Here you will find comprehensive information regarding real estate in Springfield. Being that I have been a Springfield Hills Realtor for many years I can offer some of my sound advice regarding buying or selling a home in Springfield. You may also find mls listings in Springfield as well as any local information in Springfield. Over the years Springfield Real Estate has grown in high demand, and my expertise in the area will help you become more familiar with the surroundings of this beautiful town. I am familiar with listings in Springfield as well as negotiated deals for those looking to buy homes in Springfield. So whether you are looking to buy a house in Springfield, sell a house in Springfield, or just research local information about Springfield you will find everything you need with Sue "Suki" Marsh-Shikiar your expert Springfield Realtor.

If you are looking for a home for sale in the Springfield area, I can help. I have years of experience in this area of New Jersey. If you just want some information about Springfield you came to the right place. The following is a small featurette on Springfield taken from the Springfield Official Website.

Springfield is conveniently located with easy access to Routes 78, 22, and 24, this Union County suburb offers and ideal blend of ingredients for a fine lifestyle.
Many homes in Springfield are post-war three to five bedroom Colonials, Ranches and Splits. There are also 1,000 condominiums in the township. The “Baltusrol Top” offers homes, sometimes with New York views. A more typical home would be a four bedroom split in a comfortable family neighborhood. Homes in Springfield range from $175,000 to over $600,000.
The population of the township is 14,000 and the area is made up of 5.1 square miles. Springfield has one Pre-k and Kindergarten, two schools enrolling children grades 1-4, one middle school grades 5-8 and a local high school.
Besides the typical curriculum, Springfield offers a public preschool from age 4, a full day kindergarten, a telephone “homework hotline” that allows parents and students to check on assignments, a before and after latchkey program for pupils whose parents work, after school enrichment programs and summer trips.
Computers are introduced in kindergarten. The average class size is 18. Special education courses and programs for gifted students are available. Only 14% of Springfield children attend private schools and 92% of the public school graduates go on to higher education.
Springfield has five committee members, elected to 3-year terms, who choose one member as mayor.
Commuters can get to midtown Manhattan via NJ Transit bus in 45 minutes during rush hour. There is also a jitney service to the Millburn train station.
Springfield has nine small parks. The most widely used is Chisolm School Park, a three-acre facility with two baseball diamonds and a playground. Springfield Municipal Pool has a lighted baseball diamond, volleyball, basketball, bocci and shuffle board courts.
Springfield is home of Baltusrol Golf Club, founded in 1895, which has hosted seven United States Open Golf Tournaments.

Springfield was first settled in the early 1700’s, the first substantiated date being 1717, when the Briant family came from Hackensack. The tombstone of William Stites, who is buried in the old burying ground on Mountain Avenue, is dated 1729. Some of the descendents of the family still live here. Other early families were the Whiteheads, Van Winkles, Denmans and Woodruffs.

The early settlers often saw groups of Indians in the vicinity, particularly the Unamis, “ People Down the River”, who were one of the three groups of the Lenape Tribe.

Two centuries ago the area surrounding Springfield was covered with dense forests. Only a primitive road connected Morristown and Elizabethtown until 1801, when a turnpike road was constructed between Elizabethtown Point and the Delaware River in Sussex County. To avoid paying a toll on the Morris & Sussex Turnpike, the natives built a parallel road and, appropriately, named it “Shunpike Road”. Today, the Baltusrol Golf and Country Club is located here.

Farms, mills and lumbering provided the livelihood for the people in the area.

During the fighting in the Revolutionary War, the enemy entered the town a number of times to take away farm animals, grain and other needs, keeping the people in a continual state of alarm. It became necessary for the local populace to set up a chain of signals, the nearest to Springfield being on Beacon Hill in what is now Summit. When necessary, a cannon called “Old Sow” was fired to alert our militia on both sides of the mountain and to warn the people to flee to a place of safety.

From the original manuscript sources, one of which is owned by the Springfield Historical Society, we find that Washington had his General Headquarters in Springfield from June 7 to June 22, 1780.

On June 23, 1780, "The Battle of Springfield" was fought. The British advanced with infantry, cavalry and several field pieces. Washington had left the area leaving General Nathanial Greene in the vicinity with Colonel Angell and his Rhode Islanders at the Rahway River vicinity. For more than 40 minutes Colonel Angell and his men fought five times their numbers to a standstill. The British slowly pushed the Militia back to the second bridge over Van Winkle’s Brook on Morris Avenue, just west of the present day Mountain Avenue. During the heat of the battle, Reverend James Caldwell, Chaplain of Colonel Elias Dayton’s Regiment, whose wife had been murdered 16 days before, passed out Watts Hymnals from the Presbyterian Church for use as wadding. His cry of “Give Them Watts, Boys”, has lived on the become a Motto of that conflict.

The British resorted to burning and looting. Only four houses remained after the Battle. Still standing are: the historic Cannon Ball House on Morris Avenue (headquarters of the Springfield Historical Society, it is open to the public by appointment), the Swaim House on South Springfield Avenue and the Sayre House. The British goal of reaching Morristown was thwarted and the Battle of Springfield marked the last invasion of the British into New Jersey and removed the danger of final defeat of the Continental forces.

According to “Melick’s Story of An Old Farm”, Jonathan Dayton, a doctor born in 1732 and son of Jonathan Dayton and his first wife, was married to Keziah Miller and they lived in the Cannon Ball House. He was a Revolutionary soldier. In the same book, mention is made that the house was hit by a cannonball during the battle. After his death August 16, 1778, his widow operated a tavern stop in the house. Mrs. Dayton died in 1797.

The second wife of the first Jonathan Dayton had a son Elias who became Colonel Elias Dayton. Elias had a son named Jonathan. This Jonathan was one of othe four men from New Jersey who helped form and sign the Constitution of the United States. Our high school was named after this Jonathan Dayton. He also served in Congress.

Postal Service was established by the government in 1800 with Grover Coe as the first Postmaster for the area. The first postmaster for Springfield was Frank Meisel. Up until that time the mail was dropped off at the general store known as Jenkins & Newman. The location is now the Taxi Stand on Morris Avenue.

On May 27, 1793, an Act was passed by the General Assembly at Trenton, forming the Township of Springfield from the Townships of Elizabeth and Newark in the County of Essex. This new township included Springfield proper, Millburn, part of Summit, South Orange, Maplewood and New Providence. This act remained in force until November 8, 1809 when New Providence was withdrawn. In 1857, the County of Union was formed. It included Springfield proper, and left Millburn, Maplewood, and South Orange in Essex County. On March 17, 1869 part of Summit Township was formed from the western part of Springfield. Since then the boundaries have remained unchanged.

The main thoroughfares in Springfield follow their colonial paths; Shunpike and Milltown Roads were followed as alternate routes to avoid tolls on the Newark and Essex Pike (Morris Ave.). The stone arches of the bridge on Morris Avenue at Van Winkle’s Brook date back to 1873. One of the main roads, known now as Springfield Avenue, was originally called Seven Bridges Road since that many were needed to cross the many small streams feeding into the Rahway River.

Primarily a rural area until the 20th Century, by 1830 Springfield had a population of 1653 (93 were single men). There were 12 paper mills, one distillery, seven merchants, three taverns, five stores, and two churches. Much has changed, but much of our early history can be seen, visited, traced or felt in the Springfield of today.

Springfield Historical Society
126 Morris Avenue
Springfield, New Jersey 07081