Short Hills, New Jersey

Millburn is a suburban township in southwestern Essex County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey, and part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 21,710, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 1,561 (+7.7%) from the 20,149 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn had reflected an increase of 384 (+1.9%) from the 19,765 counted at the 2000 census. Short Hills, with a 2020 population of 14,422, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Millburn that is home to most of the township's population.Millburn was created as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 20, 1857, from portions of Springfield Township, when Union County was formed. Earlier known variously as Milltown, Millville, Rum Brook, and Vauxhall, the name "Millburn" was adopted before the township was established. The township's name derives from the burn (Scottish for a stream) that powered mills in the area.The township is home to the South Mountain Reservation, The Mall at Short Hills, and the Paper Mill Playhouse, an established regional theater. The West Branch of the Rahway River runs through downtown Millburn, and the Paper Mill Playhouse is situated on the banks of the river. New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Millburn as the 53rd best place to live in New Jersey in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places to Live" in New Jersey.Millburn had the highest annual property tax bills in New Jersey in 2018 of $24,308, compared to a statewide average of $8,767. The township had the highest annual bill in 2009 of $19,097, compared to the statewide average of $7,300 that year, which was the highest in the United States. This is primarily a function of high property values, as Millburn had the lowest effective property tax rate in 2014 (1.9%) among the 22 municipalities in Essex County.The township is one of New Jersey's highest-income communities. In 2000, Millburn had the 6th-highest per capita income in the state, with $76,796. Based on data from the 2006–2010 American Community Survey, the township had a per-capita income of $84,663, ranked 10th in the state. Based on data from the American Community Survey for 2013–2017, Millburn residents had a median household income of $202,862, ranked highest in the state among municipalities with more than 10,000 residents, more than double the statewide median of $76,475.

The Battle of Short Hills (also known as the Battle of Metuchen Meetinghouse and other names) was a conflict between a Continental Army force commanded by Brigadier General William Alexander ("Lord Stirling"), and an opposing British force commanded by Lieutenant General William Howe. The battle took place on June 26, 1777, at Scotch Plains and Edison, New Jersey, during the American Revolutionary War. Despite the name, no fighting occurred in modern-day Short Hills, a section of Millburn. In mid-June General Howe marched most of his army into central New Jersey in an attempt to lure George Washington's Continental Army to a place where it might be better attacked than its defensive position in the Watchung Mountains. When Washington refused to abandon his position Howe returned to Amboy on June 22. Washington's forward divisions, including that of Lord Stirling, shadowed this British movement, and Washington moved his main army out of the hills. Howe seized this opportunity, and on June 26 marched two columns of troops out in an attempt to cut Washington off from the high ground. These troops skirmished with Lord Stirling's troops, and eventually engaged in a pitched battle in Scotch Plains. Stirling's outnumbered force retreated, but Washington, alerted to the British movement, had by then retreated back into the hills.

The Cora Hartshorn Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary (16.5 acres), also known as the Hartshorn Arboretum, is an arboretum and bird sanctuary located at 324 Forest Drive South, in the Short Hills section of Millburn, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Its trails are open to the public from dawn to dusk without charge. Various programs are also offered for children, families, and adults.

The Short Hills Park historic district is the oldest area of that unincorporated community in Millburn, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It consists of roughly a thousand acres (4 km²) with 125 buildings, mostly homes, in the area developed earliest by Stewart Hartshorn, whose goal was to create an "ideal town" for living close to nature and the countryside on the 1,550 acres (6.3 km2) he bought in the area in 1877. Many of the streets follow natural contours, and Hartshorn routed them to leave as many trees standing as possible. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Millburn regulates development and redevelopment within it through a special section of its zoning. The average house within the district was valued at over $2 million in 2015.

Short Hills is a New Jersey Transit train station in Short Hills, New Jersey along the Morris & Essex Lines.

Far Brook School is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational day school located in the Short Hills section of Millburn, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in nursery through eighth grade. Far Brook School is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Elementary Schools, and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools, the Educational Records Bureau, and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.

Greenwood Gardens is a 28-acre (11 ha) formal Italianate garden located in the Short Hills section of Millburn, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States.

Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater containing approximately 1,200 seats located in Millburn, within Essex County, New Jersey, United States, on the banks of the Rahway River. Due to its relative proximity to Manhattan, the theater draws from the pool of actors (and audience members) who live in New York City. Paper Mill was officially designated as the "State Theater of New Jersey". From 1971 to 2008, Paper Mill held the New Jersey Ballet as its resident ballet company, with the annual production of Nutcracker until the premiere 25th Anniversary tour of Les Misérables took up the ballet's performance slot. Mark S. Hoebee serves as the producing artistic director, and is often credited as saving the Paper Mill during the financial crisis in 2008. In 2016, the playhouse received the Regional Theatre Tony Award.

The Millburn Township Public Schools are a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Millburn, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The district is includes five K-4 elementary schools, a district-wide fifth grade school, a middle school and a high school.As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of eight schools, had an enrollment of 4,697 students and 418.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.2:1.The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "J", the highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.

Millburn High School is a four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Millburn (including its Short Hills neighborhood), in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Millburn Township Public Schools. The school was honored with National Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence in the 2007–08 school year and was named the top-ranked high school in the state in the September 2008 and 2010 issues of New Jersey Monthly. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,343 students and 128.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.5:1. There were 15 students (1.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 5 (0.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.

The Reeves-Reed Arboretum (13.5 acres (5.5 ha)) is a nonprofit arboretum and garden located at 165 Hobart Avenue in Summit, Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is the only arboretum in Union County. A popular wedding spot, the arboretum grounds are open daily from dawn till dusk, free of charge.

The Hobart Gap is a pass and road through the Watchung Mountains in Northern New Jersey. During the American Revolutionary War, Hessian General Baron Wilhelm von Knyphausen attempted to seize the Hobart Gap, now crossed by present-day Route 24, in order to attack the American headquarters in Morristown for the British. He was met with successful resistance by General Nathanael Greene, and was eventually defeated by the Continental Army and the New Jersey Militia at the Battle of Springfield. For thousands of years the pass in the mountain range was an important aspect of the traditional Lenape Minisink Trail. From the pass, the trail led to a landing at the best place to ford what the Native Americans called the Fishawack (the Passaic River). The trail was a portion of the Great Trail and always had been used by the Lenape on their route to the Hudson River and south from their hunting grounds in what is now Sussex County. That traditional part of the Great Trail would become Route 24, and leads from the pass through Chatham, Madison, Morristown, Mendham, and Chester; it is called Main Street in all but Morristown, the county seat, which is dominated by a square in the center of its downtown. Route 24 was recently redirected around the old road in order to retain the historical downtowns of the colonial villages through which the trail led. The portion of the original path is now labeled Route 124.