Hanover Township, New Jersey

Hanover Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 13,712,  reflecting an increase of 814 (+6.3%) from the 12,898 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 1,360 (+11.8%) from the 11,538 counted in the 1990 Census. The township comprises the unincorporated communities of Whippany and Cedar Knolls.

Located just north of the historic town of Morristown and adjacent to the regional Morristown Municipal Airport, Hanover Township offers many public attractions including the Whippany Railway Museum, the Frelinghuysen Arboretum and the Morris County Library. Patriots' Path, a wilderness walkway and bike trail that stretches for 26 mi, also passes through the township along the Whippany River.

Geography
Hanover Township is located at 40.81995°N, -74.42799°W (40.81995,-74.427986). According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 10.727 square miles (27.782 km2), of which, 10.525 square miles (27.259 km2) of it is land and 0.202 square miles (0.523 km2) of it (1.88%) is water.

Census 2010
The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $100,962 (with a margin of error of +/- $6,654) and the median family income was $115,341 (+/- $10,572). Males had a median income of $76,766 (+/- $2,263) versus $61,441 (+/- $5,321) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $44,123 (+/- $2,675). About 1.5% of families and 2.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 1.9% of those age 65 or over.

Census 2000
At the 2000 United States Census there were 12,898 people, 4,745 households and 3,620 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,209.6 per square mile (467.2/km²). There were 4,818 housing units at an average density of 451.8 per square mile (174.5/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 88.79% White, 1.09% African American, 0.05% Native American, 8.71% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.50% of the population.

There were 4,745 households of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.8% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 19.6% 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 2.71 and the average family size was 3.13.

Age distribution was 22.8% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

The median household income was $84,115, and the median family income was $93,937. Males had a median income of $59,278 versus $40,799 for females. The per capita income for the township was $37,661. About 0.7% of families and 1.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.

History
Hanover Township marks the spot of the first settlement in all of northwest New Jersey. New Englanders established a settlement along the Whippany River in 1685 near the current location of the old Whippany Cemetery on Route 10.

Once the Province of West Jersey purchased the land from the local Lenape Native Americans, the original County of Morris was created and comprised all of what is now Morris, Sussex and Warren Counties. It was itself divided into Townships. One of its Townships was 'Whippenny' which itself comprised all of what is now Morris County.

The name Hanover was taken from the House of Hanover in Germany. This namesake was given to the Township of Hanover on December 7, 1720, as a sign of respect to George I of Great Britain who was of the House of Hanover and who ruled over the American colonies in the eighteenth century. Since the creation of Hanover Township in 1720 and its incorporation on March 25, 1740, its size has been considerably decreased as the population of the area has increased. Originally encompassing all of Morris County and parts of Sussex and Warren County, Hanover Township became too unwieldy for a single local government to maintain. The Township was subdivided into smaller municipalities that could provide more responsive local control despite placing greater demands on the local tax base to support new facilities for each.

Portions of the township were taken to form Mendham Township on March 29, 1749. Hanover Township was established by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Additional portions of the township were taken to form Chatham Township (February 12, 1806), Rockaway Township (April 8, 1844), Boonton Town (March 16, 1866), Mountain Lakes (April 29, 1924), Morris Plains (April 15, 1926), East Hanover Township and Parsippany-Troy Hills Township (both on May 9, 1928).

During the Revolutionary War, George Washington and his troops often camped in, and marched through, Hanover Township.

The name Whippany is a corruption of the Native American word Whippanong which means "where the willow trees grow".

The old villages of Monroe and Malapardis were consumed by development and what remains are two communities - Whippany and Cedar Knolls - which are roughly separated by Interstate 287.

The Malapardis area of Cedar Knolls is primarily located around Malapardis Road. A section of Malapardis, even though it is in Hanover Township's boarders, has a Morris Plains mailing zip code. Another section of Cedar Knolls is called Trailwood which has a section of its land in a Morris Plains ZIP code, the area closest to American Way.

The Monroe area of Whippany is located around Whippany Road and Cedar Knolls Road, marked by a building in the intersection named Monroe Hall.

Until the post-World War II suburbanization of New Jersey, Hanover Township was a sparsely populated industrial town known for its iron works and paper mills. This industry was driven by the ever-present power of the Whippany River. Over the second-half of the twentieth century, the Township became thoroughly suburban.

Lucent Technologies had a large facility in Whippany. The first demonstration of long distance television transmission in the United States took place in 1927, with a transmission that went via wire from Washington, D.C., to New York, and from Whippany to New York using radio.

Local government


Hanover Township employs the traditional Township form of government. The Township has a five member Township Committee whose terms of office begin on January 1 following the preceding general election. Members are elected at-large in partisan elections to three-year terms on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year. A Mayor and Deputy Mayor are selected at the annual reorganization meeting by the committeemen from among the members of the Township Committee.

, Mayor Ronald F. Francioli (R, term as mayor and on committee ends December 31, 2013; term on committee ends 2013), Deputy Mayor John L. Ferramosca (R, term as deputy mayor ends 2013; term on committee ends 2015), Robert Brueno, Jr. (R, 2014), George F. Coppola (R, 2014) and Kenneth C. Schleifer (R, 2013).

Politics in Hanover Township are decidedly Republican. No Democrat has made a serious bid for Committee since the 1950s.

Township Hall, which was renovated and enlarged in 2003, is located at the corner of Jefferson Road and Route 10. It contains all Township offices, the Township Municipal Court, the Police Department, and the Whippanong Public Library.

The 2010 township budget was $23,526,822.60. The Township's NJ Treasury/Taxation code is 1412.

Township services
The Township has its own Police Department consisting of about 30 officers in addition to a Public Works Department which handles the Township's sanitation and recycling needs. The Cedar Knolls First Aid Squad provides emergency medical coverage for the entire township. Morristown Medical Center, a level-2 regional trauma center, is about three miles away.

There are two volunteer fire districts in the Township:
 * Whippany Fire District #2 is located on the corner of Route 10 and School Street. They maintain a swift water rescue team and a hazardous materials response (hazmat) team.
 * Cedar Knolls Fire District #3 is located at the corner of Ridgedale and Mountain Avenues. They maintain an aerial ladder and the Township's emergency medical services (EMS).

The Hanover Sewerage Authority provides sewerage service for the Township. It has a treatment plant located on Troy Road.



Hanover Township contains many municipal parks and recreational facilities including:
 * Bee Meadow Park and Pool
 * Blackbrook Park
 * Central Park
 * Malapardis Park
 * Township Community Center

The township is home to the Whippany-based Hanover Wind Symphony, which was established in 1985.

Federal, state and county representation
Hanover Township is located in the 11th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 27th state legislative district. Prior to the 2011 reapportionment following the 2010 Census, Hanover Township had been in the 26th state legislative district.

Politics
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 9,317 registered voters in Hanover Township, of which 1,606 (17.2%) were registered as Democrats, 4,356 (46.8%) were registered as Republicans and 3,350 (36.0%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 5 voters registered to other parties.

In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 60.2% of the vote here (4,544 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 38.3% (2,894 votes) and other candidates with 1.0% (78 votes), among the 7,553 ballots cast by the township's 9,478 registered voters, for a turnout of 79.7%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 61.2% of the vote here (4,474 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 37.5% (2,740 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (69 votes), among the 7,312 ballots cast by the township's 9,226 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 79.3.

In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 64.5% of the vote here (3,314 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 27.0% (1,388 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 7.2% (368 votes) and other candidates with 0.3% (16 votes), among the 5,138 ballots cast by the township's 9,358 registered voters, yielding a 54.9% turnout.

Public elementary
For kindergarten through eighth grade, public school students attend the Hanover Township Public Schools. Schools in the district (with 2010-11 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are Bee Meadow School (358 students), Salem Drive School (295) and Mountview Road School (299) for grades K-5 and Memorial Junior School (557) for grades 6-8.

During the 1998-99 school year, Bee Meadow School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.

Public secondary
Students in ninth through twelfth grades are served by the Hanover Park Regional High School District attending Whippany Park High School in the Whippany section of Hanover Township. The district also serves students from the neighboring communities of East Hanover Township and Florham Park, who attend Hanover Park High School in East Hanover.

Parochial and private
Our Lady of Mercy Academy is a K-8 Catholic school operated under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson. It is part of Our Lady of Mercy Parish.

There are also three private special education schools - The Allegro School, The Calais School and P.G. Chambers School.

Transportation
Interstate 287, Route 10 and Route 24 pass through the Township. Interstate 80, U.S. Route 46 and U.S. Route 202 are nearby.

The Morristown and Erie Railway, a small freight line, traverses the township.

New Jersey Transit offers local bus service on the MCM1, MCM2 and MCM10 routes and service between the township and Newark on the 73 route.

Local media
Radio stations WMTR and WDHA have studios and offices located in the Cedar Knolls section of the township.

Name confusion
There is some confusion over the place names in Hanover Township and this is understandable given the sometimes arcane usage of place names in New Jersey.

Whippany and Cedar Knolls are place names for unincorporated communities. They have unique ZIP codes, post offices and fire departments but are otherwise simply neighborhood names.

Next to Hanover Township is East Hanover Township which has a neighborhood called 'Hanover'. Also, there is a New Hanover Township and a North Hanover Township in Burlington County, and several other Hanover Townships in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Furthermore, street signs and maps often do not identify Hanover Township but instead indicate one of the place names.

Residents of Whippany and Cedar Knolls have become accustomed to indicating that they live in either Whippany or Cedar Knolls and not in Hanover Township. Some confusion comes from the difference between neighborhood boundaries, and the arbitrary ZIP Code boundaries that do not necessarily coincide with municipal boundaries resulting in township mailing addresses which use place names outside of the township. Whippany's ZIP code is 07981 and Cedar Knolls' is 07927.

Notable events

 * On January 5, 2009, five unidentified red lights were spotted in the night sky over Hanover Township and Morris County. The event became nationally known as the Morristown UFO hoax after two residents disclosed how they had used road flares attached to balloons to create the objects seen across the area.

Notable people
Notable current and former residents of Hanover Township include:
 * Arthur R. Albohn (1921–2008), member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1980 to 1996.
 * George Hammell Cook (1818–1889), State Geologist of New Jersey and namesake of Cook College at Rutgers University.
 * Rosemarie DeWitt (born 1974), actress.
 * Mahlon Dickerson (1770–1853), Governor of New Jersey and U.S. Senator who also served as United States Secretary of the Navy.
 * Smith Ely, Jr. (1825–1911), member of the United States House of Representatives from New York and Mayor of New York City.
 * Dan Frischman (born 1959), character actor, noted for his many roles of playing socially inept "geeks" and "nerds".
 * Ashbel Green (1762–1848), Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives from 1792 to 1800 and President of Princeton University from 1812 to 1822.
 * Aaron Kitchell (1744–1820), represented New Jersey in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
 * Othniel Looker (1757–1845), Fifth Governor of Ohio.
 * Thomas Millidge (c. 1735-1816), loyalist during the American Revolutionary War who later became a wealthy landowner in Canada.
 * William W. Phelps (1792–1892), best known for his legacy of LDS hymns, many of which appear in the current edition of the LDS Hymnal.
 * Enoch Cobb Wines (1806–1879), minister of the Congregational church and prison reform advocate.