Florham Park, New Jersey

Florham Park is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 11,696,  reflecting an increase of 2,839 (+32.1%) from the 8,857 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 336 (+3.9%) from the 8,521 counted in the 1990 Census.

Florham Park was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 9, 1899, from portions of Chatham Township.

The National Football League's New York Jets relocated their main headquarters in 2008 to the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, located in Florham Park. The Jets relocated to Florham Park from their old facilities at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. The team holds its day-to-day operations during the year in Florham Park, while relocating during July and August to Cortland, NY for training camp. Florham Park beat out Berkeley Heights, Jersey City, Millburn, South Amboy, and Wood-Ridge, which had all been finalists contending to be the host of the new facility.

Florham Park is also the North American headquarters for the BASF corporation, the world's largest chemical company.

Geography
Florham Park is located at 40.77583°N, -74.39406°W (40.775832,-74.394058). According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 7.540 square miles (19.528 km2), of which, 7.288 square miles (18.875 km2) of it is land and 0.252 square miles (0.652 km2) of it (3.34%) is water.

The Borough of Florham Park is located in southeastern Morris County and is bordered on the south by Madison and Chatham Boroughs; on the north by Hanover and East Hanover Townships; on the west by Morris Township; and on the east by the Passaic River.

2010 Census
The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $106,227 (with a margin of error of +/- $10,030) and the median family income was $121,316 (+/- $8,544). Males had a median income of $92,857 (+/- $17,466) versus $61,331 (+/- $12,613) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $46,564 (+/- $4,867). About 0.5% of families and 2.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.7% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

2000 Census
As of the 2000 United States Census there were 8,857 people, 3,239 households, and 2,474 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,191.3 people per square mile (460.3/km2). There were 3,342 housing units at an average density of 449.5 per square mile (173.7/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 94.00% White, 0.99% African American, 0.01% Native American, 3.87% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.38% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.15% of the population.

There were 3,239 households out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.6% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the borough the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 86.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.6 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $88,706, and the median income for a family was $102,047. Males had a median income of $74,410 versus $49,551 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $42,133. About 2.4% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

History
The area that is now Florham Park was first settled by the English sometime between 1680 and 1700, and the community was long recognized as a prime farming area. The area was known for the manufacture of quality brooms, which was the source of one of its names, Broomtown. Through its history, the area was known as Hoppingtown, Broomtown, Columbia, Afton, and finally Florham Park. It was part of Hanover Township, then Chatham Township before being incorporated as Florham Park in 1899.

Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly (1854–1952), granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, renowned as the richest man in America, and her husband, financier, Hamilton McKown Twombly, came to the Morris County countryside in 1887, joining over 100 other millionaires who owned sprawling country retreats. They fancied an English-style country mansion in a stately park setting. "Florham," built on 840 acre, one of America's finest Gilded Age homes, was the result. The couple named their new estate "Florham," a combination of their first names, Florence and Hamilton. The second part to the name "Florham Park" received its name from a second mansion in town that was on about 1,000 acre of land situated where the current Brooklake Country Club is located. Owned by Dr. Leslie Ward &mdash; one of the founders of the Prudential Insurance Company and the first vice president of the company &mdash; it was named "Brooklake Park", partially because of the beautiful lake that was on the property.

Both of these families were supporters of many civic projects including the petitioning of the State of New Jersey to create their own town. After the legislature voted on March 9, 1899, the governor signed the bill on March 20, making Florham Park a borough. The new town was named after Florence and Hamilton Twombly's and Dr. Ward's estates.

Local government
Florham Park is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year. , the Mayor of Florham Park is Scott Eveland (R, term of office ends December 31, 2015). Members of the Borough Council (with their party, term-end year and mayoral portfolio assignments listed in parentheses) are Council President William Huyler (R; 2014, Community Services), Fred Boy (2012, Finance), Charles Germershausen (R; 2014, Public Safety), Carmen Cefolo-Pane (R; 2012, Senior Citizens, Health, Social Events), Mark Taylor (R; 2013, Land Use & Environmental) and David Wikstrom (R; 2013, Recreation).

Federal, state and county representation
Florham Park is located in the 11th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 27th state legislative district. Prior to the 2011 reapportionment following the 2010 Census, Florham Park had been in the 26th state legislative district.

Politics
As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 7,111 registered voters in Florham Park, of which 1,319 (18.5%) were registered as Democrats, 3,035 (42.7%) were registered as Republicans and 2,756 (38.8%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There were 1 voters registered to other parties.

In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 59.2% of the vote here (3,384 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 39.7% (2,270 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (39 votes), among the 5,716 ballots cast by the borough's 7,330 registered voters, for a turnout of 78.0%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 61.4% of the vote here (3,382 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 37.8% (2,082 votes) and other candidates with 0.4% (28 votes), among the 5,509 ballots cast by the borough's 7,176 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 76.8.

In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 61.7% of the vote here (2,410 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 29.6% (1,155 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 7.8% (304 votes) and other candidates with 0.1% (5 votes), among the 3,903 ballots cast by the borough's 7,118 registered voters, yielding a 54.8% turnout.

Education
The Florham Park School District serves public school students in Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade. The schools in the district (with 2010-11 school enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics ) are Briarwood Elementary School (grades K-2, 346 students), Brooklake Elementary School (3-5, 321) and Ridgedale Middle School (6-8, 350).

Students in public school for grades 9 - 12 are served by the Hanover Park Regional High School District, attending Hanover Park High School in East Hanover, together with students from East Hanover Township. The district also serves students from the neighboring community of Hanover Township at Whippany Park High School in the Whippany section of Hanover Township.

Holy Family School is a Catholic school operated under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson.

Portions of the College of Saint Elizabeth campus are in Florham Park, including the Villa of Saint Ann, a classical Greek amphitheater built into a hillside, and the original dairy farm for the complex. Portions of the Fairleigh Dickinson University campus, College at Florham, also are located in Florham Park.

Notable people
Notable current and former residents of Florham Park include:
 * Kary Antholis, Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker.
 * John T. Cunningham, (born 1915), New Jersey's popular historian.
 * Bill Raftery (born 1943), basketball analyst and former college basketball coach.
 * Tony Siragusa (born 1967), former football player with the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens, and current football analyst for Fox Sports.

Appearance in film

 * In Not Another Teen Movie, during the airport scene towards the bottom of the screen a flight on "Jersey Air" is scheduled to leave for Florham Park, NJ, inserted as an homage to some of the film's crew who hail from Morris County.