The Town
Madison is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population was 16,530. It also is known as "The Rose City." Madison's downtown is a thriving central business district. It is supported by a downtown development commission and a downtown manager. The Madison Civic Commercial Historic District, which includes much of "downtown" as well as the borough hall and the train station, is listed on the State Register of Historic Places. The borough hall and the train station were donated to the community by Geraldine R. Dodge. Vacant commercial space is a rarity. In recent years Madison has become noted for the number and quality of its restaurants.
Giralda Farms, a planned office development, occupies 175 acres (0.7 km²) of the former Geraldine R. Dodge estate in Madison. Five of a possible seven projects have been completed. These include the corporate headquarters of Atlantic Mutual Insurance, Maersk Lines, Quest Diagnostics, and Wyeth (formerly called American Home Products), and the offices of Schering-Plough. Development regulations for the former estate require that 85% of the land be maintained as open space with almost all vehicle parking underground.
Some points of interest are Drew University, Florence and Robert Zuck Arboretum, and Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Episodes of the television series, The Sopranos, were filmed in Madison. A scene was filmed on the Drew University campus. Another scene was filmed at Rod's Steak House, just outside the borough limits.
Portions of A Beautiful Mind were filmed at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
The Madison train station played the role of Cranford, New Jersey in the 2005 film, Guess Who starring Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher. The train station and the Hartley-Dodge Memorial building are backdrops to this movie. An entire panorama of the town is shown during the final credits.
Hartley Dodge Memorial (Borough Hall) appears in a scene of The World According to Garp starring Glenn Close and Robin Williams.
Scenes from Rich and Famous (1981), George Cukor's final film, were shot on Lincoln Place, and show the Madison Theatre and the train station as backdrops.
Scenes from The Family Stone (2005) were shot downtown at the intersection of Main Street and Waverly Place and Drew University. Despite the fact that the fictional town is supposed to be in New England, one can clearly see a NJ Transit train crossing through Waverly Place in one of the scenes.
Robert Ludlum's novel The Bourne Identity mentions "a private airfield in Madison, New Jersey". The 2002 film version does not include this reference.
Back To Top Of Page
Transportation
The Borough of Madison is located in southeast Morris County, New Jersey, about 22 miles due west of New York City’s Times Square. Madison is the center of five other municipalities in southeast Morris County: the Townships of Harding, Morris and Chatham and the Boroughs of Florham Park and Chatham. Morristown and Summit are nearby, in the northwest and southeast respectively.
The Morris and Essex Line of New Jersey Transit serve Madison, with direct service to New York’s Penn Station and to Hoboken. The Hoboken terminal offers commuter train service to Manhattan, with stations to Wall Street, Greenwich Village and Midtown. With the new Secaucus transfer station, NJ Transit trains from Madison can connect to other NJ Transit lines in New Jersey, the shuttle to Newark Airport and the Amtrak rail line. The Lakeland Bus Line provides limited commuter bus service between Madison and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City; Morris County Metro & New Jersey Transit provides local bus service.
Access to Madison from New York and all points north, south and west by auto is readily available on nearby Interstate highway Routes 78, 287, 80 and 280, as well as by New Jersey Route 24.
Newark-Liberty International Airport, with direct flights throughout the world, is about 15 miles from Madison. Nearby Morristown Municipal Airport provides corporate and individual private flight services
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,530 people, 5,520 households, and 3,786 families. The population density was 3,935.6 people per square mile (1,519.6/km²). There were 5,641 housing units at an average density of 1,343.1/sq mi (518.6/km²). The racial makeup of the population was 89.69% White, 3.00% African American, 0.13% Native American, 3.77% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 1.55% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.97% of the population.
Back To Top Of Page
Education
Public schools 
The Madison Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) consist of three elementary schools — Central Avenue School (K-5, 479 students), Kings Road School (K-5, 310 students) and Torey J. Sabatini School (PreK-5, 328 students) — Madison Junior School (6, 7 and 8, 346 students) and Madison High School (gardes 9-12, 764 students). Madison High School also serves the residents of neighboring Harding Township.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Neil O'Donnell, actress Janeane Garofalo and Armor for Sleep bassist Anthony Dilonno are notable Madison High alumni.
Private schools
Saint Vincent Martyr School (SVMS) is a Catholic school that serves students in grades PK-3 through six, operated under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson. SVMS is a recipient of the No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon award for 2005-2006.
The Language Workshop For Children - French, Spanish, Italian and Chinese classes for children and toddlers, 6 months to 9 years old The LWFC Website
Higher education
Seton Hall College was established in Madison in 1856. The campus was relocated to its current location in South Orange, New Jersey in the late 19th century.
In 1867, Drew University was founded and continues to operate in Madison, on a wooded campus near downtown.
A portion of Fairleigh Dickinson University's College at Florham is located in Madison on the former estate of Florence Vanderbilt and Hamilton Twombly.
In 1967 the trustees of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, UMDNJ, had wanted to build a consolidated school on a 150 acre (607,000 m²) estate in Madison. Hitherto, UMDNJ's medical facilities were in Newark, and its dental facilities were in Jersey City. Newark, already reeling from industrial job losses, made a desperate offer to compete with the bucolic Morris County suburb. Mayor Addonizio, offered to condemn and raze 150 acres (607,000 m²) of the densely populated Central Ward of Newark. After the 1967 Newark riots, the decision was made for the university to remain in Newark and to abandon plans to move to Madison.
Back To Top Of Page
Notable residents
Notable current and former residents include:
Andy Breckman (born 1955), creator and producer of television series Monk, former Saturday Night Live writer, radio personality.
Tucker Carlson (born 1969), pundit who currently hosts Tucker, a national television news show on MSNBC.
Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge (1882-1973), philanthropist and noted lover of dogs
.
Janeane Garofalo (born 1964), actor, comedian, author and activist moved to Madison at age nine, where she remained until she graduated high school.
Princess Marie Louise of Bulgaria (born 1933), daughter of Tsar Boris III and Tsaritsa Ioanna of Bulgaria and the sister of HM Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria, the deposed monarch.
Don Newcombe (born 1926), former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1949-51 and 1954-58), Cincinnati Reds (1958-60) and Cleveland Indians (1960).
Neil O'Donnell (born 1966), former NFL quarterback.
Charles H. Totty (1873-1939), horticulturalist.
Eddie Trunk (born 1964), heavy metal radio host.
Back To Top Of Page
History
Home
Madisons growth accelerated after the Civil War. The railroad provided good transportation for its farm produce. Later, the railroad made possible the establishment of a flourishing rose growing industry, still commemorated in Madison's nickname, The Rose City. The Morris and Essex Lines became one of America's first commuter railroads, attracting well-to-do families and contributing to the development of "Millionaire's Row," which stretched from downtown Madison to downtown Morristown. One of the first houses to be built on "Millionaire's Row was the Ross Estate.
The rose industry and the large estates in the area attracted working class people of all kinds. As a result, Madison very early developed a diverse population, both in terms of socio-economic status and ethnic background. The original settlers were of British stock; French settlers came after the American Revolution; African Americans have been members of the community from early in the 19th century; Irish came in the mid-19th century; and then Germans and Italians around the turn of the 20th century. To this day there is a substantial population of Italian descent in Madison. Today Madison remains a diverse community, with many of the more recent newcomers arriving from Central and South America, and from Asia.
