by Anne Motto, F.M. Kirby Curator of Collections
September 9, 2025
Morris County’s 39 municipalities are home to a fascinating tapestry of historic sites recognized on the state and national level for their significance. Some famous, some little known, together they preserve the story of the people, industries, and culture that shaped our community. In this blog series, MCHS highlights the sites to be found in each town and how they contributed to the diverse and multifaceted county we live in today.
German Valley Historic District: Today known as Long Valley, the unincorporated community was founded by German immigrants in the mid-18th century along a branch of the Raritan River. Known as German Valley by the early 19th century, its economy was largely agricultural and one of its most successful businesses was the Obadiah LaTourette Grist and Saw Mill. In 1918, the community was renamed Long Valley due to anti-German sentiment in the midst of WWI. Today, the historic district is centered around Mill Road and Route 24. The latter was built in the early 19th century as the Washington Turnpike and connected the rural enclave to Morristown and cities farther east. The district includes 76 contributing structures from across two centuries, including the mill, the home of the mill’s first owner (Philip Weise), the German Valley Hotel (today Chesapeake Tavern), the ruins of the Old Union Church, and Union Schoolhouse.
Obadiah LaTourette Grist and Saw Mill: Built by Philip Weise around 1750, the mill was long an integral part of the area’s development, producing flour and animal feed for nearly 200 years. It is also believed that a 19th-century saw mill was once located behind the surviving mill to process lumber harvested from local farms. The grist mill was retrofitted to be powered by water turbines in the 1870s by its then-owner, Obadiah LaTourette, and continued to be operational all the way to the 1940s. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, but after falling into disrepair, the mill was condemned by the town in 1991. Saved by the Washington Township Land Trust (WTLT), who purchased the building later that year, it has been the focus of herculean preservation efforts. Since 1996, the WTLT has received over $1.5 million in grants from the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust and NJ Historic Trust to preserve and restore this significant piece of local industrial history and its original machinery.
Union Schoolhouse and Union Church & Burial Ground: The Old Union Church was built in 1774, replacing an earlier wooden building, on land donated by Philip Weise, who stipulated as a part of the donation that nothing besides the church could be built on the land except a meeting house or school. One of the earliest clergymen to preach for the congregation was noted and influential Lutheran minister Henry M. Muhlenberg. The stabilized ruins today stand next to the Union Schoolhouse, which was built on the property in 1830 and today serves as the museum of the Washington Township Historical Society. Don’t miss Pathways of History on October 4 and 5, 2025 when Union Schoolhouse (Oct. 4) and 24 other sites around Morris County will be open to the public from 12:00-5:00. See the Pathways website for more about this unique event.
For more historic sites, check out these blogs:
Mine Hill and Wharton
Madison, Part 1
Long Hill
Boonton, Part 1
Parsippany, Part 1
Chester Township
Hanover Township, Part 1
Mendham Township
Florham Park, Part 1
Dover, Part 1
Morris Township, Part 1
Did you enjoy this blog? MCHS is an independent nonprofit. Please consider supporting our mission at morriscountyhistory.org/donate or become a member at morriscountyhistory.org/get-involved/ to help us continue to preserve and promote Morris County history through programs, exhibits, and blogs like this.
