Montville Township, New Jersey
Montville Township is a
Township in
Morris County,
New Jersey,
United States. As of the
United States 2000 Census, the township population was 20,839.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 49.5
km² (19.1
mi²). 48.9 km² (18.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.36%) is water.
As of the
census² of 2000, there were 20,839 people, 7,380 households, and 5,867 families residing in the township. The
population density was 426.4/km² (1,104.3/mi²). There were 7,541 housing units at an average density of 154.3/km² (399.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 84.95%
White, 0.93%
African American, 0.04%
Native American, 12.57%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 0.36% from
other races, and 1.14% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 2.55% of the population.
There were 7,380 households out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.0% were
married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.5% were non-families. 16.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the township the population was spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $94,557, and the median income for a family was $105,394. Males had a median income of $71,356 versus $45,427 for females. The
per capita income for the township was $43,341. About 2.6% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.
Local government
The Township of Montville is headed by 5 elected officials who constitute the Township Committee (also referred to as the "governing body") which establishes laws and policies for the Township. The Mayor is a member of the Township Committee and is elected annually by the Committee.
The Township Administrator serves as the chief administrative and executive officer for the organization and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of all municipal departments.
Montville's Township Council consists of
Mayor Steve Moscone (Term expires
December 31,
2007),
Deputy Mayor Art Daughtry (2007), Jean Bader (2006), Deb Nielson (2008) and Jim Sandham (2008)
[Montville Township Committee, accessed July 5, 2006].
Federal, state and county representation
Montville Township is in the Eleventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 26th Legislative District.
The area now known as Montville Township was first settled by Dutch farmers from
New Amsterdam (now
New York City) in the very early 18th century. Part of
New Netherland, the town was originally called "Uyle-Kill" (the Dutch pronunciation of "Owl-Kill"), a name given to the creek and valley, which ran through the area. By the 1740s, the settlement had grown in size and construction of the first road was begun. The early road, now known as
U.S. Route 202, connected various farms with Montville's first gristmill, sawmill and tannerys.
During the
American Revolutionary War, Montville Township was on a major military route from
Morristown to the
Hudson River. General
George Washington's troops often took this route and Washington stayed in Montville Township (Towaco section) in June 1780. The French troops under the leadership of
General Rochambeau also passed through Montville Township on their way to the War's final victory at
Yorktown, Virginia. It took them four days as they encompassed 5,000 soldiers, 2,000 horses, 500 oxen, possibly 900 cattle, artillery, boats, followers, etc.
Montville was officially named with specific boundaries April 1800. The name came from the Mandeville Inn, which was pronounced Mondeveil by the Dutch. That name was corrupted to Montville. The Montville Inn was, up until July of 2006 located at the site of the pre-Revolutionary War Mandeville Inn. It was demolished to make room for a new restaurant.
The construction of the
Morris Canal in this area was completed in 1828, bringing commercial navigation to the Montville/Towaco area. The mid-19th century saw the development of two smaller village centers set apart from Montville: Pine Brook, a fertile agricultural area in the Township's southern end, and Towaco, situated on the Morris Canal. In 1867, the Township of Montville was formally chartered from 19 square miles of territory set off from what was part of
Pequannock Township.
The
Montville Township School District is comprised of the following schools (with 2003-04 enrollment data from the
National Center for Education Statistics).
The district includes five Kindergarten to fifth grade elementary schools —
Cedar Hill Elementary School with 404 students,
Hilldale Elementary School with 357 students,
Valley View Elementary School with 433 students,
William Mason Elementary School with 383 students and
Woodmont Elementary School serving 362 students —
Robert R. Lazar Middle School with about 1,039 students in grades 6 - 8 (as of the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year), and
Montville High School with an enrollment of 1,098 students in grades 9 - 12. MTHS's mascot is the Mustang and motto is "You can't hide from Mustang Pride!"
Montville Extended Day Learning Center is available at all the elementary schools in the district.
Private Schools include
St. Pius X School and
Trinity Christian School.
As part of its
MidTOWN DIRECT expansion program,
New Jersey Transit, with supplemental funding from the Township of Montville, renovated the
Towaco Train Station using a design harkening back to the early 1900s. Commuters may now go from Towaco to
Penn Station in
Midtown Manhattan via a transfer in
Montclair rather than transferring to the
PATH in
Newark.
Some noted current and former residents:
*
Pete Yorn -
Singer-songwriter*
Montville Township website*
Montville Township School District*
National Center for Education Statistics data for the Montville Township School District*
Montville Republican Club*
Montville Township Public Library*
MyMontville.com*
Montville Chamber of Commerence*
Montville Kiwanis*
Montville Unico*
Troop 74*
VFW 5481*
Montville Education Foundation*
Pathways to Exceptional Children*
The Barn Theatre*
St Pius Knight of Columbus*
Pine Brook Jewish Center*
Trinity Bapist Church*
St. Pius Church*
Towaco Fire Department*
Pine Brook Fire Department*
Montville First Aid Squad*
Association of Indians in Montville*
Montville Chinese Association*
Montville Lacrosse Club*
Montville Rugby Club*
Montville Athletic League*
Montville Track and Field Club*
Montville Soccer Association*
Montville Baseball Softball Association
