In conjunction with the Mayor and Township Committee of Morris Township and The Historic Preservation Commission of Morris Township, The Morristown and Morris Township Library is hosting an exhibit celebrating the 275th anniversary of the founding of Morris Township. The exhibit will be on display in the second floor, F.M. Kirby Gallery from April 8 through August 16. A reception to celebrate the exhibit’s opening will take place at the Library on Wednesday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. The exhibit is also supported by the Friends of the Morristown & Morris Township Library.
The colonial legislature of New Jersey created Morris County on March 15, 1739 naming the county, for the Governor of New Jersey, Colonel Lewis Morris (for which the Township and Morristown would later also be named). The county was initially divided into three townships in 1740: Pequannock, Hanover and Morris. Morris Township originally took up half of the county but has been subdivided many times since and now encompasses 15.45 square miles.
In its first two hundred years the Township was primarily farmland but this changed drastically over time as much of New Jersey morphed into the “urban” designation tagged currently with the U.S. Census Bureau. The anniversary exhibit will focus not only on Morris Township’s agricultural past, but also its part in the American Revolution and its fame as home to Gilded Age, New York City millionaire mansions. The exhibition will also examine the history of the Township’s fire and police departments, The Seeing Eye, the College of Saint Elizabeth and other institutions as well as famous Township residents.
People interested in more information about the exhibit are encouraged to contact the Library’s North Jersey History & Genealogy Center at (973) 538-3473.
From: H-Net