Brookside (once called Waterstreet) is a historic unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP)State of New Jersey Census Designated Places - BVP20 - Data as of January 1, 2020, United States Census Bureau. Accessed December 1, 2022. located within Mendham Township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed June 9, 2016. It is located approximately west of Morristown, the county seat.
In the Forbes magazine 2009 ranking of the Most Expensive ZIP Codes in the United States, Brookside was ranked as the 10th most expensive in the country, with its median home sale price of $3,121,115.
It was first listed as a CDP in 2020 census with a population of 1,767.
Historic district
The Brookside Historic District is a historic district encompassing the village. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 16, 1996, for its significance in architecture, industry, and community development from 1780 to 1942. It includes 114 contributing buildings, six contributing structures, and eight contributing sites. With
Geography Brookside is in southern Morris County, in the eastern part of Mendham Township. It is bordered to the west by Mendham Borough and to the east by Morris Township. New Jersey Route 24 (Mendham Road) forms the southern edge of the Brookside CDP, and leads west into Mendham and east to Morristown.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Brookside CDP has an area of , of which , or 0.58%, are water. The Whippany River, an east-flowing tributary of the Passaic River, runs through the center of Brookside. It is joined from the north by Harmony Brook in the center of town.
Culture The yearly "Brookside 4th of July" Parade, sponsored by the Community Club, has been a communal event since 1923. It includes floats made by community groups and families, a lawnmower brigade, fire departments and ambulance squads from all over the region, farm animals, a pooch parade, and both rock and marching bands. It starts at 9 am from the intersection of Dogwood Drive and Tingley Road, then down East Main Street to the Community Club Field where food, games, and activities for people of all ages await.
The Annual Clam Bake, sponsored by the Brookside Engine Company #1, is also held at the Community Club Field on the second Saturday in September. Other events and programs are often offered by the Mendham Township Library, located on the 1st floor of the municipal building on West Main Street in Brookside. The library website and bulletin board in town hall usually contain a list of events and contact information to RSVP.
A picture of the post office is featured on the first edition cover of American Pastoral.
Demographics
Brookside first appeared as a census designated place in the 2020 U.S. census.
2020 census +Brookside CDP, New Jersey – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2020% 2020White alone (NH)1,53786.98%Black or African American alone (NH)120.68%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)00.00%Asian alone (NH)502.83%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)00.00%Other race alone (NH)150.85%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)724.07%Hispanic or Latino (any race)814.58%Total1,767100.00%
As of the 2010 United States census, the 07926 ZIP Code Tabulation Area for Brookside had a population of 120.DP-1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 from the 2010 Demographic Profile Data for ZCTA5 07926 , United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 7, 2015.
Education Mendham Township Public Schools are located in Brookside.
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Brookside include: Peter Dinklage (born 1969), actor and film producerStaff. "Brookside actor steps over adversity to starring role", New Jersey Hills, April 24, 2003. Accessed February 28, 2017. "Ask Diane and John Dinklage of East Main Street in Brookside their definition of determination and they will tell you that their son, Peter Dinklage, personifies the word determination." Alice Weaver Flaherty (born 1963), neurologist and writer"Flaherty Earns Bell Scholarship", Bernardsville News, June 25, 1981. Accessed May 12, 2026, via Newspapers.com. "Alice W. Flaherty, daughter of Franklin and Sarah Flaherty of Brookside, is one of four New Jersey graduating high school students to receive a James B. Fisk Merit Scholarship, sponsored by Bell Laboratories." Morris Frank (1908–1980), cofounder of The Seeing Eye, the first guide-dog school in the United States"Morris Frank, a founder of Seeing Eye", United Press International, November 23, 1980. Accessed November 14, 2020. "Brookside, N.J. -- Morris Frank, a founder of Seeing Eye, the guide dog training center for the blind, died Saturday at his home in Mendham Township, N.J. He was 72." Stewart G. Pollock (born 1932), Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey from 1979 to 1999Kocieniewski, David. "Judge Leaving High Court After 20 Years as Unifier", The New York Times, February 26, 1999. Accessed June 14, 2016. "Judge Pollock was born in East Orange and raised in Brookside, back when it had only 1,300 residents and a four-room schoolhouse. He still lives there, although the suburban boom of the last half-century has expanded Brookside and made it one of wealthiest communities in central New Jersey." Joachim Prinz (1902–1988), German-American rabbi and activist, who was an outspoken Zionist and a leader in the US civil rights movement in the 1960sFowler, Glenn. "Joachim Prinz, Leader in Protests For Civil-Rights Causes, Dies at 86", The New York Times, October 1, 1988. Accessed May 12, 2026. "Dr. Joachim Prinz, a former president of the American Jewish Congress and a leader in civil-rights causes, died of a heart attack yesterday at St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston, N.J. He was 86 years old and lived in Brookside, N.J."
See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Morris County, New Jersey
References
External links