Denville, New Jersey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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, known as the "Hub of Morris County," was founded in 1913. In 1988, as part of the town's 75th anniversary celebration, a time capsule was buried that contained "artifacts" from that (1988) era.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] Community
Denville is characterized by its prominent lake communities. There are 11 named bodies of water in the town. The four major residential lake communities are Cedar Lake, Indian Lake, Rock Ridge, and Lake Arrowhead (including Great Bay and Bay of Deep Waters). Lake Estling 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.
Residents of Denville also live in the Union Hill, Beacon Hill and Denville Farms communities.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Government
[edit] 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 Robert Unrath (Council President), Thomas Andes (First Ward), James McCloskey (Second Ward), P. Ted Hussa (Third Ward), Chris Dour (Fourth Ward), Pat Valva (Council-At-Large) and Deborah Smith (Council-At-Large).[1]
[edit] Federal, state and county representation
Denville Township is in the Eleventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 25th Legislative District.[2]
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 25th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Anthony Bucco (R, Denville) and in the Assembly by Michael Patrick Carroll (R, Morristown) and Richard A. Merkt (R, Randolph). 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] 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 Lenapes. This "den", Hinchman states, was the basis for the name of Denville and the Denbrook.
[edit] Education
The Denville Township School District serve 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).
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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 in Denville.
[edit] Notable residents
Notable current and former residents of Denville include:
- Laura San Giacomo, actress known for playing the role of Maya Gallo on Just Shoot Me!
[edit] References
- ^ Denville Town Council, accessed August 13, 2006
- ^ League of Women Voters: 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, p. 56, accessed August 30, 2006
[edit] External links
- Homepage of Denville Township
- Denville Township School District
- Denville Township School District's 2004-2005 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- National Center for Education Statistics data for the Denville Township School District
- Regional area newspaper
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