Port Morris is a historic unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Roxbury Township, Morris County, New Jersey, United States. The community is in the hills of New Jersey's Skylands Region, on the shores of Lake Musconetcong. As of the 2020 census, the community's population was 754.

History

In the 1820s, George P. Macculloch envisioned a canal that would transport Pennsylvania coal to New York City. The plan was to construct a canal from Phillipsburg, New Jersey, at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers, near the coal fields, to Newark, Jersey City, or New York City. The Morris Canal was completed to Newark in 1831, and Port Morris become one of the major stops established along the route of the canal. With the rise of the railroad came the demise of canals. Despite the changeover in transportation methods, Port Morris found a new role. With the construction of the Lackawanna Cut-Off by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad between 1908 and 1911, Port Morris became a major railroad junction and the starting point of the cutoff.

Geography

Port Morris is in western Morris County, along the northwestern edge of Roxbury Township. It is bordered to the east by the unincorporated community of Landing and to the west by the borough of Netcong. Lake Musconetcong and its inflow, the Musconetcong River, form the northern edge of the community. The Sussex County line follows the thread of the river and the passes through the center of the lake, with the borough of Stanhope to the north. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Port Morris CDP has a total area of 0,357 sqmi, of which 0.246 sqmi are land and 0.111 sqmi, or 31.1%, are water, comprising the southern part of Lake Musconetcong.

Demographics

Port Morris was first listed as a census-designated place prior to the 2020 census.