[14] Located just north of the historic town of Morristown (separated by a thin strip of Morris Township) and adjacent to the regional Morristown Municipal Airport, Hanover Township offers many public attractions including the Whippany Railway Museum,[23] the Frelinghuysen Arboretum[24] and the Morris County Library.

Patriots' Path, a wilderness walkway and bike trail that stretches for 26 miles (42 km), also passes through the township along the Whippany River.

[26] Once the Province of West Jersey purchased the land from the local Lenape Native Americans, the original County of Morris was created and comprised all of what is now Morris, Sussex and Warren Counties.

Its size has been considerably decreased as the population of the area has increased since the creation of Hanover Township in 1720 and its incorporation on March 25, 1740, with the formation of Morris County.

[30][31] During the Revolutionary War, George Washington and his troops often camped in, and marched through, Hanover Township.

The name Whippany is adapted from the Native American word Whippanong which means “place of the arrow wood".

[32] The old settlements of Monroe and Malapardis were consumed by development and what remains are two communities—Whippany and Cedar Knolls—which are roughly separated by Interstate 287.

A section of Malapardis, even though it is in Hanover Township's borders, has a Morris Plains mailing zip code.

Until the post-World War II suburbanization of New Jersey, Hanover Township was a sparsely populated industrial town known for its iron works and paper mills.

[33] The Seeing Eye, the first guide dog school for the blind in the United States, was located in Whippany between 1931 and 1966, before moving to its current campus in nearby Morris Township.

[1][2] Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the township include Balls Mills, Black Meadows, Cedar Knolls, Eden Mill, Horse Hill, Jefferson, Lee Meadows, Malapardis, Monroe and Whippany.

[36][37][38] The 2010 United States census counted 13,712 people, 5,308 households, and 3,790 families in the township.

[50] At the 2000 United States census[17] there were 12,898 people, 4,745 households and 3,620 families residing in the township.

[51] Home of the 2017 Junior Pee Wee Division Youth Football National Champions sponsored by the NFL Hall of Fame.

[3][64][65][66][67][68][69] In July 2020, Ronald F. Francioli stepped down as mayor, while retaining his committee seat.

[70][71] Township Hall, which was renovated and enlarged in 2003, is located at the corner of Jefferson Road and Route 10.

The Cedar Knolls First Aid Squad provides emergency medical coverage for the entire township.

[78] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 11th congressional district is represented by Mikie Sherrill (D, Montclair).

[80] For the 2024-2025 session, the 26th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Joseph Pennacchio (R, Rockaway Township) and in the General Assembly by Brian Bergen (R, Denville Township) and Jay Webber (R, Morris Plains).

[82] Actual day-to-day operation of departments is supervised by County Administrator Deena Leary.

Radio stations WMTR[142] and WDHA[143] have studios and offices located in the Cedar Knolls section of the township.

Major employers in Hanover Township include:[144] There is some confusion over the place names in Hanover Township which results from the sometimes arcane usage of place names in New Jersey.

They each have their own ZIP Code and fire department but are otherwise simply neighborhood names.

Furthermore, street signs and maps often do not identify Hanover Township but instead indicate one of the place names.

On January 5, 2009, five unidentified red lights were spotted in the night sky over Hanover Township and Morris County.

The event became nationally known as the Morristown UFO hoax after two residents disclosed how they had used road flares attached to balloons to create the objects seen across the area.