Whippany is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hanover Township, Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 8,863. Whippany's name is derived from the Whippanong Native Americans, a tribe that once inhabited the area. Whippanong meant "place of the willows", named for the trees growing along the banks of the Whippany River.

History

The Whippany River is an important part of the Munsee, colonial, and industrial history of the town.

Munsee Lenape

Circa 1000 CE, the area, along with most of northern New Jersey, was inhabited by the Munsee Lenape people. Circa 1500, all of New Jersey was part of the Lenapehoking, the homelands of the Lenape. The Munsee harvested mussels from the Whippany River. Arrowheads found in Munsee encampments throughout the nearby Washington Valley suggest that they hunted wolf, elk, and wild turkey for game.

Colonial settlement

The earliest European settlers to live along the Whippany River can be traced back to 1685. The river was an integral part of life in the area; it provided water power for the various mills which developed in the town.

Modern history

The Seeing Eye, the first guide dog school for the blind in the United States, was located in Whippany between 1931 and 1966, before moving to its current campus in nearby Morris Township.

Geography

Whippany is in eastern Morris County and occupies most of the eastern part of Hanover Township. It is bordered to the west, across Interstate 287, by Cedar Knolls, also in Hanover Township. Whippany is bordered to the north by Parsippany–Troy Hills Township, to the east by East Hanover Township, to the south by the Black Meadows Preserve and Morristown Municipal Airport, and to the southwest by Morris Township, Morris Township. Morristown, the county seat, is 5 mi to the southwest. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Whippany CDP has a total area of 5.74 sqmi, of which 5.61 sqmi are land and 0.13 sqmi, or 2.21%, are water. The Whippany River flows through the center of town, leading northeast to join the Passaic River near Pine Brook. The river is protected by the Whippany River Watershed Action Committee.

Education

Public schools in the area include Bee Meadow School, Mountview Road School, Salem Drive School, Memorial Junior School and Whippany Park High School. Arrow Academy is a Christian school for grades PreK-8.

Sports

The New York Red Bulls U23, a development team for the New York Red Bulls, play at the team's 15 acres development facility in the township.

Notable organizations

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Whippany include: