1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Madison (New Jersey)

MADISON, a borough of Morris county, New Jersey, U.S.A., 27 m. (by rail) W. of New York City and 4 m. S.E. of Morristown. Pop. (1890), 2469; (1900), 3754, of whom 975 were foreign-born and 300 were negroes; (1905), 4115; (1910), 4658. It is served by the Morris & Essex division of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad. The borough is attractively situated among the hills of Northern New Jersey, is primarily a residential suburb of New York and Newark, and contains many fine residences. There are a public library and a beautiful public park, both given to the borough by Daniel Willis James (1832–1907), a prominent metal manufacturer; the library is closely allied with the public schools. Madison is the seat of the well-known Drew theological seminary (Methodist Episcopal; founded in 1866 and opened in 1867), named in honour of Daniel Drew (1788–1879), who, having acquired great wealth from steamboat and railway enterprises, especially from trading in railway stocks, presented the large and beautiful grounds and most of the buildings. The seminary’s course covers three years; no fee is charged. In connexion with the seminary the Drew settlement in New York City—officially the department of applied Christianity—has for its object the “practical study of present-day problems in city evangelism, church organization, and work among the poor.” In 1907–1908 the seminary had 9 instructors, 175 students, and a library of more than 100,000 volumes, especially rich in works dealing with the history of Methodism and in Greek New Testament manuscripts. About 2 m. N.W. of Madison is Convent Station, the seat of a convent of the Sisters of Charity, who here conduct the college of St Elizabeth, for girls, founded in 1859; also conducted by the Sisters of Charity is St Joseph’s preparatory school for boys, founded in 1862. The cultivation of roses and chrysanthemums is practically the only industry of Madison. Madison owns and operates its waterworks and electric-lighting plant. Before 1844 when it took its present name (in honour of President Madison), Madison was called Bottle Hill; it is one of the older places of the state, and its first church (Presbyterian) was built about 1748. The borough was incorporated in 1889.