Mine Hill Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. It is a residential community located just west of the center of Morris County, and northwest of the county seat Morristown.
Mine Hill was incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 2, 1923, from portions of Randolph Township, based on the results of a referendum held on May 8, 1923.
The township's name comes from the history of mines in the area. Mining in Mine Hill dates back to the early 18th century and the township had some of the richest sources of iron ore in the country. Mahlon Dickerson, who was New Jersey's 12th Governor, and his family owned the Dickerson Mine, which was the largest ore mine in the area, supplying much of the iron ore used during the American Revolutionary War. The last mine in the township closed in the late 1960s.
At the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 3,651, reflecting a decline of 28 (-0.8%) from the 3,679 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 346 (+10.4%) from the 3,333 counted in the 1990 Census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township had a total area of 3.00 square miles (7.76 km2), including 2.94 square miles (7.61 km2) of land and 0.06 square miles (0.15 km2) of water (1.93%). The township is at an elevation of 863 feet (263 m) above sea level for the administrative center.
The township borders the municipalities of Dover, Randolph, Roxbury and Wharton.
Demographics
Census 2010
The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $91,667 (with a margin of error of +/- $17,591) and the median family income was $103,532 (+/- $8,317). Males had a median income of $61,875 (+/- $13,249) versus $42,201 (+/- $13,280) for females. The per capita income for the township was $36,706 (+/- $3,887). About 2.4% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
Census 2000
At the 2000 United States Census, there were 3,679 people, 1,365 households and 1,041 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,228.6 per square mile (475.1/km2). There were 1,388 housing units at an average density of 463.5 per square mile (179.2/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 90.41% White, 3.42% African American, 0.11% Native American, 2.50% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.79% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.67% of the population.
There were 1,365 households, of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.2% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.08.
24.5% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.
The median household income was $64,643 and the median family income was $67,467. Males had a median income of $47,813 versus $37,250 for females. The per capita income for the township was $27,119. About 4.7% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Local government
Mine Hill Township is governed within the Faulkner Act system of New Jersey municipal government, formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under Mayor-Council (Plan E), enacted as of January 1, 1980, based on the recommendations of a Charter Study Commission. The township is one of 71 of 565 municipalities statewide that use this form of government. The Mine Hill Township Council is comprised of five elected members, each chosen at-large by the voters of Mine Hill in partisan elections for a four-year term on a staggered basis as part of the November general election, with either two or three seats coming up for election in odd-numbered years, and the mayoral seat up at the same time that two council seats are up for vote. At the Council's organizational meeting each January, one member is elected to serve as Mayor for a twelve-month term and another is chosen to serve as Deputy Mayor.
, the Mayor of Mine Hill Township is Republican Sam Morris, whose term of office ends December 31, 2023. Members of the Mine Hill Township Council are Council President Frederick F. Willis Jr. (R, 2023), David R. Bloom (R, 2021), Bret Coranato (R, 2023), Debbie A. Giordano (R, 2021) and Kristine A. Kanzenbach (R, 2021).
Dover serves as the lead agency operating a joint municipal court that also serves the neighboring municipalities of Mine Hill Township, Mount Arlington, Victory Gardens and Wharton. Established in 2009, the joint municipal court was forecast to offer annual savings in excess of $250,000 over the 10-year life of the agreement.
Federal, state, and county representation
Mine Hill Township is located in the 7th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 25th state legislative district. Prior to the 2010 Census, Mine Hill Township had been part of the , a change made by the New Jersey Redistricting Commission that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections.
Politics
As of March 23, 2011, Mine Hill had a total of 2,197 registered voters, of which 513 (23.4%) were registered as Democrats, 669 (30.5%) were registered as Republicans, and 1,014 (46.2%) were registered as Unaffiliated. One voter was registered to another party.
In the 2012 presidential election, Republican Mitt Romney received 49.2% of the vote (802 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 49.0% (799 votes), and other candidates with 1.8% (29 votes), among the 1,638 ballots cast by the township's 2,337 registered voters (8 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 70.1%. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican John McCain received 50.8% of the vote (894 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 47.5% (835 votes) and other candidates with 1.1% (20 votes), among the 1,759 ballots cast by the township's 2,283 registered voters, for a turnout of 77.0%. In the 2004 presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 54.3% of the vote (910 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat John Kerry with 44.8% (751 votes) and other candidates with 0.5% (11 votes), among the 1,675 ballots cast by the township's 2,270 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 73.8.
In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 66.2% of the vote (702 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 31.8% (337 votes), and other candidates with 2.0% (21 votes), among the 1,080 ballots cast by the township's 2,331 registered voters (20 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 46.3%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 56.5% of the vote (660 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 30.9% (361 votes), Independent Chris Daggett with 9.2% (108 votes) and other candidates with 1.4% (16 votes), among the 1,168 ballots cast by the township's 2,217 registered voters, yielding a 52.7% turnout.
Education
The Mine Hill School District serves students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade at Canfield Avenue School. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 347 students and 34.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.2:1.
During the 1991–92 school year, Canfield Avenue School was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon School Award from the United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve.
For seventh through twelfth grades, public school students attend the schools of the Dover School District in Dover as part of a sending/receiving relationship. The district also serves students from Victory Gardens, which has been fully consolidated into the Dover School District since 2010. The high school was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon School Award in 2013. Schools in the Dover School District attended by Mine Hill students (with 2018–19 enrollment from the National Center for Education Statistics) are
Dover Middle School with 511 students in grade 7-8 and
Dover High School with 983 stundets in grades 9-12.
Library services
The Mine Hill Township Library services are provided through the Morris County Library with Mobile library services provided at Town Hall. Residents may also use either the County College of Morris Library in Randolph or the Morris County Library in Morris Plains. Residents of Mine Hill cannot use any other local library in Morris County, because the township does not belong to the Morris County Library System.
Transportation
Roads and highways
, the township had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Morris County and by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
U.S. Route 46 is the main highway serving Mine Hill Township. Interstate 80 and New Jersey Route 10 are accessible in adjacent municipalities.
Public transportation
NJ Transit provides Midtown Direct service at the Dover train station on the Montclair-Boonton Line and the Morristown Line to Newark Broad Street station, Secaucus Junction, New York Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal.
NJ Transit offered local bus service on the MCM5 route, which was eliminated in 2010 when subsidies to the local provider were eliminated as part of budget cuts.
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Mine Hill Township include:
Kathleen Clark, playwright.
Tim DiBisceglie (born 1994), professional soccer player who played for the Philadelphia Atoms in 2017–19.
BettyLou DeCroce (born 1952), politician who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2012, where she has represented the 26th Legislative District, who served on the Mine Hill Township Council from 1981 to 1983.
Roseann Quinn (1944–1973), schoolteacher whose murder inspired Judith Rossner's 1975 novel Looking for Mr. Goodbar, as well as its 1977 film adaptation.
