FLORHAM PARK – The borough kicked off festivities for its 125th anniversary with a party at Holy Family Parish Wednesday, March 20.
And while historians recently learned that March 20 isn’t actually the borough’s birthday, that didn’t stop the fun.
Up until two or three weeks ago, the common consensus was that Florham Park was founded on March 20, 1899, per the 1991 book “Saga of a Crossroads: Florham Park.”
However, upon reviewing original paperwork from the Department of State, the Historic Preservation Commission learned that Gov. Foster McGowan Voorhees signed the borough’s founding into law on March 9 of that year, according to commission Chair Suzanne Herold.
The documents, which Herold said are in beautiful handwriting, will be on display at the Little Red Schoolhouse after it eventually opens following renovations.
“We’re super excited and always looking forward to expanding our knowledge of Florham Park’s history,” Herold said. “So we are super excited to know this and have copies of the document, especially in beautiful handwriting going forward.”
Nonetheless, the party was held one day before the borough’s first council meeting which was March 21, 1899.
“So we thought tonight would be a great night to host this party because it’s the night before Florham Park would have held its first council meeting in 1899,” Herold said.
The borough was founded by two millionaire families who were interested in separating from Chatham Township because they wanted lower taxes.
The “Flor” and “Ham” part of the name come from Florence and Hamilton Twombly who lived in the mansion now part of the Fairleigh Dickinson University campus.
The Twomblys petitioned the state along with Dr. Leslie Ward who owned the land which is now Brooklake Country Club. At the time, the land was bigger and known as “Brooklake Park,” and this is where the “Park” comes from in “Florham Park.”
The Twomblys hosted the new borough’s first Fourth of July celebration when they opened their mansion to the residents – all 800 of them – on July 4, 1899 with fireworks and lollipops. As such, lollipops were given out at the 125th birthday party.
The residents got their wish for low taxes because the tax levy for the entire borough in 1900 was $1,200. Some $800 of that was allocated to road maintenance, and the figure would have been higher had it not been for every able-bodied man pitching in to help maintain the roads.
“We are super excited to kick off a year-long celebration of Florham Park’s birthday where we’re young to commemorate our history and look forward to the future,” Herold said.
The event featured speeches, patriotic songs by local kids, and merchandise for sale, such as borough flags and puzzles.
“We’re excited that this is our kick off to everything,” said Florham Park Councilwoman Kristen Santoro, who co-chaired the birthday party along with Herold.
“We wanted to have a family friendly event, also kind of keep it low key because of the season. You never know what the weather could have resulted in in the middle of March. So this is our kick off with our first round of merch, our first round of everything. We’re happy to have as many residents as possible come tonight.”
The Florham Park Public Library also showed off historical documents. This year, the library is preserving and digitizing documents and resources in its collection.
The library is also asking residents to share items which may be pertinent to the borough’s history.
Library Director Nancy Shah said she is also trying to register interest in an oral history project which would feature anyone who has an interesting story to tell about Florham Park’s history or their connection to the borough.
“It’s a great community,” Shah said.
“People are really enthusiastic about Florham Park. Our patrons — the people who come in and use the library — they’re just really great, and they’re very grateful for the library. They’re very passionate about the library, and they’re thankful. And it’s just a pleasure to work here.”
The borough will host more events this year to celebrate the 125th anniversary.
Historic Preservation Commission Vice Chair Patrick Dolan will lead a tour of the Hancock Cemetery at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at 35 Ridgedale Ave.
Registration is capped at 30 people and can be done at tinyurl.com/yc6cbwen.
There will also be a gala at the mansion at Fairleigh Dickinson University on Saturday, Oct. 5. Santoro said this event is a save-the-date for now, and more information will be available soon.
“I think it’s great that we’re able to celebrate our town’s history and 125 years that we’ve been incorporated,” said Mayor Mark Taylor. “And I’m looking forward to all of the events during this year.”
Contact Brett Friedensohn at brettf@newjerseyhills.com.
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