Town file
Hanover Township, New Jersey
Hanover Township, New Jersey (Morris County, New Jersey) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 205, "The Disappearing Cheerleader" (7 January 2021). Hanover Township sits in Morris County in north central New Jersey, about forty minutes from New York City and an hour and a half from Philadelphia.
- Town
- Hanover Township
- County
- Morris County
- State
- New Jersey
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 205
- Approximate location
- 40.820, -74.428
Episode 205 / 7 January 2021 / 161 min / full
The Disappearing Cheerleader
" says they are going to Hanover Township, New Jersey, in north central Jersey, in Morris County." about 0:05:40
The case: Murder of Amy Hoffman (November 1982); Murder of Deirdre O'Brien (December 1982); Murder of Robert J. Anderson (June 1971). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2021
- Population
- 14,436
- Median age
- 44
- Median household income
- $116,020 a year
- Median home value
- $505,000
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $2,170
- Cost of living
- 146
- Religious
- about 60%
- Property crime
- ▼ about half the national average
- Violent crime
- ▼ less than half the national average
History, in brief
- Lucent Technologies had a big facility in Whippany. about 0:07:54
- The first demonstration of long-distance television transmission in the United States took place in 1927, with transmissions from Washington, D.C. to New York and from Whippany to New York. about 0:07:59
- Before the Second World War it was an industrial town known for ironworks and paper mills. about 0:08:38
- After the Second World War, with highways built in the 1950s, it became a commuter town for New York City. about 0:08:52
- On January 5, 2009, five unidentified red lights were seen over Hanover Township; two residents later admitted using road flares attached to balloons, and it became known nationally as the Morristown UFO hoax. about 0:08:57
- It is the home of the 2017 Junior Pee Wee Division youth football national champions. about 0:09:30
- It lies just north of Morristown, separated from it by a thin strip of Morris Township and next to Morristown municipal airport. about 0:10:02
- The township includes Whippany and Cedar Knolls. about 0:10:17
- Its motto is 'great things happen in Hanover'. about 0:07:29
- The population tripled between 1950 and 1960. about 0:14:37
The reviews read out
3 stars
"Wonderful schooling system; taxes are high but used to benefit residents; neighbourhoods are clean and streets kept paved."about 0:10:34
3 stars
"The police respond very slowly, especially when it is an emergency."about 0:11:56
3 stars
"The reviewer's living situation is overpopulated with people everywhere; they would prefer a more private place to raise children."about 0:12:28
3 stars
"There is no good nightlife in Whippany; people travel to Morristown, where the nightlife is outrageous and bars and restaurants dress their staff up for holidays."about 0:13:30
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Denville, New Jersey5.7 miles
- Chatham Township, New Jersey5.9 miles
- Garfield, New Jersey17 miles
- Fair Lawn, New Jersey18 miles
- Woodbridge Township, New Jersey20 miles
- Franklin, New Jersey22 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.