The Borough of Madison is a small suburban community in southeast Morris County, New Jersey, about fifteen miles due west of Times Square. Madison borders on five other municipalities: the boroughs of Florham Park and Chatham are to the north and east, the townships of Chatham, Harding and Morris are to the south and west. Morristown and Summit are nearby, to the northwest and southeast, respectively.
The earliest settlers of European descent arrived about 1715 and established “Bottle Hill” at the crossroads of Ridgedale Avenue and Kings Road. The Luke Miller house at 105 Ridgedale Avenue is thought to be the oldest remaining home in the Borough, built around 1730. Morris County, created in 1739, was divided into three townships. The area in Madison north of Kings Road was in Hanover Township and the area to the south in Morris Township. A meeting house for the Presbyterian Church of South Hanover, as Madison was then called, was started in 1747 where the Presbyterian Cemetery still exists between Kings Road and Madison Avenue. Later, in 1806, Chatham Township was formed, comprising the present Madison, Chatham Borough, Chatham Township, and Florham Park, and thus the political division of the village was ended. In 1834, the name of the village was changed to Madison, and in 1889, with a population of 3,250 persons, it seceded from Chatham Township and became a borough in order to develop a local water supply system.
Madison has a wide range of housing opportunities, from garden apartments, affordable housing and starter homes to large residences. Residential areas exhibit many positive attributes, with neighborhood parks and tree lined streets which reflect the historical development of neighborhoods. The initiation of direct train service to Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan has made Madison even more desirable for commuters. Recently the Borough Council has taken steps to preserve the current residential character of Madison by limiting the size of new homes on small lots.