Washington Valley

Washington Valley is an unincorporated community in the Whippany River valley, spanning roughly three square miles of Morris Township and Mendham Township west of Morristown. The main spine is Mendham Road (NJ Route 24), which follows the 1806 Washington Turnpike along the valley floor.

Character is the draw and the limit. Surviving 18th- and 19th-century farmhouses and the Gilded Age estates that absorbed many of them in the late 1800s define the streetscape. The Washington Valley Historic District is locally designated. Streets are winding, lots are large, and there are no sidewalks; this isn’t a walkable neighborhood by any stretch.

What’s in the area:

• The main campus of The Seeing Eye, the world’s oldest guide-dog school;
• Surviving stretches of the original turnpike alignment;
• Access to Lewis Morris County Park and Jockey Hollow at the western edge.

There’s a separate “Washington Township” in the western part of Morris County. Washington Valley is not that town. They get confused in search results all the time; if you’re looking at house listings or driving directions, double-check.

Appeals to: buyers who want acreage and rural views without leaving the Morris School District, equestrians, and anyone wanting a country-road commute to Morristown that takes ten minutes on a quiet morning.