History of Washington Township
Morris County, New Jersey
Geology:
Long Valley (for 100 years known as German Valley) runs through the heart of Washington Township, north to south.
History:
pre-colonial times the Lenni Lenape Indians lived in the area.
1707 arrival in the future America of the German Protestant immigrants from Saxony who eventually came to settle the German Valley (a.k.a. Long Valley) section of Washington Township.
1750 Philip Weise built the Obadiah LaTourette Grist and Saw Mill. (The mill is being restored by the Washington Township Land Trust.) Located at 2 East Mill Road (Route 513), Long Valley.
1774 the Old Union Stone Church built.
Revolutionary War it is believed that many of the Hessian troops routed in Trenton, as well as other Hessians deserters, sought refuge in the fertile German Valley (a.k.a.. Long Valley).
Revolutionary War iron ore was taken from the mines above German Valley to produce iron and make iron utensils, cannon and cannon balls to aide Gen. George Washington.
1798 Washington Township incorporated. The township is the largest in Morris County, encompassing more than 45 square miles.
1801 Joseph Heath opened the first of several buildings near Pleasant Grove Road. The Heath House was built and became a renowned spa.
1815 the mineral spring on Schooleys Mountain was declared the purest and best chalybeate water known at that time in the country.
1830 a schoolhouse built and later transformed into a library. In 1981 it was made into a museum (the Washington Township Historical Society Museum/Old Union Church Ruins and Cemetery museum with exhibits, a genealogy library, photographs, and displays of local artifacts and farm tools.)
Washington Township Park preserves a quarter mile stretch of Morris Canal prism and towpath.
Civil War (1861-1865)
post Civil War Schooley's Mountain was probably America's earliest summer resort many drawn there by the reputed beneficial effects of the mountain springs.
1868 a boarding school holding 120 students opened at Schooley's Mountain Springs.
By 1880 Morris County ranked third in the nation in the production of iron ore.
late 19th and early 20th centuries people traveled by rail and by stagecoach to ``take the waters'' of spas located on Schooley's Mountain, one of the highest and most heavily forested hills in Morris County.
1920 through 1950s Schooleys Mountain was a favorite destination of children, with the Morristown YMCA operating a camp.
1981 the Washington Township Historical Society Museum/Old Union Church Ruins and Cemetery museum established in the old school house/library building. It is located at 6 Fairview Avenue, Long Valley Next to the museum are the ruins of the Old Union Stone Church.
Today Washington Township has almost eighteen thousand residents, the majority of whom work outside the township.
Source:
Washington Township: History; http://www.wtmorris.org/town/history.html