MILLBURN/SHORT HILLS, NJ

ESSEX COUNTY

 
 
 

Welcome to Millburn/Short Hills!


Millburn Township is a beautiful residential community located in the southwest corner of Essex County. The Township is easy to reach from Manhattan via the midtown direct line of New Jersey Transit, the Garden State Parkway, New Jersey Turnpike, and is also convenient to Routes 24 and 78.

Millburn Township has an excellent school system. New Jersey Magazine has consistently ranked the Millburn Township school system among the top 3 school districts in the state. In addition, Township schools also receive a national ranking as having one of the most academically challenging high schools in the country, offering many advanced placement courses to students who excel in those classes.

The Township offers a wide variety of recreation programs, including a community pool and a par 3 golf course, making the community appealing for families. In addition, Millburn Township has many fine restaurants, a movie theater, the Hilton Short Hills, rated by AAA as a 5 Diamond Hotel, and a wide variety of cultural events, including the renowned Paper Mill Playhouse and the Cora Hartshorn Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary.

Millburn Township is unique in that it offers upscale designer shopping along with quaint small town shopping of a traditional downtown. The Mall at Short Hills, located on the western side of the Township, is a beautiful regional shopping center in which many fine shops and stores are located. The downtown and local shopping areas offer a variety of unique specialty shops, service-based businesses, and professional offices.

Millburn Township is a full-service community where most residents live in single family homes. Millburn is comprised of the historic Wyoming district, and South Mountain and Millburn Center areas. Short Hills contains the sections of Knollwood, Glenwood, Brookhaven, Country Club, Merrywood, Deerfield-Crossroads, Mountaintop, White Oak Ridge, and Old Short Hills Estates.

 

Quick Facts:

Check out some “Quick Facts” here, or scroll down for a deeper look at the ins and outs of Summit!

Key Locations

Getting to Millburn/Short Hills + Commute

Millburn / Short Hills offers residents a very easy commute to NYC from two train stations.  A direct train line to New York stops at both Millburn Station and Short Hills Station runs 7 days a week with many express options offering a quick commute for town residents.  Both Millburn Station and Short Hills Station offer no-waitlist, resident-only, commuter permit parking or daily resident-only paid parking making it a great town for commuters.

Direct Train to NYC:

  • Via NJ Transit at Millburn Train Station or Short Hills Train Station - direct to New York Penn Station or to Hoboken, as well as to Secaucus Junction to transfer to other train lines. There are two stations: Millburn Station at 35 Essex Street and Short Hills Station at 25 Chatham Road.

    • Train ticket to New York Penn costs $8.50/ride or $254 for a monthly pass. Click here for other fare options.

    • Express trains average at 35 minutes

    • Local trains average at 47 minutes

    • Earliest train usually at 4:57 AM

    • Latest train back usually at 12:56 AM

  • You may access an interactive schedule or pdf schedule.

Railroad Stations:

Lakeland Bus:

There are numerous stops in Millburn on the NJ Transit 70 bus line, which runs between Newark and the Livingston Mall. View the pdf schedule here.

Other Commute Options:

Train Station Parking:

Millburn/Short Hills Schools

Millburn Public School District ranked #3 in state by Niche in 2023! For more details on district rankings click here ; For the Millburn Public School District website click here.  Bussing is available to Millburn Public School students.  This service is complementary to students outside a state-specified distance to their schools, and also offered as a paid service to students who are within the state-mandated bussing distances.

Elementary Schools: (Grades 1-5)

High School: (Grades 9-12)

Middle School: (Grades 6-8)

Millburn/Short Hills Downtown + Recreation

Millburn NJ is such a special place to call home. Read below for some of our favorite local traditions and events, plus information on recreation, art, the local dining/shopping scene, and more.

Millburn / Short Hills, New Jersey Fun Traditions + Annual Events:

  • Visit the igloo village in Millburn, NJ on the Main Street Pedestrian Mall and at the Short Hills Train Station. Enjoy 6 decked out igloos for residents & visitors to relax in, enjoy a coffee or simply take fabulous selfies. For more information, click here.

  • Tour de Millburn is a community event celebrating safe bike riding in Millburn.

    Three options will be offered to township residents: 12 miles, 7 miles, and 2 miles. For more information, click here.

  • Join your neighbors and friends at Millburn High School for all-day family-fun including a magician, kids’ DJ dance party, face painting, stilt walker, and ride a train around the park. Celebrate at night with a great display of fireworks. Click here for more information.

  • Show your Hilltopper pride at the annual Friday Night Lights SHS Football Game! Enjoy Mr. Chi hotdogs while cheering on our favorite teams under the Tatlock field lights.

  • Spend a weekend at the annual Summit Municipal Golf course fishing at the pond! For more information click here.

  • Follow along for all of your home design needs, plus an annual “Design Day”!

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  • On Thursday nights throughout the summer, visit the Village Green with your blanket and snacks and enjoy a family-friendly outdoor movie! For more information, click here.

  • It’s typical to go away for the 4th of July celebrations to the beach, but not in Summit! Join everyone at Memorial Field for live music, a food truck festival, and incredible fireworks. Click here for more information.

  • Every year after school, all of the Summit kiddos head to town to trick-or-treat at local businesses!

  • Enjoy the annual car show in the streets of Summit on Father’s Day! For more information click here.

  • On Tuesday evenings throughout the Summer, join the rest of Summit at the Village Green for concerts! For more information, click here.

  • Summit High School is home to one of the country’s premier theatre programs. Snag tickets for two off-broadway level shows each year! Visit the SHS theatre department website here.

How to spend a perfect day in Millburn/Short Hills

  • 9:30am - Arrive in Millburn:

    • Arrive by train to either Millburn Station or Short Hills Station or if driving - park at one of the parking lots in downtown Millburn.

    • Grab a coffee and fresh pastry and at Liv Breads Artisan Bakery on Essex Street (try the Chocolate Rugelach!) or

    • Grab a fresh authentic “Pastéis de Nata” (Portugal’s signature sweet and creamy custard cups)  from Casa das Natas on Millburn Ave

  • 11:00am - Start exploring the Millburn/Short Hills shopping scene:

  • 12:00pm - Grab Lunch at one of our favorites:

  • 1:00pm - Driving Tour:

    • Take a driving tour to learn about all of the different Millburn/Short Hills neighborhoods with a Price Group Buyer Specialist!

  • 3:00pm - Catch a matinee or take a historical walking tour:

    • Check out what is playing at the famous Papermill Playhouse, a nationally recognized theater in downtown Millburn or

    • Take in the history of Millburn/Short Hills with a historical walking tour of downtown or one of the beautiful town neighborhoods or parks, or

    • Enjoy a walk through the beautiful Greenwood Gardens, a treasured 28-acre public garden open in the summer months in Short Hills.

  • 5:00pm - Treat Yourself:

    • Relax with a sip and paint experience at Artevino Studio or

    • Enjoy happy hour while watching the trains arrive and leave at Boxcar Bar and Grill at the Short Hills Train Station

  • 6:00pm - Have dinner before heading out at one of our favorite places:

Then head back home, and reminisce on your amazing day spent in Millburn/Short Hills - and call your Price Group agent to start booking home tours!

Back in time…

Millburn began as a colonial settlement with agricultural origins, followed by a 19th century mill/factory economy and eventually became a Victorian residential community. There are many examples of this rich history still present in the township, from the Hessian House, the Cora Hartshorn Arboretum, the Paper Mill Playhouse, and the many beautiful homes from all phases of our history, to our 2 historic districts, Short Hills Park and Wyoming.

Origins

Millburn Township was once part of Elizabethtown and Newark settlements in New Jersey, created by a grant from Charles II to his brother James in 1664. In 1793, Springfield Township was created and it included Millburn. In 1857, Springfield became part of the new Union County and Millburn became a separate township within Essex County.

The topography of Millburn has determined its development. The last glacier that covered North America ended here, forming a "terminal morraine." As the glacier melted and retreated, it deposited a layer of sand, silt, clay, and boulders over the hard basalt substructure, creating irregular surfaces. The first inhabitants, the Lenape Indians, beat trails around these small or 'short' hills; streams cascading through them fueled colonial mills and 19th century factories; the railroad was built at the base of their slopes; and developers of suburban homes found knolls and uneven terrain attractive building sites.

Millburn in the Revolutionary War

With George Washington's army camped at Morristown and the British attacking through the Hobart Gap, Millburn was brought into the Revolutionary War. Washington allegedly viewed his troops from atop a strategic point in the South Mountain Reservation, now known as Washington Rock. The Battle of Springfield on June 23, 1780, marked the last thrust of the British into New Jersey and the 1st battle since Bunker Hill won by local militia supporting Continental troops. A reminder of the war still exists in the Parsil family cemetery on White Oak Ridge Road, where Nicholas Parsil was buried after being killed in a skirmish with the British.

After the Revolution, the town underwent another change. The Rahway River was dammed in 5 places to form mill ponds. Samuel Campbell built the first paper mill in 1790 and manufactured banknotes. Most of the early mills were paper mills, among them the Diamond Mill, now the site of the Paper Mill Playhouse, but hat mills eventually became dominant. In 1835 the Morris and Essex Railroad was finally completed, linking Millburn to the big cities in the east and the coal regions in the northwest.

Names of Millburn

Millburn has had many names, from Rum Brook, Vauxhall, Milltown, and Millville. In 1857, 'Millburn' was decided upon, partly because many of the town's residents were from Scotland and the mill burn (Scotch word for 'river' or 'stream') reminded them of home. Later there were disputes over the spelling of Millburn, but the double-L advocates won.

Development in Millburn

Once again, because of location, Millburn underwent another change: the creation of 2 residential suburbs within its borders. In 1872, the Wyoming Land and Improvement Company purchased 100 acres of land and the 1st speculative real estate development was started and named Wyoming. 

Stewart Hartshorn acquired 1552 acres to build his ideal village called Short Hills, the 1st planned commuter suburb in America.