Chatham, NJ
Chatham, New Jersey is one of The Chathams, a term which refers to two neighboring municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey – Chatham Borough and Chatham Township.
In July 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Chatham ninth on its annual list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States. New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Chatham Borough as its 25th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.
Because Chatham covers less than 2.5 square miles, including a business district and railroad station within about a mile from its farthest boundary, it is a pedestrian friendly community. Chatham is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population was 8,460. The village that now is Chatham first was settled by Europeans in 1710 in Morris Township, within the Province of New Jersey. It was settled because the site already was the location of an important crossing of the Passaic River as well as being close to a gap in the Watchung Mountains and on the path of a well-worn Native American trail. Changing its name to Chatham by 1773, it was an active community fighting in the American Revolutionary War.
In February 12, 1806, Chatham Township was formed, taking its name from the village, and including several other villages. On August 19, 1892, based on a referendum held ten days earlier, Chatham adopted a new village form of government allowed within townships. Chatham later was incorporated as an independent borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 1, 1897, replacing the village form of government.
Chatham is located twenty-five miles west of New York City on the eastern edge of Morris County. Chatham's neighboring communities are Summit, New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Long Hill Township, Chatham Township, Harding Township, Madison, Florham Park, Morristown, New Vernon, Short Hills, Millburn, and Livingston. Being only 2.4 square miles in area, Chatham was mostly built out well before the Second World War, retaining its charming homes that sometimes display the dates of their construction during the colonial and revolutionary times.
There are excellent shopping facilities and restaurants available along Chatham's Main Street, and nearby in downtown Madison and Summit, as well as at the Livingston and Short Hills Malls and Hickory Tree Shopping Center in Chatham Township.
Cultural opportunities include historical, art, garden and musical groups, as well as the facilities and programs of neighboring Drew and Fairleigh Dickinson universities. The Chatham Regional school system consistently ranks highly and the Library of the Chathams is a valuable resource to the residents.
Official Website for Chatham Borough.
Official Website for Chatham Township.
- Chatham to New York City Penn Station - 42 Minutes
- Chatham to Newark Airport - 20 minutes
- Chatham to Short Hills Mall - 5 minutes (and seconds from the Livingston Mall!)
- Chatham to Giant Stadium - 30 minutes
New Jersey Transit stops at the Chatham station to provide commuter service on the Morristown Line, with trains heading to the Hoboken Terminal and to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. NJ Transit local bus service is provided on the MCM3 and MCM8 routes. Bus lines also connect Chatham with the other towns along Route 24 from Newark to Morristown, mostly running parallel to the train lines. Nowadays, buses transport people along the line, but stagecoaches and trolleys were mass transit methods once used along the route that followed Main Street. That section of the old route now is labeled Route 124 because of the opening of a new Route 24, a modern highway. The destruction of the historic downtown by a proposed widening of the historic route was opposed and after much debate, an alternate route was chosen to preserve the historic downtowns of Chatham and Madison. The last rails for the trolley system were removed from the area roads in the 1950s.
NJ Transit website
As of the 2000 census, there were 10,086 people, 3,920 households, and 2,771 families residing in Chatham Township. The population density was 1,081.0 people per square mile (417.4/km2). There were 4,019 housing units at an average density of 430.8/sq mi (166.3/km2). The racial makeup was 93.71% White, 0.45% African American, 0.06% Native American, 4.81% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.95% of the population.
There were 3,920 households out of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.4% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.11.
The population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household was $106,208, and the median income for a family was $131,609. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $58,750 for females. The per capita income was $65,497. About 1.9% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.
Chatham Borough and Chatham Township held elections in November 1986 to consider joining their separate school districts. This proposal was supported by the voters of both municipalities and since then, they now share a regionalized school district, the School District of the Chathams.
* Milton Avenue School. Grades K - 3.
* Southern Boulevard School. Grades K - 3.
* Washington Avenue School. Grades K - 3.
* Lafayette School Grades 4 & 5. Principal - Cheryl Caggiano
* Chatham Middle School Grades 6 - 8. Principal – Robert Accardi
* Chatham High School Grades 9 - 12. For the 2004-05 school year, the high school was recognized as a No Child Left Behind - Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education. It was the 12th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2006 cover story on the state's Top Public High Schools.
NJ Department of Education Narrative on Chatham High School
NJ Department of Education Statistics on Chatham High School
