Millburn, New Jersey

Millburn is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 20,149,  reflecting an increase of 384 (+1.9%) from the 19,765 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 1,135 (+6.1%) from the 18,630 counted in the 1990 Census.

Millburn was created as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 20, 1857, from portions of Springfield Township, when Union County was formed.

Millburn is near South Mountain Reservation, The Mall at Short Hills and the suburban towns of South Orange, Maplewood, Livingston, and Summit. Millburn is also home to the Paper Mill Playhouse, a 70-year-old regional theater.

New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Millburn as the 53rd best place to live in New Jersey in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.

Millburn had the highest annual property tax bills in New Jersey in 2009 at $19,097, compared to the statewide average of $7,300 that year which was the highest in the United States.

Geography
Millburn is located at 40.74161°N, -74.32128°W (40.741612,-74.321282). According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 9.876 square miles (25.579 km2), of which, 9.322 square miles (24.145 km2) of it is land and 0.554 square miles (1.434 km2) of it (5.61%) is water.

Millburn also includes the hamlet of Short Hills. Millburn comprises the historic Wyoming district, and South Mountain and Millburn Center areas. Short Hills contains the sections of Knollwood, Glenwood, Brookhaven, Country Club, Merrywood, Deerfield-Crossroads, Mountaintop, White Oak Ridge, and Old Short Hills Estates. Situated approximately 15 mi from Manhattan, Millburn Township is bordered by the municipalities of Livingston, Florham Park, Chatham Township, Summit, Springfield Township, Union Township, Maplewood and West Orange.

The West Branch of the Rahway River runs through downtown Millburn.

2010 Census
The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $165,603 (with a margin of error of +/- $9,937) and the median family income was $194,421 (+/- $14,492). Males had a median income of $136,031 (+/- $14,137) versus $81,152 (+/- $9,621) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $84,663 (+/- $5,971). About 1.3% of families and 1.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 0.0% of those age 65 or over.

2000 Census
As of the 2000 United States Census there were 19,765 people, 7,015 households, and 5,604 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,106.2 people per square mile (813.6/km2). There were 7,158 housing units at an average density of 762.8 per square mile (294.6/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 88.91% White, 8.40% Asian, 1.10% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.04% of the population. The most common reported ancestries in 2000 were 13.5% Italian, 12.2% Irish, 11.7% Russian and 11.5% German.

There were 7,015 households out of which 44.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.6% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.1% were non-families. 17.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the township the population was spread out with 30.2% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $130,848, and the median income for a family was $158,888. Males had a median income of $100,000+ versus $51,603 for females. The per capita income for the township was $76,796. About 1.2% of families and 1.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 1.0% of those age 65 or over.

Millburn has one of the largest Jewish communities in Essex County, along with neighboring Livingston and South Orange. Philip Roth's popular novel Goodbye, Columbus about a newly affluent Jewish family in the 1950s, was set in the Short Hills section of Millburn, and a key scene takes place at the Millburn High School track.

The township has attracted young professionals moving out of Manhattan, thanks to direct train service to Penn Station.

Local government
Since its incorporation as a municipality in 1857, Millburn has operated under the Township form of government with a five-member Township Committee. The Township Committee is elected directly by the voters in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year. At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor. A Business Administrator manages the day-to-day functions of the Township.

, members of the Township Committee are Mayor Sandra H. Haimoff (term ends December 31, 2012), Deputy Mayor Robert J. Tillotson (2014), W. Theodore Bourke (2013), Sari Greenberg (2014) and Thomas C. McDermott (2013).

Haimoff became Mayor in 2008 following the expiration of former mayor Daniel Baer's term on December 31, 2007. Daniel Baer's service had marked the first time in the history of the town that a Democrat held the title of Mayor.

Federal, state and county representation
Millburn is located in the 7th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 27th state legislative district. Prior to the 2011 reapportionment following the 2010 Census, Millburn had been in the 21st state legislative district. Prior to the 2010 Census, Millburn had been split between the NJ's 10th congressional district and the NJ's 1st congressional district, a change made by the New Jersey Redistricting Commission that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections.

Politics
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 14,099 registered voters in Millburn, of which 4,512 (32.0%) were registered as Democrats, 3,214 (22.8%) were registered as Republicans and 6,361 (45.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 12 voters registered to other parties.

In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 58.6% of the vote here (6,097 cast), ahead of Republican John McCain with 39.8% (4,144 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (72 votes), among the 10,410 ballots cast by the township's 14,034 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.2%. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 55.1% of the vote here (5,682 ballots cast), outpolling Republican George W. Bush with 43.9% (4,525 votes) and other candidates with 0.6% (83 votes), among the 10,315 ballots cast by the township's 13,548 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 76.1.

In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 47.9% of the vote here (3,308 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 44.6% (3,080 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 6.4% (445 votes) and other candidates with 0.4% (27 votes), among the 6,906 ballots cast by the township's 13,913 registered voters, yielding a 49.6% turnout.

Economy
Dun & Bradstreet has its headquarters in Short Hills in Millburn.

Education
The Millburn Township Public Schools serve students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2010-11 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are five K-5 elementary schools (except as noted) — Deerfield Elementary School (515 students), Glenwood Elementary School (486), Hartshorn Elementary School (533), South Mountain Elementary School (PreK-5; 387) and Wyoming Elementary School (337) — Millburn Middle School for sixth through eighth grade (1,182) and Millburn High School for grades 9-12 (1,492).

Millburn High School was ranked as Number 148 in Newsweek Magazine's listing of "America's Best High Schools" in the August 5, 2005 issue, a ranking based on the number of AP exams taken by the students at the school in the past year divided by the number of graduating seniors. 98.3% of the class of 2010 planned to attend a four-year college or other post-secondary education.

The school was the 8th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 328 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2012 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 1st in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine also ranked Millburn as the top high school in New Jersey in its 2008 rankings.

The influx of younger families into the community has led to significant growth in public school enrollment, with projected attendance doubling from 1990 to 2007.

Far Brook School is a private, nonsectarian coeducational day school located in the Short Hills section of Millburn, serving students in nursery through eighth grade, with a total enrollment of 197 students. The Pingry School's Lower School (K-6) campus is located in Short Hills. St. Rose of Lima School is a Catholic school with 260 students in PreK-3 to 8th grade, operating under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Newark.

Transportation
Millburn Township is served by two New Jersey Transit railroad stations along the Morristown Line: the Millburn station, located at the intersection of Essex Avenue and Lackawanna Place near the Millburn Free Public Library, and the Short Hills station, located near The Crescent Street between Hobart Avenue and Chatham Road. The latter station is also the site of the Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society museum.

In addition, New Jersey Transit operates multiple bus lines along Millburn and Essex Avenues, including the 70 route that stops at the Millburn RR station on a route between Newark and Livingston. The MCM3 Morris County Metro local route also serves the community.

A variety of roads serve Millburn. Major county routes include CR 510, CR 527 and CR 577. Route 24 and Route 124 also pass through along the southwestern border with Summit. I-78 passes through the very southern tip of the township in the area of exit 49.

Sesquicentennial
In June 2007, Millburn celebrated its 150th birthday in its downtown, in one of the biggest celebrations in Millburn history.

Points of interest

 * Cora Hartshorn Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary - A site owned by the daughter of Short Hills founder Stewart Hartshorn, the 16 acre park with its 3 mi of trails was donated to the township in 1958.
 * The Mall at Short Hills
 * Paper Mill Playhouse
 * B'nai Israel synagogue - Designed by architect Percival Goodman, the synagogue features works by Herbert Ferber, Adolph Gottlieb and Robert Motherwell.
 * Old Short Hills Park
 * Taylor Park
 * Gero Park
 * South Mountain Reservation - Essex County nature reserve covering more than 2000 acres of land in Millburn, Maplewood and West Orange.

Notable people
Notable current and former natives and residents of Millburn include:
 * Lorenzo Borghese (born 1973), star of the 9th season of The Bachelor.
 * Bill Chinnock (1947-2007), singer-songwriter, guitarist; part of Asbury Park music scene with Bruce Springsteen in late 1960s.
 * James C. Fletcher (1919–91), 4th and 7th Administrator of NASA.
 * William R. Forstchen (born 1950) New York Times best selling author.
 * Anne Hathaway (born 1982), actress.
 * Herbert G. Hopwood (1898–1966), Commander in chief of the United States Pacific Fleet from 1958 to 1960.
 * Elliott Kalan (born 1981), writer The Daily Show.
 * John C. McGinley (born 1959), actor.
 * Robert E. Mulcahy III (born 1932), athletic director at Rutgers University.
 * Maureen Ogden (born 1928), seven-term member of the New Jersey General Assembly who served as Mayor of Millburn from 1979 to 1981.
 * Betty Liu, Bloomberg TV anchor.
 * Belva Plain (born 1919), author.
 * Brian Rolston (born 1973), professional hockey player.
 * Peter Rost (born 1959), author, speaker, expert witness, drug industry whistleblower.
 * Annie Russell (1864–1936), British-American theatrical actress.
 * Patti Stanger (born 1961), matchmaker.
 * Joel Weingarten, former member of the New Jersey General Assembly.
 * Wang Yung-ching (1917–2008), Taiwan's wealthiest entrepreneur.
 * Rachel Zoe (born 1971), fashion stylist.
 * Alan Zweibel (born 1950), television producer and writer.