Editing Madison, New Jersey (section)

===19th century===
{{Further|Morris and Essex Railroad}}
[[File:Madison NJ.png|thumb|Madison station prior to 1916]]
[[Image:Downtown Madison NJ.JPG|thumb|Downtown Madison]] 
During a reorganization of Morris County in 1806, [[Chatham Township, New Jersey|Chatham Township]] was established and included all of present-day [[Chatham Township, New Jersey|Chatham Township]] and the three pre-[[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] villages of [[Chatham, New Jersey|Chatham]], [[Florham Park, New Jersey|Florham Park]], and Madison, which were still governed by Chatham Township, and ended the governmental division of Bottle Hill.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

In 1834, the name of the settlement was changed to Madison.<ref>Staff. [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/08/31/94559839.pdf "Jersey Borough 100 Years Old."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 31, 1934. Accessed July 19, 2011. "Flags were flying today in Madison as the borough celebrated the 100th anniversary of the day on which its name was changed from Bottle Hill to Madison. Protests of citizens who thought the original name intemperate occasioned the change in 1834."</ref> As a tribute to the name every year there is a fair that is called Bottle Hill Day.

In 1838, the [[Morris and Essex Railroad]] was founded, connecting [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] and [[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]] and providing transportation for farm produce grown in Madison. The railroad made possible the establishment of a flourishing [[rose]] growing industry, still commemorated in Madison's nickname, ''The Rose City''.<ref>[http://www.shakespearenj.org/plan/plan.html Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429064334/http://www.shakespearenj.org/plan/plan.html |date=April 29, 2007 }}. Accessed April 12, 2007. "Once the hub of America's rose-growing industry, Madison earned the nickname "The Rose City" in the mid-19th century."</ref> The rail service connected the commerce to the markets of [[Manhattan]]. Madison's growth accelerated after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] and the [[Morris and Essex Lines]] became one of America's first commuter railroads, attracting well-to-do families from Manhattan (many of whom already owned large parcels land in the area for farming, hunting, and recreation) and contributing to the development of "Millionaire's Row", which stretched from downtown Madison to downtown [[Morristown, New Jersey|Morristown]]. Greenhouses dotted the countryside. Talented horticulturalists were attracted to the area for employment at the many wealthy estates in the immediate area and to establish related businesses. One of the first grand houses to be built on "Millionaire's Row" was the Ross Estate.{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}} In 1893, [[Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly|Florence Adele Vanderbilt]] and her husband [[Hamilton McKown Twombly]] began to build the impressive [[Florham]] estate. The estate name is a portmanteau of their first names, Florence and Hamilton.<ref>[https://portal.fdu.edu/newspubs/magazine/01fa/fpark.html "Florham Park"], ''FDU Magazine'', Fall / Winter 2001. Accessed January 15, 2025. "Quickly earning the affection of the locals, the aristocracy became part of the fabric of Florham Park, and the borough eventually adopted the name that Florence Vanderbilt and Hamilton Twombly gave to their summer estate (Florham, a combination of portions of their first names), which spanned close to 200 acres almost entirely in Florham Park."</ref> Home to [[Fairleigh Dickinson University]], Florham is a [[Gilded Age]] mansion and the [[List of largest houses in the United States|9th largest house]] in the United States.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Florham: An American Treasure|last=Carol Bere, Samuel Convissor, Walter Cummins, Mark Hillringhouse, and Arthur T. Vanderbilt II|publisher=The Friends of Florham|year=2016|isbn=978-0-578-18086-1|location=Madison, NJ}}</ref>

On December 27, 1889, based on the results of a referendum passed on December 24, 1889, the village seceded from Chatham Township and adopted the newly created, borough government (when it first became available), to develop a local water supply system for its population of 3,250. Madison annexed additional portions of Chatham Township in 1891, and again each year from 1894 to 1898, which was followed by an exchange of certain lands in 1899 with Chatham Township.<ref name=Story>Snyder, John P. [https://nj.gov/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf ''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968''], Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 194. Accessed May 29, 2024.</ref><ref>[http://mclib.info/reference/local-history-genealogy/historical-timeline-of-morris-county-boundaries/ Historical Timeline of Morris County Boundaries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225144924/http://mclib.info/reference/local-history-genealogy/historical-timeline-of-morris-county-boundaries/ |date=December 25, 2016 }}, Morris County Library. Accessed December 24, 2016. "1889, December 27. Madison Borough is established from Chatham Township."</ref>

[[Madison station (NJ Transit)|Madison's historic railroad station]] was funded by the community, which passed an ordinance authorizing $159,000 for railroad improvement bonds. The result, with the cooperation of the D.L. & W.R.R. in the planning, was completed in 1916. The tracks were elevated through the downtown so that no established roadways were hindered by crossing delays. Mrs. D. Willis James financed much of the road grading caused by the elevation of the tracks. The station included baggage and cargo facilities readily accessible by wagon, as well as the stationmaster offices, a newsstand, and waiting facilities featuring extensive banks of high-backed wooden seating. Weeping [[mulberry]] trees were planted among the landscaping and in natural areas in the parking area.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

The rose industry and the large estates in the area attracted working-class people of all kinds. As a result, Madison developed a diverse population very early, both in terms of [[socioeconomic status]] and ethnic background. The original settlers were of British stock; French settlers came after the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]]; African Americans have been members of the community from early in the nineteenth century; Irish came in the mid-nineteenth century; and then [[Germans]] and Italians arrived around the turn of the twentieth century. To this day there is a substantial population of Italian descent in Madison. Madison remains a diverse community, with recent newcomers arriving from Central America, South America, and Asia. Madison is a railroad suburb of New York City.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}