East Hanover Town Hall is located at 411 Ridgedale Avenue, East Hanover, NJ 07936.
Phone: 973‑428‑3000.
Neighborhoods
Beginnings [1]
The landscape of East Hanover Township is shaped by the natural resources that helped establish thriving agricultural settlement in the area at the beginning of the 18th century. The rivers and wetlands that surround the Township provide some of the best soils and grounds for a pair of early European colonies, Hanover Neck in the north and Hanover Village in the south, that contain the bulk of the historic sites extant within East Hanover. Predominantly English Presbyterians from Long Island and Connecticut, the early European immigrants to East Hanover arrived starting in 1710. Though named for the British royal house (itself descended from the German state of Hannover), the settlements of Hanover Neck and Hanover Village were staunchly pro-independence during the Revolutionary period, encouraged by Pastor Jacob Green of the First Presbyterian Church, the first New Jersey figure of note to publicly endorse separation from Britain.
As other parts of eastern Morris County developed industrially and commercially, the Township remained much more agricultural, even as major traffic arteries such as Route 10 (opened in 1910) were laid out and attracting major manufacturing and retail outlets. In recognition of its primarily farming culture, East Hanover formally separated from Hanover Township to become its own municipality in 1928. Agriculture remained the principal land use for the Township until the 1950s, when residential and industrial development accelerated, encouraged by the establishment of pharmaceutical production and the building of a Nike air defense base, both in 1954. The last working farm, Lone Pines Farms, a dairy farm located on Route 10, ceased operation in 1985. Now, the memories of East Hanover's farming past are preserved within the boundaries of the Hanover Village Historic District, which encompasses the former agricultural community and contains a variety of structures built between the 18th and early 20th centuries.
Nearby Towns: Boonton Twp • Madison Boro • Millburn Twp • Montville Twp • Mountain Lakes Boro • Parsippany-Troy Hills Township • Roseland Boro • West Orange Twp •