History of Denville Township

Morris County, New Jersey

History:

Pre-colonial times – Lenape Indians lived in the area. They would travel the Minisink Trail that cut across today’s southern Denville (roughly Route 10 and Mt. Pleasant Turnpike).

Early 17^th century – Dutch and English settlers arrived in the new world.

1664 – Daniel Denton, one of the purchasers of the Elizabethtown Tract, led an expedition into the interior of northern New Jersey.

1670 – Denton wrote the first English language description of the area.

1664 – the English took over from the Dutch.

1676 – New Jersey was divided into West and East Jersey with Denville in East New Jersey.

As early as 1690 – some researchers believed that settlers came to the Denville area.

1702 – Queen Anne reunited the two divisions into the one royal Province of New Jersey. The settlers were Dutch and English from Long Island, Quakers from Philadelphia, and Germans.

c. 1715 – William Penn staked out lands in the Denville area.

1730-1760 – several forges and mills built along the Rockaway River and the Denbrook in Denville. Ninkey and Franklin in southern Denville developed around the forges there of the same names, while Denville village developed around the Job Allen Iron Works.

Early Denville settler John Hinchman claimed that the elders of the area told him that both the names of Denbrook and Denville referred to a "den" of wild animals located along the Denbrook and Rockaway River.

1777 (January) – George Washington marched north to Morristown. While in the area he had his horse shoed at a blacksmith shop on Casterline Road

1890 (October) – former President Cleveland was a guest at the Denville Hotel (which later became the Wayside Inn).

1922 – President Warren G. Harding, friends with the owners of the Diamond Spring Lodge, visited Denville.

1994 – former President George Bush visited ailing Congressman Dean Gallo at St. Clare's Hospital.

Sources:

Vito Bianco. The Official Web Site of Denville, New Jersey. History and Facts. Early History of Denville, New Jersey. http://www.denvillenj.org/history_and_facts.htm