How NJ got its name ... why is it called Morris County?...notable Morris residents...county seal...Morris statistics

• Maps: Morris County or other NJ counties. See also "Maps & Flags" New Jersey, in Facts on File, Geography section (5 different NJ outline maps and state flag, in color and black and white), if you have a local library card.
• County census profiles... population, race, language, ancestry, education, land area, density etc.
• Labor force, NJ Dept. of Labor...employment & unemployment+
• Industry & occupational employment, NJ Dept. of Labor...major industries (current)
• Cities & towns...check pages for history, and visitor information. Use this link to get the names of all the towns in your county.
• History links...county/town historic societies & museums
• current events...check the local newspaper for headlines

Best book: This is New Jersey, by John T. Cunningham (4th edition). 10 page profiles (geography, history, economics and people) on each county.
County Name Origins of the United States, Michael A. Beatty is the perfect book for finding out how your county got its name.
Live in Morris? For books or your county or city, use our online catalog . Click Subject search. Live elsewhere in NJ? Check NJ libraries. Elsewhere in the US? Look for your local library.

Morris County information sources:

• Official County Web site...government, history, recreation, budget, color map
• County seal/coat of arms
• Population profile, U.S. Census Bureau...select "Browse more data sets" for detailed statistics
• Towns in Morris County...check Web sites for history
• Morris County 2007, from the County Planning Board, population, employment, etc.
• Rare species and natural communities of Morris County
• Daily Record...scan our local county newspaper for current events.
• Historic sites in Morris
• Virtual Tour of Morristown, Morris County Visitors Center...great for pictures
• Morristown National Historic Park, National Park Service...Washington's Headquarters
• Historic Speedwell...where the telegraph was invented
• Historic price survey...how much did it cost in Morris County? Prices from the Daily Record
• A Natural Resource Management Guide for the County of Morris 2000, Morris County Planning Board...topography, geology, soil (we can send you copies of these pages if you need them).

HISTORY BOOKS (your librarian can help you get these)
Morris County: The Progress of Its Legend, Dorianne R. Perrucci History of Morris County, New Jersey, Munsell
Many Morris County towns are profiled by Arcadia Publishing's Images of America book series.

How did our county get its name?
Morris County was named for Lewis Morris, first colonial governor of New Jersey.

"Lewis Morris (1671-1746)- Morris was born in what is now New York City on October 15, 1671. His parents died suddenly in 1672 and young Lewis Morris was raised by an elderly and wealthy uncle, also named Lewis Morris (-1691), who lived in the East Jersey portion of what is now the state of New Jersey. When the elder Lewis Morris died in 1691, his nephew, Lewis Morris, inherited his considerable estate. The younger Lewis Morris served in a variety of political positions in England's provinces of New York and New Jersey and he served either as governor or acting governor of colonial New Jersey on four occasions...This county was created and named in his honor on March 15, 1739, during Lewis Morris' lst term as New Jersey's colonial governor."
---County Name Origins of the United States, Michael A. Beatty, [McFarland & Company:North Carolina] 2001 (p. 322)

People: notable Morris County residents

Mahlon Dickerson, 1770-1853. NJ Supreme Ct justice and NJ Governor, US Senator and US Secretary of the Navy.
Stephen Vail, 1807-1859. Pioneered the telegraph.
Abner Doubleday 1819-1893. Civil War general.
Thomas Nast, 1840-1902. Political cartoonist, illustrator, US ambassador.
Gustav Stickley, 1858-1942. Furniture designer and manufacturer.
Joseph Warren Revere. Civil War officer, grandson of Paul Revere.
William Simon. US Secretary of the Treasury, philanthropist.
Gene Shalit, 1932-- . film critic
Whitney Huston, 1963-- . Singer, 6-time Grammy winner.

Need general information on NJ history?

Ask us!

Good luck with your report.

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© Morris County Library 1997
20 March 2008