Brookside (once called Waterstreet) is a historic

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

within Mendham Township in Morris County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, United States. It is located approximately west of Morristown. It is close to the

Washington Valley Historic District Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

in neighboring Morris Township. The settlement appeared on maps as early as 1777. A portion of the

Patriots' Path The Patriots' Path is a multi-use trail system in Morris County, New Jersey, open to cyclists, hikers, and horseback riders, consisting of a main trail and of spur trails. The main trail is marked with white blazes or a white circular blaze ...

, the trail

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

and his troops marched on, runs through Brookside's woods along the Whippany River. Brookside was noted as a

postal village A postal village or post-village (p.v., P.V., PV or p-v) is generally a settlement that has a post office. Definition and abbreviation In North American usage, the term "post village" refers to a small community (a village) which has a post office ...

in 1882. In 1883, the population was 187. The Brookside Post Office, which at one time was also a general store and gas station, is still the social hub of the village. Many residents stop there daily to collect their mail. In 1996, most of the village was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as the Brookside Historic District. In the ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' magazine 2009 ranking of the ''Most Expensive ZIP Codes in the United States'', Brookside was ranked as the 10th most expensive in the country, with its median home sale price of $3,121,115.

Historic district

The Brookside Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...

encompassing the village. The district was added to the

on February 16, 1996, for its significance in architecture, industry, and community development from 1780 to 1942. It includes 114

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, 6 contributing structures, and 8 contributing sites. With

Culture

The yearly "Brookside 4th of July" Parade, sponsored by the Community Club, has been a communal event since 1923. It includes floats made by community groups and families, a lawnmower brigade, fire departments and ambulance squads from all over the region, farm animals, a pooch parade, and both rock and marching bands. It starts at 9 am from the intersection of Dogwood Drive and Tingley Road, then down East Main Street to the Community Club Field where food, games, and activities for people of all ages await. The Annual Clam Bake, sponsored by the Brookside Engine Company #1, is also held at the Community Club Field on the second Saturday in September. Other events and programs are often offered by the Mendham Township Library, located on the 1st floor of the municipal building on West Main Street in Brookside. The library website and bulletin board in town hall usually contain a list of events and contact information to RSVP.

Demographics

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, the 07926

ZIP Code Tabulation Area ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) are statistical entities developed by the United States Census Bureau for tabulating summary statistics. These were introduced with the Census 2000 and continued with the 2010 Census and 5 year American Community ...

for Brookside had a population of 120.DP-1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 from the 2010 Demographic Profile Data for ZCTA5 07926
,

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

. Accessed July 7, 2015.

Education

Mendham Township Public Schools The Mendham Township Public Schools is a community public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in Mendham Township, in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020–21 school year, the distric ...

are located in Brookside.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Brookside include: *

Peter Dinklage Peter Hayden Dinklage (; born June 11, 1969) is an American film, television and stage actor. He received international recognition for portraying Tyrion Lannister on the HBO television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which he ...

(born 1969), actor and film producer. *

Alice Flaherty Alice Weaver Flaherty is an American neurologist. She is a researcher, physician, educator and author of the 2004 book ''The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer's Block, and the Creative Brain'', about the neural basis of creativity. E ...

(born 1963), neurologist and writer. *

Morris Frank Morris Frank (March 23, 1908 – November 22, 1980) was a co-founder of The Seeing Eye, the first guide-dog school in the United States. He traveled the United States and Canada to promote the use of guide dogs for people who are blind or visu ...

(born 1908), cofounder of The Seeing Eye, the first guide-dog school in the United States. *

Stewart G. Pollock Stewart G. Pollock (born December 21, 1932), served as Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1979 to 1999. A New Jersey native, Pollock was born in East Orange and raised in Brookside. He graduated from Hamilton College in 1954 ...

(born 1933), Justice of the

Supreme Court of New Jersey The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging th ...

from 1979 to 1999.Kocieniewski, David
"Judge Leaving High Court After 20 Years as Unifier"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', February 26, 1999. Accessed June 14, 2016. "Judge Pollock was born in East Orange and raised in Brookside, back when it had only 1,300 residents and a four-room schoolhouse. He still lives there, although the suburban boom of the last half-century has expanded Brookside and made it one of wealthiest communities in central New Jersey."

References

External links

* {{Authority control Mendham Township, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in Morris County, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Morris County, New Jersey Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places