History in Morris County
Each of Morris County's municipalities has something to offer the heritage tourist. There are many highlighting the county’s Revolutionary War-era past, its rich contributions to early Industrial America, the Gilded Age and its emergence in the 20th century as a cradle of innovation in the pharmaceutical & telecommunications industries. Home to America’s first national historical park, dedicated to preserving the history of General George Washington and the Continental Army who camped locally in the winters of 1777 and 1779-80.
Historic Morris County – The Gilded Age of Morris County
By 1900 the nation's business and financial leaders, seeking escape from New York City, discovered Morris County (which was renowned for its isolation, ideal climate and unspoiled countryside) and began constructing large country estates. Within a few years, more millionaires lived within a three-mile radius of the Morristown Green than anywhere else in the United States.
These magnificent estates were numerous enough to fill the pages of a pre-World War I vintage picture book entitled Beautiful Homes of Morris County, boasting the most opulent homes of moguls such as Otto H. Kahn, Charles Mellon and the Frelinghuysens. Sadly, the introduction of the federal income tax and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, sounded the death knell for the large estates. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s the impressive mansions that lined Madison Avenue’s "Millionaires Row" were demolished to avoid rising property taxes and upkeep expenses.
