DENVILLE, NEW JERSEY

'Denville Township' is a Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 15,824. Denville is known as the "Hub of Morris County" for its location along major transportation routes at the center of the county.^[1] In 1988, as part of the town's 75th anniversary celebration, a time capsule was buried that contained "artifacts" from that era.
Denville was formed as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 14, 1913, from portions of Rockaway Township."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 192.

Contents

Geography

Community

Demographics

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

History

Education

Transportation

Popular culture

Notable residents

References

External links

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 32.7 km² (12.6 mi²). 31.4 km² (12.1 mi²) of it is land and 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (4.12%) is water.
Part of the The Tourne county park is in Denville.

Community

Denville has eleven named bodies 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, which has some full year residents. The three minor lakes are Cooper Lake, Hollstein Lake, and Openaki Lake. The town also has Cooks Pond, which is a recreational lake available for public use by membership.
Most residents of Denville live in the non-lake communities in town, including Bald Hill, Union Hill, Beacon Hill, and Denville Farms communities among others.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 15,824 people, 5,990 households, and 4,312 families residing in the township. The population density was 504.5/km² (1,307.1/mi²). There were 6,178 housing units at an average density of 197.0/km² (510.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 92.64% White, 1.14% African American, 0.08% Native American, 4.64% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.64% of the population.
There were 5,990 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the township, the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $76,778, and the median income for a family was $90,651. Males had a median income of $63,413 versus $42,392 for females. The per capita income for the township was $38,607. About 1.7% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Denville Township is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government.

The Mayor of Denville Township is Gene Feyl, whose term of office is from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2007.
Members of the Denville Township Council are Council President
Thomas Andes (First Ward),
James McCloskey (Second Ward),
P. Ted Hussa (Third Ward),
Chris Dour (Fourth Ward),
Deborah Smith (Council-At-Large),
Robert Unrath (Council-At-Large) and
Pat Valva (Council-At-Large).^[2]
Mayor Feyl decided not to run for re-election after winning a seat last fall on the Board of Chosen Freeholders. In the June 5, 2007 Republican primary councilman P. Ted Hussa defeated the Township's business administrator, Ellen Sandman. With no Democratic Party opposition on the ballot, Hussa should be assuming the mayoralty on January 1, 2008.^[3]

Federal, state and county representation

Denville Township is in the Eleventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 25th Legislative District.^[4]

History

Native 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 would later conclude that it was Denton who lent his name to the naming of Denville.
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.
A letter from early Denville settler John Hinchman in the year 1800, recounts 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 states, was the basis for the name of Denville and the Denbrook.

Education

The Denville Township School District serve public school students in Kindergarten through eighth grade. Schools in the district are the two K-5 elementary schools (Lakeview School, Riverview School) and Valleyview Middle School (grades 6-8).
Public school students in grades 9 - 12 attend Morris Knolls High School, which is located in Denville, but has a Rockaway address. The high school is part of the Morris Hills Regional High School District, which also serves the residential communities of Rockaway Borough, Rockaway Township and Wharton.
Morris Catholic High School is a four-year comprehensive Roman Catholic regional high school, that was founded in 1957 and is part of the Diocese of Paterson.

Transportation

The Denville station on New Jersey Transit's Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line, with service to Hoboken Terminal or to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan via Midtown Direct. 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.
Route 10, Route 53, U.S. Route 46 and Interstate 80 pass through the Township.

Popular culture

★ As the hometown of Sluggy Freelance creator Pete Abrams, Denville is believed by many to be the setting of the popular webcomic.

★ 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''.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Denville include:

★ Frank Stephen Baldwin, calculating machine designer.

★ Bill Bradley, former pro basketball player and U.S. Senator.^[5]

★ Marybeth Grant, professional wrestler, better known by her ring name Lexie Fyfe.

★ Janice Huff, American Local/National Television Meteorologist on WNBC Channel 4 in New York City.

★ Laura San Giacomo, actress known for playing the role of Maya Gallo on ''Just Shoot Me!''.^[6]

★ Ashley Rose Orr, actress.

★ Lisa Rieffel, actress, best known for her role as Emily Weston on ''Empty Nest''.

★ Babe Ruth, baseball player, Cedar Lake vacation house owner

References

1. Denville profile, ''Daily Record (Morristown)'', accessed April 22, 2007. "Known as the "hub" of Morris County -- because of its central geographic location and spot along major transportation routes -- this township is home to one of the most traditional town centers in the county."
2. Denville Town Council, Town of Denville. Accessed March 18, 2007.
3. Jennings, Rob. "Denville mayoral hopeful concedes: Business administrator says she won't contest results of the primary", ''Daily Record (New Jersey)'', June 8, 2007. Accessed June 14, 2007. "Ellen Sandman conceded the Republican mayoral primary to Ted Hussa on Thursday after a review of provisional ballots gave Hussa a nine-vote lead.... Sandman didn't say whether she would seek to stay on as business administrator if Hussa -- who is unopposed in the November general election --becomes mayor."
4. 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 56. Accessed August 30, 2006.
5. MOST JERSEY REPRESENTATIVES HAVE EDGE IN FUND RAISING, ''The New York Times abstract, August 12, 1984. Accessed May 7, 2007. "Senator Bill Bradley, a Democrat from Denville..."
6. Laura San Giacomo interview by Chet Cooper, ''Ability Magazine'', accessed December 20, 2006.

External links

★ Homepage of Denville Township

★ Denville Township School District

★

★ National Center for Education Statistics data for the Denville Township School District

★ Regional area newspaper