[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 27, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E51]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   COMMEMORATING THE BICENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP, 
                       MORRIS COUNTY, NEW JERSEY

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                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 27, 2004

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 
Bicentennial Anniversary of the Township of Jefferson, County of 
Morris, in my home state of New Jersey.
  Beautiful Jefferson Township encompasses 42 square miles of mostly 
pristine forests and lakes. It is home to New Jersey's largest 
freshwater lake, Lake Hopatcong, among many others, and the idyllic 
Mahlon Dickerson Reservation in the protected New Jersey Highlands 
watershed region.
  When Jefferson Township was founded in 1804 by separating itself from 
the Townships of Roxbury and Pequannock, there were quiet farms and 
noisy mines linked by dirt roads. In time, the railroads came and by 
the turn of the century, they brought ``summer escapees'' from the 
cities who treasured Jefferson's scenic beauty, many lakes and its 
clean, cool, country surroundings. Summer resorts and campsites 
flourished in the area. After World War I, automobiles appeared on 
Jefferson's newly paved roads bringing with it scores of summer 
residents. And after the second World War, young families were looking 
to leave the metropolitan areas and began moving westward in New Jersey 
to inviting municipalities like Jefferson Township.
  Today, Jefferson Township is still a blossoming community with a 
population approaching 20,000. While the once-thriving summer resorts 
are gone and most summer cottages have been converted to year-round 
residences, many tourists still make the trek to Jefferson Township to 
enjoy the vast open space of the Morris County Park System, protected 
watersheds and recreation activities on the region's numerous lakes. 
Indeed, lake communities still prosper throughout the Township bringing 
a unique sense of community to all of those who live in them.
  Jefferson Township's municipal leaders have carried on a tradition of 
being good stewards of the area's natural resources. Through determined 
efforts to preserve some of New Jersey's most precious open space, 
Jefferson Township has been able to balance development by being an 
active partner in the acquisition of hundreds of acres of parkland, 
woodlands and watersheds.
  Mr. Speaker, for the past 200 years, Jefferson Township has been a 
community which has brought Morris County and New Jersey great pride. 
No doubt the municipality will certainly continue to do so in the years 
to come. I congratulate the citizens of Jefferson Township on their 
special anniversary year, and urge all my colleagues to join me in 
wishing them well.

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