Short Hills, New Jersey
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Short Hills is an unincorporated area located within the township of Millburn, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States.
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[edit] History
[edit] Beginnings
Short Hills began as an unincorporated community in 1874, when Stewart Hartshorn purchased 13 acres of land in Millburn Township, near the present Hobart Avenue, Parsonage Hill Road, and Chatham Road. Hartshorn's purpose was to create "a harmonious community for people who appreciated nature," and "where natural beauty would not be destroyed by real estate developments, and where people of congenial tastes could dwell together." He later increased his land holdings to 56 acres for himself and 1,552 acres for the whole village.
Hartshorn chose the name "Short Hills" because it reflected the topography of the region, and also because the local Lenape Native Americans used that same name to describe the region. One local resident suggested that he call his village "Hartshornville," but he definitively refused.
[edit] Railroad and postal connections
Hartshorn situated his "ideal town" near enough to a railroad to allow for an easy commute to Hoboken and, from there, to New York City. Hence, his decision in 1879 to build, at his own expense, a railroad station along the original Morris and Essex Railroad line. He also persuaded the United States Post Office to open a station in his new railroad station in 1880, and in fact, the Post Office has always had a presence in Short Hills from that day.
[edit] Buffer zones
Presciently, Hartshorn deliberately preserved strips of land along the railroad right-of-way from any development. These strips separate Hobart Avenue to the north, and Chatham Road to the south, from the railway line. The only structure that has ever stood directly adjacent to the line is the railroad station. This is why the spectacle of residential back yards nearly abutting the tracks and commercial back entrances with their trash bins visible to railroad passengers, does not exist along the Short Hills portion of the Morristown Line. Mr. Hartshorn also established the Short Hills Park directly across Hobart Avenue from the station, which stands to this day. In 1944, his estate donated this park to Millburn Township, with the stipulation that it always remain open to the public.
[edit] Architectural diversity
Hartshorn erected nearly all the houses in Short Hills himself, and typically employed multiple architects to ensure that no two houses would ever be exactly alike. As a result, the houses in Short Hills display a staggering variety of architectural styles, including Spanish, colonial, Victorian, and English Tudor. Hartshorn also provided a sewer system, which in 1902 was connected with the sewer system of Millburn.
[edit] Common elements
After seventeen houses were erected, Hartshorn turned his attention to other "common elements." These included a Music Hall, which remains today as the Short Hills Racquets Club.
[edit] Later events
Stewart Hartshorn died in 1937, at the age of 97. His daughter Cora survived him, wrote her own history of the hamlet, and helped establish the Arboretum that bears her name.[1]
In 1975, the Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society formed in conjunction with the American Bicentennial celebrations.
In 2001, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center opened in Short Hills.
In 2002, local residents planted a memorial tree on the grounds of the railroad station, to honor those of their neighbors who died in the attacks on September 11, 2001.
[edit] Present day
Short Hills is an active bedroom community of New York City. The opening of the Kearny Connection, allowing the establishment of the first direct rail service to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan, has enhanced real-estate values immensely. Short Hills also has a business district along Chatham Road near the railroad station, which includes the post-office branch, a pharmacy, and several small specialty shops.
Short Hills is also home to many senior executives and controlling stockholders of some of the largest corporations in the United States and their families. The median family income is over $200,000.
Short Hills also has four K-5 elementary schools, all part of the Millburn Township Public Schools, the Deerfield Elementary School, Glenwood Elementary School,Wyoming Elementary School, South Mountain Elementary School, and Hartshorn Elementary School. Students move on to complete their education at the Millburn Middle School for grades 6-8 and Millburn High School for grades 9-12.
Though Short Hills has its own railroad station and post-office branch, it does not have an independent government. It remains today a part of the Township of Millburn, as it has been since its inception.
[edit] Noted residents
- John Ferolito, the founder and current owner of AriZona Beverage Company
- Anne Hathaway, actress, grew up in Millburn Township
- Peter Kellogg, net worth of 2.6 billion dollars and growing; tied for number 278 on Forbes Magazine's 2006 Billionaires List; director of the Wall Street investment firm Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, which was sold to Goldman Sachs in 2000 for $5.5 billion.
- Joe Kernen, CNBC news anchor and main host of the popular show "Squawk Box"
[edit] Points of interest
[edit] External links
- Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society
- Archives of the MSHHS at the Millburn Free Public Library
- About Millburn and Short Hills (from Real Estate in Short Hills)
- Collection of old photographs of Millburn-Short Hills
- US Census Data for Short Hills
[edit] References
