Morris County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about west of New York City. According to the 2020 census, the county was the state's tenth-most populous county,Table1. New Jersey Counties and Most Populous Cities and Townships: 2020 and 2010 Censuses, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed December 1, 2022. with a population of 509,285, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 17,009 (+3.5%) from the 2010 census count of 492,276, which in turn reflected an increase of 22,064 (+4.7%) from the 470,212 counted in the 2000 census. The United States Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program estimated a 2025 population of 524,251, an increase of 14,966 (+2.9%) from the 2020 decennial census. Morris County is part of the New York metropolitan area and is divided into 39 municipalities, with many commuter towns but no large cities. Its county seat is Morristown, in the southeast.New Jersey County Map, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed December 29, 2022. The most populous place was Parsippany-Troy Hills, with 56,162 residents at the time of the 2020 census, while Rockaway Township covered , the largest total area of any municipality.New Jersey: 2010 – Population and Housing Unit Counts; 2010 Census of Population and Housing, p. 6, CPH-2-32. United States Census Bureau, August 2012. Accessed August 29, 2016. The county is part of the North Jersey region of the state.Willis, David P. "'This is how wars start': Does Central Jersey include both Ocean and Union counties?", Asbury Park Press, February 20, 2023. Accessed March 31, 2024. "North Jersey is defined as Sussex, Warren, Morris, Passaic, Bergen, Essex and Hudson counties; South Jersey would be Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Atlantic, Salem, Cumberland and Cape May counties. But for Central, things get a little tricky. It would include Hunterdon, Somerset, Union, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties.""Regions: North, Central, South, Shore - Best of NJ", Best of NJ, Accessed May 30, 2024. "Northern Jersey consists of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren County."

In 2021, the county had a per capita personal income of $61,915, the highest in New Jersey and ranked 16th of 3,113 counties in the United States. Morris County, as of the 2020 Census, was the fourteenth-wealthiest county in the United States by median household income at $117,298 (second in New Jersey behind Hunterdon County at $117,858).

In 2017, Morris County was ranked second among the state's 21 counties in healthiness, according to an annual report by County Health Rankings and Roadmaps.

History

Etymology Morris County was named after Colonel Lewis Morris, governor of New Jersey in 1738–39, the year the county was named.

Paleo-Indians and Native Americans The Wisconsin Glacier covered the northern section of Morris County from about 23,000 BC to 13,000 BC.

After the Wisconsin Glacier melted around 13,000 BC, Paleo-Indians settled the area from the south in search of big and small game as well as plants. The area was first tundra with grasses growing. Rabbits and fox moved into the area from the south.

Around the year 1000, the area of Morris County was inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans prior to the arrival of European settlers. They came from the Mississippi River area. They lived along the rivers, hunted game, and fished in addition to collecting plants and nuts.

Dutch and English colonization Henry Hudson explored the Hudson River area in 1609, and later the Dutch did surveys of the area.

From 1611 to 1614, the Dutch established the colony of New Netherland, which claimed territory between the 40th and 45th parallel north, a zone which included northern New Jersey. Dutch forts were established along the Hudson River beginning in 1613. As the years went by, more forts were established to trade with Native Americans.

The Native Americans traded furs and food with the Dutch for various goods. In return the Dutch gave the Native Americans metal pots, knives, guns, axes, and blankets. Trading with the Native Americans occurred until 1643 when a series of wars broke out between the Dutch and Native Americans.

There were hostile relations between the Dutch and Native Americans between 1643 and 1660. This prevented colonization by the Dutch of the Morris County region which was technically included in their claimed "New Netherland".

On August 27, 1664, three English ships approached Fort Amsterdam and the fort was surrendered to the English. The English now controlled New Netherland and Morris County was now under control of the colony of New York. Relations with the Native Americans improved for a while.

There was a war with the Dutch ten years later. The Dutch re-took control of New Amsterdam but after a year returned it to the English. Relations with the Native Americans and English improved for a while.

European settlements began in the early 18th century while the area was known as Hunterdon County. Native Americans were still in the area at that time. Land was purchased from the Native Americans for various things such as blankets, shirts, rum, guns, knives, pots and gunpowder. European colonization began along the Atlantic coast moving inland.

The first European settlement in the area today known as Morris County occurred in Pompton Plains by the Dutch in 1695.Morris County profile, Choose: New Jersey. Accessed October 6, 2013. From 1710 to 1730, various iron mines and forges were established. The first was in Whippany in 1710 and then in Succasunna in 1713.

By 1750, nearly all Native Americans had left New Jersey. This was due to land purchases from the Native Americans, diseases that the Native Americans contracted from Europeans, and due to starvation from the Little Ice Age, during which Native American corn crops failed and rivers froze, preventing fishing. Snow storms sent game into semi-hibernation or made them difficult to find. Nut crops such as oak, hickory, beech, walnut, chestnut and butternut failed some years due to late frosts in spring. Many of the Morris County Native Americans went to eastern Canada and others went to the Ohio Valley. The Walking Purchase in September 1737, prevented Native Americans from going to eastern Pennsylvania. At that time, European settlement grew swiftly as there was now land to be farmed and settled.

Morris County was originally part of Burlington County which had been established in 1694. It then became part of Hunterdon County, which separated from Burlington County in 1714.

Morris County was created on , from portions of Hunterdon County.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 191. Accessed January 21, 2013. The county was named for the Governor of the Province of New Jersey, Colonel Lewis Morris.The Land Past and Present , Retrieved on March 22, 2007. In later years Sussex County (on June 8, 1753) and, after the revolution, Warren County (on November 20, 1824, from portions of Sussex County) were carved out of what had been the original area of Morris County under English rule.

The county was the site of the winter camp of the Continental Army after the Battles of Trenton and Princeton during the winter of 1777, as well as another winter camp at Jockey Hollow during an extremely cold winter of 1779–80.Adams, III, Charles J. "Jockey Hollow Was Refuge For Continental Army", Reading Eagle, July 20, 2006. Accessed October 6, 2013.

In the 1880s, Dover was the center of iron ore mining with the 132 mines producing 700,000 tons of ore annually. The mines were mostly worked by Cornish miners, with the bulk of the population in Dover and Port Oram of Cornish extraction. At that time the Cornish had kept their customs and dialect, were deeply religious and predominantly Methodists.

Geography and geology According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of the 2020 Census, the county had a total area of , of which was land (95.7%) and was water (4.3%).2020 Census Gazetteer File for Counties in New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed April 1, 2023.

The county rises in elevation and relief from east to west, with only the more developed eastern suburbs in the Passaic River valley being relatively level. The highest point is at above sea level on a mountain south of Pine Swamp in western Jefferson Township.New Jersey County High Points, Peakbagger.com. Accessed October 5, 2013. The second-highest point is on a mountain just north of Riker Lake at . The lowest point is about in elevation, at Two Bridges, the confluence of the Passaic and Pompton rivers.

The county is drained by several rivers. The Rockaway River drains , of the northern section of the county. The Whippany River drains of the middle of the county. The South Branch of the Raritan River and the Black River drain the western area.

Most of the county's borders are rivers. The Pequannock River drains the northern boundary area. The Pompton River drains the eastern section. The Passaic River also drains the eastern border area. The western border is drained by the Musconetcong River. There are several large lakes in Morris County; among them are the state's largest lake, Lake Hopatcong, Budd Lake, Lake Parsippany, and the Boonton Reservoir, also known as the Jersey City Reservoir.

Climate Morris has a humid continental climate (Dfa/Dfb) and the hardiness zones are 6a and 6b.

Weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Morristown have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1934 and a record high of was recorded in August 2001. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in September.

Geology

Around 500 million years ago, a chain of volcanic islands shaped like an arc collided with proto-North America. The islands rode over top of the North American plate. This created the highlands in western Morris County and the eastern section of Morris County.USGS

Around 400 million years ago, a small continent long and narrow collided with proto-North America. This created folding and faulting, as compression occurred. Then around 350 million years ago, the African Plate collided with North America creating the folding and faulting in the Appalachians. But when the African plate pulled away from North America, an aborted rift valley was created. This half graben, starts east of Boonton and goes through the middle of Parsippany, south to Morristown, to the south end of Great Swamp. From Parsippany and the Boonton area the half graben goes east to the western side of Paterson, where there was another fault by the lava flows. East of the Ramapo Fault is where there is this aborted rift valley.

The Ramapo fault goes through the county on a northeast–southwest axis. The fault separates the Highlands from the Piedmont, also known as the Newark Basin. This is an active fault. The last major earthquake occurred in 1884, with a strength measured at 5.3 on the Richter scale.Barron, James. "A Third Quake Causes Talk, but Little Else", The New York Times, February 18, 2009. Accessed October 6, 2013. "The earthquake on Feb. 2 and the aftershock on Wednesday were just south of the area he said had been rattled by a strong-for-New-Jersey tremor in 1783. In geologic time, that is almost recent. 'Probably a 5,' he said, explaining how seismologists had sifted through newspaper accounts to estimate the strength of that quake and another in 1884. 'A lot of articles about that one,' he said. 'That was a 5.3.'"