Morristown
Morristown has some of the oldest housing in Morris County, and basement water problems here often trace back to foundations built long before modern drainage. Fieldstone and brick foundations around the historic district can seep along mortar joints, while early twentieth century homes on block foundations commonly leak at the floor joint. A local waterproofing contractor can tell you whether gutters and grading will help, or whether an interior drain and sump pump are the more lasting fix for your house.
Morristown sits where the hilly Highlands give way to the Piedmont, and the ground underneath is a patchwork of glacial deposits, clay, and rock. That mix drains unevenly, so two houses on the same block can behave very differently in a storm. The Whippany River runs along the north side of downtown, and Morris County's flood planning documents name it as the town's main flood source, with low streets like Martin Luther King Avenue (once called Water Street) flooding as far back as the 1920s. Because the town is so built up, roofs, pavement, and parking lots send a lot of runoff toward whatever is downhill. Old houses with no footing drains and short downspouts take the brunt of it.
Sections of Morristown
- Downtown / the Morristown Green
- Morristown Historic District
- Second Ward
- Normandy Park (historic district, partly in Morris Township)
- The Green and downtown
- Speedwell Lake area
- Burnham Park area
- Mount Kemble Avenue corridor
- Washington's Headquarters area
Main roads
- Interstate 287. main highway into town, with Exits 35 and 36 inside Morristown
- U.S. Route 202 / Mount Kemble Avenue. runs south from downtown past the national historical park
- Route 124. state route serving the town
- County Route 510. county route through town
- South Street. main street of the St. Patrick's Day parade route
- Speedwell Avenue. major town street
- Washington Street. major downtown street
- Madison Avenue. forms part of the Morristown historic district boundary
- Morris Street. downtown street; farmers market lot is at Spring and Morris
- Columbia Turnpike. near the Normandy Park neighborhood (Morris Township side)
Landmarks
- Morristown Green. former colonial market square with Revolutionary and Civil War monuments
- Ford Mansion (Washington's Headquarters). part of Morristown National Historical Park
- Fort Nonsense. Revolutionary War site, part of Morristown National Historical Park
- Speedwell Ironworks. National Historic Landmark where the telegraph was first publicly demonstrated
- Speedwell Lake. park with an old dam and ruins
- Acorn Hall. Victorian Italianate mansion and museum
- Burnham Park. home of a Thomas Paine statue; slated for about 300 new trees
- Jacob Ford Park. site of the Shade Tree Commission's forest and slope restoration
Nearby towns
- Morris Township
- Morris Plains
- Hanover Township
- Parsippany
- Harding Township
- Madison
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