Chatham Borough, New Jersey

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This article is about the borough. For the township, see Chatham Township, New Jersey. For aspects common to both communities, see Chatham, New Jersey.
Chatham
Statistics
Population: 8,460
Government
Type: Borough
Congressional District: 11th
Post Office and Telephone
State: New Jersey
County: Morris County
Post Office and Telephone
ZIP Code: 07928
Area code: 973, 862
Dialling code: 255, 309, 457, 507, 635, 665, 701, 738

Chatham is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population was 8,460. Being less than 2.5 square miles with a central business district and railroad station to which one may walk comfortably without having to traverse much more than a mile from its farthest boundary, it is a pedestrian friendly community. In July of 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Chatham Borough along with Chatham Township ninth [1] on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Chatham is located at 40°44′25″N, 74°23′8″W (40.740400, -74.385480)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Chatham has a total area of 6.2 km² (2.4 mi²), all land.

Chatham is located twenty-five miles west of New York City on the eastern edge of Morris County. Chatham's neighboring communities are Summit, New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Long Hill Township, Chatham Township, Harding Township, Madison, Florham Park, Morristown, Short Hills, Millburn, and Livingston.

The Passaic River, which rises in Mendham and defines the Great Swamp, flows north along the eastern boundary of Chatham. Good crossing locations, identified by Amerindians to early European settlers, figured significantly in the colonial history of the community. Fairmount Avenue ascends Long Hill perpendicularly from Main Street in the contemporary center of town to the highest elevation of the town among the Watchung Mountains. From there one may see the lights of New York beyond the crest of the ridge hills of Summit. Water from artesian wells is stored at its crest to provide the drinking water for the community.

A portion of the Great Swamp extends to the southern boundary of Chatham and other marshes surround the community to the north and northwest. The marshes and brooks in the area contain water draining from the plateau of Morristown and many points to the north and west. All are remnants of a massive lake that covered the area following the retreat of the Wisconsin glacier of the last Ice Age. Residents of Chatham were among those in the late 1950s who formed the Jersey Jetsite Association and instigated the preservation of the Great Swamp when the New York Port Authority sought to turn it into a massive airport.

The Great Swamp is a major watershed and a significant resting point for migratory birds. The core of the swamp was purchased with the help of Geraldine R. Dodge. Several other members of the organization, including residents of Chatham, who were students at the nearby campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University began to infiltrate the administration of Austin J. Tobin, the executive director of the port authority. They attended meetings scheduled quietly to garner the support of union workers—providing pamphlets in opposition to the attendees—and infuriating the port authority administration. Eventually other organizations formed to join the opposition to the plans for the airport and finally, a majority of the swamp was assembled to be donated to the federal government to become a national wildlife refuge. Stewart Udall, Secretary of the Interior under President John F. Kennedy, lent his support to the local efforts to save the swamp while he served as U.S. Representative from Arizona, making recommendations to the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration to lend their support also, and on November 3, 1960, the legislation creating the refuge was passed by an act of the United States Congress. Later issues regarding the use of the donated land were under his authority when Udall was the Secretary of State.

Being only 2.4 square miles in area, Chatham was mostly built out before the Second World War, retaining its charming homes that sometimes display the dates of their construction during the colonial and revolutionary times.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 8,460 people, 3,159 households, and 2,385 families. The population density was 1,355.4/km² (3,505.9/mi²). There were 3,232 housing units at an average density of 517.8/km² (1,339.4/mi²). The racial makeup of was 95.79% White, 0.14% African American, 0.06% Native American, 2.81% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.64% of the population.

There were 3,159 households out of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.6% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.14.

The population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 3.8% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household was $101,991, and the median income for a family was $119,635. Males had a median income of $81,543 versus $59,063 for females. The per capita income was $53,027. About 1.7% of families and 2.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

[edit] Local government

First settled in the very early 1700s, on August 19, 1892, Chatham was incorporated as a village; it became a borough, an independent entity, on March 1, 1897. In 1910, it also acquired a slice of Florham Park to enlarge farther.[2]

Chatham is now governed under the borough form of municipal government.[citation needed] A mayor is elected directly by the voters. The borough council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.

The mayor of Chatham is Richard L. Plambeck, and members of the borough council are, Council President Cordelia O. Fuller, James J. Collander, Richard E. Crater, Jr., Bruce A. Harris, Jayme V. LaJeunesse, and Stephen W. Williams.[3]

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

Chatham is in the Eleventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 26th Legislative District.[4]

New Jersey's Eleventh Congressional District, covering western portions of Essex County, all of Morris County, and sections of Passaic County, Somerset County and Sussex County, is represented by Rodney Frelinghuysen (R, Harding Township). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 26th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Robert Martin (R, Morris Plains) and in the Assembly by Alex DeCroce (R, Morris Plains) and Joseph Pennacchio (R, Morris Plains). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Morris County is governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. Morris County's Freeholders are: Margaret Nordstrom (Freeholder Director), John Inglesino (Freeholder Deputy Director), Douglas R. Cabana, Frank J. Druetzler, Cecilia G. Laureys John J. Murphy and Jack Schrier.

[edit] Education

[edit] Public Schools

Main article: School District of the Chathams

Chatham and Chatham Township held elections in November 1986 to consider joining their separate school systems into a joint district. This proposal was supported by the voters and since then, the two municipalities have shared a regionalized school district, the School District of the Chathams.

[edit] Private school

St. Patrick School is a Roman Catholic school located in Chatham that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. St. Patrick School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive, during the 2003-04 school year.[5]

[edit] Transportation

New Jersey Transit stops at the Chatham station to provide commuter service on the Morristown Line, with trains heading to the Hoboken Terminal and to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan.

Bus lines also connect Chatham with the other towns along Route 24 from Newark to Morristown, mostly running parallel to the train lines. Nowadays, buses transport people along the line, but stagecoaches and trolleys were mass transit methods once used along the route that followed Main Street. That section of the old route now is labeled Route 124 because of the widening of Route 24. The destruction of the historic downtown by a proposed widening of the historic route was opposed and after much debate, an alternate route was chosen to preserve the historic downtowns of Chatham and Madison. The last rails for the trolley system were removed from the area roads in the 1950s.[citation needed]

[edit] Library

Chatham Library was founded in 1908 in downtown Chatham after decades of discussion and planning. Growth of the collection brought about expansion and movement to progressively larger facilities until the current building was built on Main Street. The new site was chosen after the Fairview Hotel, which had been on the site, burned down. The hotel land was bought in the early 1920s by Charles L. Lum, after whose family Lum Avenue is named, and a brick building was constructed to house the library. The new Chatham Library was dedicated and opened to the public in 1924.

A referendum was placed on the November 1974 ballot regarding jointure, providing that the Chatham Library would serve Chatham Township residents also, and the measure passed. The library was renamed as the Library of the Chathams, which now is administered by six trustees, who are appointed jointly through the two governments via the mayors of Chatham and Chatham Township or their representatives, as well as a representative from the newly created joint School District of the Chathams.[6]

The Library of the Chathams joined the Morris Automated Information Network (MAIN), an electronic database linking together all the public libraries in Morris County, in 1985. Recently, an expansion costing nearly $4,000,000 was completed (with the governments of Chatham and Chatham Township contributing a combined $2,000,000). The project was completed and the new addition dedicated on January 11, 2004.[6]

[edit] Sister City

Chatham has one sister city:

[edit] Notable residents

[edit] References

  1. ^ MONEY Magazine – Best places to live 2005 – Chatham, NJ snapshot
  2. ^ John P. Snyder: The story of New Jersey's civil boundaries, 1606-1968, Trenton, Bureau of Geology and Topography, 1969. p. 191-2
  3. ^ Chatham Elected Officials, accessed July 10, 2006
  4. ^ League of Women Voters: 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, p. 55, accessed August 30, 2006
  5. ^ U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 2003 through 2005 (PDF), accessed June 5, 2006
  6. ^ a b Library of the Chathams – History
  7. ^ Shepard Kollock: Patriot Printer, accessed October 18, 2006
  8. ^ Montgomery Ward: The World's First Mail-Order Business, accessed December 13, 2006

[edit] Historical research resources

  • Anderson, John R. Shepard Kollock: Editor for Freedom. Chatham, New Jersey: Chatham Historical Society, 1975.
  • Cunningham, John T. Chatham: At the Crossing of the Fishawack. Chatham, New Jersey: Chatham Historical Society, 1967.
  • Philhower, Charles A., Brief History of Chatham, Morris County, New Jersey. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1914.
  • Thayer, Theodore. Colonial and Revolutionary Morris County. The Morris County Heritage Commission. (government publication)
  • Vanderpoel, Ambrose Ely. History of Chatham, New Jersey. New York: Charles Francis Press, 1921. Reprint. Chatham, New Jersey: Chatham Historical Society, 1959.
  • White, Donald Wallace. A Village at War: Chatham and the American Revolution. Rutherford, New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1979.
  • _________________. Chatham. Dover, New Hampshire: Arcadia Publishing, 1997.
  • ______________. "Historic Minisink Trail". Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society. 8, (January-October, 1923): 199-205.
  • ______________. "Indians of the Morris County Area". Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society. 54 (October 1936): 248-267.
  • Design Guidelines Manual For Rehabilitation and Construction in the Main Street Historic District. Chatham, New Jersey: Chatham Borough Historic Preservation Commission, 1994. (government publication)

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Municipalities of Morris County, New Jersey
(County Seat: Morristown)
Boroughs

Butler | Chatham | Chester | Florham Park | Kinnelon | Lincoln Park | Madison | Mendham | Morris Plains | Mount Arlington | Mountain Lakes | Netcong | Rockaway | Riverdale | Victory Gardens | Wharton
Towns Boonton | Dover | Morristown
Townships Boonton | Chatham | Chester | Denville | East Hanover | Hanover | Harding | Jefferson | Long Hill | Mendham | Mine Hill | Montville | Mount Olive | Morris | Parsippany-Troy Hills | Pequannock | Randolph | Rockaway | Roxbury | Washington
CDPs and other Communities Budd Lake | Cedar Knolls | Cedar Lake | Convent Station | Flanders | Green Village | Lake Swannanoa | Landing | Lake Telemark | Long Valley | New Vernon | Port Morris | Stirling | Succasunna-Kenvil | Towaco | Whippany | White Meadow Lake
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