Morristown Green

Morristown Green, most commonly referred to as the Green, is a historical park located in the center of the Morristown, New Jersey, with two and a half acres that have served as a military base, a militia training ground, and an area for public executions. Currently is a public park in which many community events are held.

History

The Green’s begins start with the discovery of the Americas, "This historical ground dates back to early 1715, in a time when New Jersey was still an English colony under the rule of King George II and Parliament,” Years later the Green served a critical role during the American Revolutionary War. In the winter of 1777, the Green became George Washington's first encampment. Washington stayed at Arnold's Tavern, which once stood across the Green on what is now North Park Street. According to Simons, "the Green was the site of the Morris County Courthouse and jail for nearly 75 years (until 1827) and was the stage for many penal activities, including the incarceration of Tories and Hessian soldiers during the Revolutionary period" The Green also served in the American Civil war, as a public executions ground. The executions lasted till 1833.

In the early days of the Green the land was owned by the Morristown Presbyterian Church, one of the oldest churches in Morristown; but was purchased in 1816 by the trustees of the Morristown Green and have maintained it ever since. The trustees pledged that the Green would remain "a Common forever for the use and enjoyment of the public," and by the 1850s, efforts were made to revitalize the Green with tree plantings and fencing"(Chemerka). A photograph of the Morristown Green taken at the turn of the 19th clearly shows its walkways and plantings.

Today several statues were rectified, in the Green, of the important historical figures that stepped foot on its grounds. “The Morristown Green has a statue commemorating the meeting of George Washington, the young Marquis de Lafayette, and young Alexander Hamilton depicting them discussing aid of French tall ships and troops being sent by King Louis XVI of France as support for the budding nation”(buckeye1776), there is also a Civil War memorial statue and a seeing-eye dog commutative statue.

Landscape

The Green has won some awards due to the revitalization efforts by Dewberry, “a well recognized civil, landscape architecture, environmental services and construction engineering, received an Excellence Award in the Public Space category from Downtown New Jersey for the renovation he did on the Morristown Green. The DNJ recognized Dewberry’s Morristown Green Renovation on its success in addressing the following criteria:

(1) Preserving and enhancing the character of the downtown environment

(2) Contributing to the economic vitality of the downtown district

(3) Generating pride in the community

(4) Drawing people to the area

(5) Demonstrating a coordinated effort by various segments of the community

(6) Improving the streetscape or visual appearance of the business district

The Morristown Green is on the National Register of Historic Sites and is in the center of the Morristown Historic District"(Wenistein). People all throughout Morristown know about the Greens beauty. It has become a place where some have even propose, because of sheer beauty of the Green, but the Green is not only beautiful during the spring and summer seasons. In the autumn season the many trees of the Green turn into their golden and brown colors and the Green becomes a winter wonder land in the winter months when it is covered in snow. Snowflakes are put up on each light post to further bring out the winter wonderland feel of the green.

Activities

The Green holds many different activities all throughout the year, but their most prominent event is the festival on the green. "The festival on the green is an open-air event where businesses and organizations come together to share their resources and have a huge block party." A few other events that the Green hosts include the Christmas festival, the Moonlight movies in Morristown, and multiple blood drives. The Green is also used to let the community gather and voice their opinion, as the Tea Party does. The annual Christmas festival is a four week event that began 97 years ago, with a group of volunteers lighting a star on top of a signal tree in the Green. Now has grown to include a Santa House and other seasonal decor. The festival includes several events that are free to the public thanks to the sponsorship of local businesses, including Century 21, Morristown Memorial Hospital and Hyatt Morristown.

The New and the Old around the Green

The Green is surrounded by store, restaurants, and places of interest. The newest projected that’s going on around the Green is 40 park. It is a collection of luxury condos and retail project that replaced the Epstein’s department store near the Morristown Green. 95% of these million dollar condos have already been leased. “Some powerful developers are investing a lot of money in Morristown, with the aim to increase the town’s wealthy population,” Rick Rizzuto states. The Seeing Eye was established in 1929, and is the oldest existing dog guide schools in the world. They instructed dogs to help individuals that are blind to be more mobile by teaching their dogs when and where something is dangerous or and obstacle. The Seeing Eye gives tours of their facilities to surrounding schools in the area.

References

1. Chemerka, Bill. "LexisNexis® Academic & Library Solutions." Business Solutions & Software for Legal, Education and Government. 21 June 2001. Web. 12 Sept. 2010. <http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/>.

2. "Morristown’s Festival on the Green." MORRISTOWN.com - Where the People Live! Web. 13 Sept. 2010. <http://www.morristown.com/fallfest/FallFestMorristown.html>.

3. Simon, Richard C. The Green: a History of the Morristown Green. Morristown, NJ: Trustees of the Morristown Green, 2004. Web. 12 Sept. 2010. <http://www.jfpl.org/thegreen/history.html>.

4. Weinstein, Brooke. "Morristown Green Renovation Earns Excellence Award." Dewberry. 23 Sept. 2008. Web. 13 Sept. 2010. <http://www.dewberry.com/news.asp?id=1068>.

5. Nelson, JENNIFER L. "Things to Do in Morris County, NJ: Christmas Festival at the Morristown Green Starts Friday | Dailyrecord.com | Daily Record." Dailyrecord.com | Daily Record | Morris County News, Community, Entertainment, Yellow Pages and Classifieds. Serving Morris County, NJ. 24 Nov. 2010. Web. 06 Dec. 2010. <http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20101124/LIFEFRONT/101124027/Things-to-do-in-Morris-County-NJ-Christmas-Festival-at-the-Morristown-Green-starts-Friday>.

6. "Morristown and Morris County, Skylands Region New Jersey - Things To Do - Escapemaker.com." Weekend Getaways, Weekend Getaway Ideas, Bed and Breakfasts Inns Directory - Bed and Breakfast Country Inn, B & B Vacation Travel, Car-free Getaways, Weekend Getaway Packages, Green Travel, Green Getaways - Escapemaker.com. Web. 06 Dec. 2010. <http://www.escapemaker.com/destination.php?state=NJ®ion=skylands&destination=morris§ion=to do>.

7. Buckeye1776. "Morristown Green." Wikimapia - Let's Describe the Whole World! 6 June 2010. Web. 06 Dec. 2010. <http://wikimapia.org/102764/Morristown-Green>.

8. The Morristown Tea Party. "About Us." Home Page. Web. 06 Dec. 2010. <http://www.themorristownteaparty.org/About_Us.php>.

9. The Seeing Eye. "The Oldest Existing Dog Guide School in the World | The Seeing Eye, Inc." Dog Guides for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired | The Seeing Eye, Inc. Web. 06 Dec. 2010. <http://www.seeingeye.org/aboutUs/>.

10. "40 Park." Morristown Green. 15 Jan. 2010. Web. 06 Dec. 2010. <http://morristowngreen.com/tag/40-park/>.

11. Some historic images of The Morristown Green from The North Jersey History and Genealogy Center/Morristown & Morris Township Public Library

Coordinates: 40°47′49″N 74°28′52″W / 40.7970°N 74.4811°W / 40.7970; -74.4811