Port Morris, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Port Morris, New Jersey
Census-designated place
Port Morris, New Jersey Location in Morris County, New Jersey Show map of Morris County, New Jersey Port Morris, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Port Morris, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Morris
Township	Roxbury
Area
• Total	0.36 sq mi (0.92 km2)
• Land	0.25 sq mi (0.64 km2)
• Water	0.11 sq mi (0.29 km2)
Elevation	896 ft (273 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	754
• Density	3,065.04/sq mi (1,185.06/km2)
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07850
FIPS code	34-60390
GNIS feature ID	0879439

Port Morris is a historic unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Roxbury Township, in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Despite its name, Port Morris is in the hills of the Skylands Region, on the shores of Lake Musconetcong.

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 section of 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 Cutoff, constructed 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.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, the area's population was 754.