.

Dutch settlement

From 1611 to 1614, the Netherlands established the colony of New Netherland, which claimed territory between the 40th and 45th parallels north, a zone which included all of North Jersey. Native Americans traded furs and food with the Dutch for various goods, including metal pots, knives, guns, axes, and blankets. Trading with the Native Americans occurred until 1643 when a series of wars broke out between the them. There were hostile relations between the Dutch and Native Americans between 1643 and 1660, which prevented the colonization by the Dutch of present-day Morris County.

On August 27, 1664, three English ships approached Fort Amsterdam and the fort was surrendered to the English. The English took control of New Netherland, and Morris County was included in the colonial-era Province of New York.

Relations with the Native Americans improved briefly after New Jersey's independent establishment. In a war between the Dutch and British ten years later, however, the Dutch retook control of New Amsterdam. A year later, it returned to the British. Relations with the Native Americans and English improved for a while. Settlers from England began moving to the area around 1700. The Parsippany area had flat land and fertile soil, and a fresh water supply, which created a suitable location for successful farming.

Slavery in Parsippany

From the 1730s until the beginning of the 19th century, present-day Parsippany was known as Lake Hiawatha, and included a 2,000-acre (3.125 mile) slave plantation. The central street of Lake Hiawatha, Beverwyck Road, references the name of a Dutch slave owner and property manager Lucas Von Beverhoudt.

Generations of African slaves were forced to labor on the Beverwyck property, including Phebe Ann Jacobs. Born enslaved in 1785 on the Beverwyck plantation, she later achieved freedom in Maine, laundering clothes for students of Bowdoin College. Her 1856 biography, Narrative of Phebe Ann Jacobs, published posthumously, was a source of inspiration to Harriet Beecher Stowe, who authored Uncle Tom's Cabin, an anti-slavery novel.

A 1768 newspaper advertisement for the property mentions a "Negro House," which was constructed to house over 20 slaves, including a blacksmith, a shoemaker, and a mason. A 1780 newspaper notice includes a description to aid in re-capturing "Jack," a slave who had escaped; this notice can be found at the Morristown National Historical Park.

Guests at the estate included George Washington, Nathaniel Greene, and Marquis de Lafayette.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 25.35 square miles (65.65 km²), including 23.63 square miles (61.20 km²) of land and 1.72 square miles (4.45 km²) of water (6.79%).

Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Greystone Park, Lake Hiawatha, Lake Intervale, Lake Parsippany, Mount Tabor (also known as "Tabor"), Parsippany, Powder Mill, Rainbow Lakes, Rockaway Neck, and Troy Hills.

Lake Hiawatha and Mount Tabor are neighborhoods with their own ZIP codes. In 2000, 55% of Parsippany residents had a 07054 ZIP code. In 2011, Parsippany residents could live in one of 12 ZIP codes. Until 2000, there was a 13th ZIP code within Parsippany, eliminated with changes at the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital.

Parsippany–Troy Hills borders the municipalities of Boonton, Denville Township, East Hanover Township, Hanover Township, Montville, Morris Plains, Morris Township, Mountain Lakes and Randolph.

Climate

The township has a humid continental climate, with cold winters and very warm-to-hot summers. It is usually cooler than Manhattan at night and in the early morning. The record low temperature is −26 °F (−32 °C), and the record high is 104 °F (40 °C).

Geology

Parsippany–Troy Hills lies in the Newark Piedmont Basin. Around 500 million years ago, a chain of volcanic islands crashed into proto North America, riding over the North American Plate and creating the New Jersey Highlands, which start in the western portion of the township. This strike also created land formations in the rest of eastern New Jersey. Around 450 million years ago, a small continent, long and thin, collided with North America, creating folding and faulting in western New Jersey and southern Appalachia.

The swamps and meadows of Parsippany were created when the North American Plate separated from the African Plate. An aborted rift system or half-graben was created. The land area lowered between the Ramapo Fault in western Parsippany and a fault west of Paterson. The Ramapo Fault goes through the western part of the township.

The Wisconsin Glacier came into the area around 21,000 BCE and left around 13,000 BCE due to a warming in climate. As the glacier slowly melted, this created rivers, streams and lakes, leaving most of the township under Lake Passaic, which was the biggest lake in New Jersey at that time, stretching from the edge of the Ramapo Fault in western Parsippany eastward to almost Paterson.

The area was first tundra when the Wisconsin Glacier melted and then as the area warmed formed taiga/boreal forests, along with vast meadows. Slowly, Lake Passaic drained and formed swamps in the township; Troy Meadows and Lee Meadows (on the old Alderney Farm tract) are perfect examples. Swamps and meadows next to oak forests created a diverse flora and fauna spectrum.

Demographics

Based on data from the 2022 American Community Survey, the racial makeup of Parsippany-Troy Hills was 26,742 (47.8%) White, 1,537 (2.7%) African American, 80 (0.1%) Native American, 20,847 (37.2%) Asian, 0 (0%) Pacific Islander, 113 (0.2%) from other races, and 1,223 (2.2%) from two or more races.  Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4,723 persons (8.4%). Among the Asian population, largest ancestry groups were Indian, 14,373 (25.6%), followed by Chinese, 3,538 (6.3%), and Filipinos, 912 (1.6%). Among Hispanics and Latinos, the largest ancestry groups were Colombian, 900 (1.6%), followed by Puerto Rican, 586 (1%), and Mexican, 523 (0.9%).

2020 census

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 53,238 people, 20,279 households, and 14,094 families in the township. The population density was 2,259.3 per square mile (872.3/km²). There were 21,274 housing units at an average density of 902.8 per square mile (348.6/km²). The racial makeup was 62.37% (33,204) White, 3.52% (1,874) Black or African American, 0.17% (92) Native American, 29.09% (15,487) Asian, 0.02% (8) Pacific Islander, 2.03% (1,082) from other races, and 2.80% (1,491) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.32% (4,430) of the population. As of 2010, 17.4% of the township's population self-identified as being Indian American, making them the largest minority group in the township; 6.6% of residents identified as being Chinese-American, which is the highest of any Morris County municipality.

Of the 20,279 households, 30.9% had children under the age of 18; 58.3% were married couples living together; 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present and 30.5% were non-families. Of all households, 25.0% were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.14.

20.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.5 years. For every 100 females, the population had 97.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 95.7 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $85,760 (with a margin of error of +/− $2,882) and the median family income was $102,601 (+/− $4,650). Males had a median income of $67,109 (+/− $3,242) versus $50,415 (+/− $2,595) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $40,965 (+/− $1,434). About 1.8% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

From 1967 through 2015, the Vince Lombardi Trophy was exclusively handcrafted by Tiffany & Co. in Parsippany for the winning team of the Super Bowl, as is the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy granted to the winner of the NBA Finals.

Allergan, B&G Foods, GAF Materials Corporation, Sun Chemical, Zoetis, Kings Food Markets, Lexus and Toyota Financial Services, Wyndham Worldwide Toys "R" Us, along with its parent company, Tru Kids, and PNY Technologies, a manufacturer of computer memory devices, are in Parsippany–Troy Hills.

The U.S. operations of Cadbury Adams, Reckitt Benckiser, Ricola and Safilo are located here.

Cendant Corporation moved its headquarters to Parsippany–Troy Hills in 2001; in 2006 Cendant separated into several different companies, including Avis Budget Group, parent company of Avis Rent a Car System and Budget Rent a Car.

Sports

Parsippany SC is a soccer club that hosts teams in both the Super Y-League and the Super-20 League.

Par–Troy Little League East, one of Parsippany's two township Little League teams, competed in the 2012 Little League World Series, losing in the third round of play at South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to a team from Petaluma, California.

Fire protection

Parsippany–Troy Hills is protected by six different fire districts serving out of ten fire houses throughout the township. Each district operates as their own fire department with each having its own Chief and other line officers. Every district is 100% volunteer and are on call around the clock, with dispatching for all fire districts provided by the township police department.

• District 1: Mount Tabor Fire Department (Mount Tabor / west side of town), founded in 1910.
• District 2: Rainbow Lakes Fire Department (Rainbow Lakes section)
• District 3: Lake Parsippany Fire Department (Lake Parsippany Section), founded in 1935.
• District 4: Lake Hiawatha Fire Department (Lake Hiawatha Section), established in 1935.
• District 5: Rockaway Neck Fire Department (East side of the township)
• District 6: Parsippany – Troy Hills Fire District 6 (Central part of the township), founded in 1929. Provides fire protection to Tivoli Gardens, Cambridge Village, Hills of Troy, Morris Hills Shopping Center, Green Hill Shopping Center, Hilton/Hampton Hotels, Sylvan way and Campus Drive Area, Jefferson Road Area, Lake Intervale, and Mazdabrook Housing and Senior centers, as well as sections of I-80, I-287, 46, 10, and 202, with stations at 60 Littleton Road (Main station) and Smith Road (sub-station).

Education

Public schools

The Parsippany–Troy Hills School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The Parsippany Troy-Hills School District serves students in ten elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools and an adult education center. The community served by the district is ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse.

As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of 14 schools, had an enrollment of 7,082 students and 634.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.2:1. Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Eastlake Elementary School (359 students; in grades PreK–5), Intervale Elementary School (255; K–5), Knollwood Elementary School (380; K–5), Lake Hiawatha Elementary School (417; PreK–5), Lake Parsippany Elementary School (271; K–5), Littleton Elementary School (422; K–5), Mount Tabor Elementary School (354; K–5), Northvail Elementary School (383; K–5), Rockaway Meadow Elementary School (258; K–5), Troy Hills Elementary School (290; K–5), Brooklawn Middle School (898; 6–8), Central Middle School (807; 6–8), Parsippany High School (898; 9–12) and Parsippany Hills High School (1,028; 9–12).

Private schools

Parsippany Christian School, established in 1970, served students in preschool through twelfth grade as a ministry of Parsippany Baptist Church prior to its closure in 2019.

All Saints' Academy serves preschool though eighth grade, as the result of a 2009 merger of Saint Christopher Parochial school and Saint Peter the Apostle School. St. Elizabeth School, founded in 1970, offers Montessori education to children in preschool through sixth grade. Both are Catholic schools operated under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson.

Transportation

Interstate 80 eastbound between Interstate 287 and Interstate 280 in Parsippany–Troy Hills

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the township had a total of 208.45 miles (335.47 km) of roadways, the most of any municipality in the county, of which 173.78 miles (279.67 km) are maintained by Parsippany–Troy Hills, 11.30 miles (18.19 km) by Morris County and 23.37 miles (37.61 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Parsippany lies at the crossroads of many major roadways including Interstates 80, 280 (including its western terminus) and 287, U.S. Routes 46 and 202, New Jersey Routes 10 and 53, as well as County Route 511. In 2013, Route 53 was renamed as the "Alex DeCroce Memorial Highway" in honor of Alex DeCroce, a township resident who was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1989 until his death in 2012.

Public transportation

The Mount Tabor station in neighboring Denville Township offers train service on the NJ Transit Morris & Essex Lines, with service to and from Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan and Hoboken Terminal.

NJ Transit provides bus service on the 29 and 79 route to and from Newark, with local service on the 871, 872, 873, 874, 875, 880 routes.

The Taiwanese airline China Airlines provides private bus service to John F. Kennedy International Airport from Parsippany to feed its flight to Taipei, Taiwan.

Parsippany runs a tax-payer-funded two-route bus system known as Parsippany Transit that offers bus service at no additional cost to all residents and operates only on weekdays. No Holidays or weekends.

Bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan is provided by Lakeland Bus Lines along Route 46 and Interstate 80.

Morristown Municipal Airport, a general aviation airport, is located 6.7 miles (10.8 km) from the township.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Parsippany–Troy Hills

See also

In Spanish: Parsippany-Troy Hills para niños