Morris

Formed March 15, 1739 (11^th county)

Morris County (509,277), Morristown (20,173)

The Federalist red brick courthouse was erected in 1827.  The courthouse is on Court Washington Street between Western and Court streets.  The facility is two blocks northwest of United States Highway 202 in the town.  Joseph M. Lindsley is the architect of this towered facility.  The structure has been enlarged.  An Administration 1989 building augments the courthouse.  There were 1755 and 1770 courthouses earlier in Morristown, the only county seat.  Morris County was created from Hunterdon County on March 15, 1739 as the 11^th county.  It is named for Colonial Governor Lewis Morris.  The county seat is named for the county.  Morris County was the birthplace for 1 New Jersey Governor, Mahlon Dickerson. 

Morris County government consists of a sheriff and 7 Freeholders.  Twenty Superior Court Judges serve Morris and Sussex counties.  The county is in north central New Jersey.  Newark is directly east and Philadelphia, PA is southwest of the county.  The county center is 5.2 miles Northwest of Morristown in Randolph.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Passaic, Essex, Union, Somerset, Hunterdon, Warren, and Sussex counties. 

The area of the county is 469 square miles.  It is 7 out of 21 in the state.  It ranks 10 out of 21 in population in the state.  It has a density of 1085.9 persons per square mile making it 11 out of 21 in the state.  Morris County has 31.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 80 travels east to west in the county from Passaic County to Sussex County.  United States Highway 46 parallels Interstate Highway 80 from Passaic to Sussex counties.  United States Highway 202 crosses from the northeast, Passaic County to the southwest, Somerset County.  United States Highway 206 goes north to south from Sussex County to Somerset County.  The county is shaped like a bouquet of flowers facing northeast.  Morristown is in the southeast quarter of the county.  Morristown is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 4.0% of the county population.  This county is in the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Wharton