GENERAL INFORMATION
Long Hill Township was incorporated as Passaic Township in 1866. In November, 1992 the voters elected to change the name of the municipality to Long Hill. Long Hill was named one of 25 Great Towns by New Jersey Magazine in March, 1999.
The Township consists of four communities: the villages of Gillette, Millington and Stirling, and the hamlet of Meyersville. Homestead Park is the name of the first subdivision in the Township developed in the 1920's.
Long Hill Township is located in the most southern part of Morris County, New Jersey. It is bounded by the Passaic River on the south and west, and by the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge on the north. It borders both Union and Somerset Counties.
In colonial times, Long Hill Township was part of the "Lord Stirling Grant" that included much of the area from Summit to Bernardsville, between Morristown and Watchung.
Long Hill Township has a Township Committee form of government. Five members of the Township Committee are elected for staggered three-year terms. The Committee elects a Chairperson to serve as Mayor for one year.
Post Offices In Long Hill
|
Counter |
Lobby - Boxes Only |
Millington
07946 |
40°40'25" N
74°31'25" W |
1936 Long Hill Road
908-647-1279 |
8:00-4:30 M-F
10:00-12:00 Sat |
7:00-5:00 M-F
8:00-12:00 Sat |
Stirling
07980 |
40°40'02.2" N
74°31'19.5" W |
1153 Valley Road
908-647-0206 |
Gillette
07933 |
40°40'29.7" N
74°31'53.4" W |
594 Valley Road
908-647-3135 |
| The approximate boundaries of the ZIP codes in Long Hill Township are shown on the street maps webpages.
Local Post Office History
|
FedEx - drop boxes at Gillette & Stirling PO
800-GO-FEDEX |
United Parcel Service
800-PICK-UPS |
Demographics
Population
| 2000 Census |
8,777 |
| a gain of 12.1% since 1990 |
| 1990 Census |
7,826 |
| 1980 Census |
7,275 |
| 1970 Census |
7,393 |
| 1960 Census |
5,537 |
| 1950 Census |
3,429 |
| 1940 Census |
2,664 |
| 1930 Census |
2,149 |
| 1920 Census * |
2,373 |
| 1880 Census * |
1,625 |
2000 Census Categories |
| White |
8141 |
| Black or African/American |
34 |
| American Indian |
15 |
| Asian |
420 |
| Other/Mixed |
167 |
| Hispanic/Latino |
303 |
| Over 65 |
1109 |
| 18-64 |
5361 |
| Under 18 |
2307 |
Voters
| Over 18 - 2000 Census |
6470 |
| Registered Voters (6/03) |
5627 (87%) |
Voters registered
as "Unaffiliated" |
3235 (58%) |
Property Value
| 1881 * |
:$ 764,000 |
| 1998 Equalized |
$ 882,000,000 |
| 1999 Equalized |
$ 941,000,000 |
| 2000 Equalized |
$ 1,026,000,000 |
| 2001 Reassessment |
$ 1,248,000,000 |
* 1880/81 and 1920 figures include Harding Twp.
| Residential |
2,870 (containing 3,118 housing units) |
94% of the residential properties (86% of the housing units) are Owner-Occupied.
88% of the housing units are served by the public sanitary sewer system. |
| Farm |
18 |
| Commercial/Industrial |
137 |
|
Employees:
Residential Property Values
- About 16% of single-family residences are assessed at over $500,000.
- Our average residence is assessed at $379,000.
- The median (half above, half below) residence is assessed at $350,000.
Full-Time: 62
Part-Time: 35
Geography:
12.13 square miles. 55% of the Township consists of vacant land, parks, conservation and open space areas, due principally to the existence of wetlands, flood plains and steep slopes. 47% of the township is public parkland.
The highest elevation in Long Hill Township is 449 feet above sea level (northeast of the intersection of Long Hill Rd. and Gillette Rd.).
Long Hill Township is bordered for 12.4 miles by the Passaic River. This is approximately 15% of the entire length of the river.
The longest straight line you could walk within the township is 6.3 miles. Wear boots, since both ends of this walk are in wetlands.
Food for thought. 6.3 miles is also the straight-line distance between Shea and Yankee Stadiums.
The Geology of Long Hill Township.
A detailed breakdown of Land Use .
|
|
Property Analysis
The table below is taken from the Final Report of the 2001 Reassessment. It assigns all the properties in the township into categories according to the use of the land. Details
| 2001 Reassessment Land Use Analysis |
|
|
# of Lots |
Acres |
% Acres |
| Developed Areas |
| Residential Taxed |
2887 |
2511 |
32.3% |
| Residences in other categories |
10 |
20 |
0.3% |
| Residential Exempt |
21 |
56 |
0.7% |
| Residential Total |
2918 |
2587 |
33.3% |
|
| Commercial and Industrial |
133 |
299 |
3.8% |
| Power company substations and NJ Transit |
|
53 |
0.7% |
| Commercial and Industrial Total |
|
352 |
4.5% |
|
| Long Hill Township Buildings |
11 |
36 |
0.5% |
| Board of Education |
3 |
39 |
0.5% |
| Social and Service |
9 |
8 |
0.1% |
| Religious and Charitable |
8 |
9 |
0.1% |
| Non-residential Exempt Total |
31 |
92 |
1.2% |
|
| Town and County Roads (est) |
|
457 |
5.9% |
|
| Developed Areas Total |
|
3488 |
44.9% |
|
| Open Spaces |
| Private Vacant Land |
208 |
428 |
5.5% |
| Farms |
13 |
115 |
1.5% |
| Power and Pipe Lines Right of Way |
|
78 |
1.0% |
| Exempt - Religious and Cemetery |
|
49 |
0.6% |
| Private Open Space Total |
|
670 |
8.6% |
|
| Long Hill Parks |
|
97 |
1.3% |
| Long Hill other Open Space |
|
351 |
4.5% |
| USA GSNWR (partially est.) |
|
2320 |
29.8% |
| New Jersey DEP Parkland and Open Space |
|
95 |
1.2% |
| Morris County Parkland and Open Space |
|
686 |
8.8% |
| The Passaic River (est) |
|
60 |
0.9% |
| Public Parkland and Open Space Total |
|
3609 |
46.5% |
|
| Open Spaces Total |
|
4279 |
55.1% |
|
| Total Acreage |
|
7767 |
100.0% |
Geology
Long Hill Township is in the Newark Basin of the Piedmont Physiologic Province. Shales, that were deposited during the Triassic Period, underlie the town. Volcanic activity occurred in the Newark Basin during the early Jurassic Period (181 million years ago). As a result, fissures formed in the earth's surface and flows of basalt occurred on the surface. Later faulting caused the flows to tilt. which resulted in the formation of the Watchung Mountains. A gentle uplifling of the earth in the region caused the streams to erode some of the rock layers.
The "softer" rocks, those more susceptible to erosion, such as the Brunswick shale were gradually eroded, leaving the more resistant Watchung Mountains (Jurassic basalt) standing in relief. In Long Hill Township the hard basaltic rocks of the Third Watchung ridge, known as Long Hill, define the topography and drainage patterns that currently exist. Water falling on the north slope of the ridge drains into the Great Swamp, and on the southern slope moves towards the Passaic River.
The most recent unit of geologic time, the Quaternary Period (the last 2.5 million years), included four glacial stages. The most recent glacial stage, the Wisconsin Glacier reached its maximum extent in New Jersey about 18,000 years ago and began to recede 11,000 years ago. Because of the great thickness (about 2,000 feet in New Jersey) and extent of the glaciers, much of the soil and large amounts of rock were dragged by or incorporated into the ice.
When the climate began to warm, various portions of the glaciers began to melt. The large quantity of sediments and rocks that the glaciers carried were then deposited. The end of the glaciers southern movement in New Jersey is marked by the deposition of the terminal moraine. The terminal moraine in Long Hill Township was deposited atop and alongside the Third Watchung Ridge. This is important because of the superior capacity of the sand and gravel materials in the terminal moraine to permit rain or snow waters to infiltrate down to the underlying aquifers. As a result of the Wisconsin glaciation, a lake known as "Glacial Lake Passaic" was formed in the Newark Basin between the Second Watchung Mountain and the Highlands. Several remnant lakes occupied the lowland areas after the disappearance of Glacial Lake Passaic. Swamps and marshes now occupy those remnant lake basins. These include the Great Swamp, and the wetlands at the confluence of the Dead River and the Passaic River. The sediments left on the slopes of Long Hill after Glacial Lake Passaic receded, now store ground water and release it slowly to the wetlands and the Passaic River. These shallow, unconfined aquifers supply water to a significant number of private wells in Long Hill.
This description is extracted from the "Township of Long Hill Well Head Protection Program Phase II: Identification of Well Head Protection Areas and Potential Pollutant Sources, June 2001" . The complete report has colored charts which accompany this text.
You may read the complete report by contacting the Secretary of the Environmental Commission .
Please click HERE to view the 2010 Long Hill Township Census Summary
Please click HERE for the NJLM 2010 Census Summary