Town Tours: Morris Plains at a glance
Editor's note: Today the Daily Record begins a week-long tour of the Borough of Morris Plains.
Morris Plains is known as the "Community of Caring." The Community Center complex on Jim Fear Drive is home to the town pool, six ballfields, summer day camps and a host of popular community-wide events. Also on the site is the Museum of Morris Plains, which houses artifacts, photographs, maps, costumes and artwork tracing the town's 300-year-old history that began with a single saw mill in 1685.
SIZE: Population: 5,739. Area: 2.6 square miles.
DISTANCE FROM MIDTOWN NYC: 34 miles
ETHNIC MAKEUP: 84 percent white; 12.4 percent Hispanic; 10 percent Asian American; 3.5 percent African American.
THE COMMUTE: The Morris Plains train station is in the town center. New Jersey Transit's Midtown Direct Service to Penn Station New York, on the Morris & Essex line, takes about an hour (express) or 75 minutes (local). A monthly train pass is $361; parking is $480 a year; there is a year-long waiting list. Daily parking near the train stations is $3 a day; street parking is free.
SCHOOL DISTRICT: The Morris Plains school system has 650 students in the Borough School (Pre-K through grade 2) and the Mountain Way Elementary School (Grades 3-8.) High school students are bussed to nearby Morristown High School, with 1,491 students. Mean SAT scores at Morristown HS for the class of 2014 were 530 in Critical Reading; 550 in Math and 530 in Writing. Percent of the class of 2014 who planned to go to four-year colleges was 67 percent.
REAL ESTATE: The Morris Plains housing market is "very active," according to Bob Falzarano, a real estate agent with Weichert who has lived in Morris Plains for 33 years. "This year it was one of the top 20 strongest markets in the state."
2014 MEDIAN SALE PRICE: $400,000.
AVERAGE TAX BILL: $9,300 including sewer.
RECENT LISTINGS: According to Garden State Multiple Listing Service, homes ranged from $325,000 for a two-bedroom ranch on Diana Road to $799,000 for a 1998 11-room Colonial on Madison Avenue.
ANNUAL EVENTS: Fall bonfire and hayride, Christmas tree and a menorah lighting, summer concert series featuring local talent, Family Day and fireworks in June, town-wide garage sale.
POOL PASS: $345 per season for a family pass
DOWNTOWN: Speedwell Avenue (Route 202), is home to boutiques, restaurants and businesses, including Arthur's Tavern Steakhouse, Aji Sushi Japanese Fusion restaurant, and a pub called the Collins Bar and Restaurant. An old train station displays miniature Lionel trains.
WEBSITE: www.morrisplainsboro.org
Julia Martin, (973) 428-6653; jmartin@dailyrecord.com
Fun facts:
Up until 30 years ago, there were no streets in Morris Plains, which was referred to as "The Town With No Streets," according to Mayor Frank Druetzler. Laurel Street, in a 30-year-old section of the borough, became the first Street in Morris Plains.
Greystone Park has the same ZIP code as Morris Plains. At one point, Greystone had its own P.O. box, annexed out of the Morris Plains Post Office.
George Washington Coffee Co., which moved from Brooklyn, N.Y., after World War I, was the first company to manufacture instant coffee.