Madison, NJ

Two university campuses and an early commuter rail corridor help define Madison, a Morris County borough about 25 miles west of Manhattan. Drew University, founded in 1867, occupies a wooded former estate near downtown, while Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Florham Campus uses the former Twombly estate and its Gilded Age mansion. Madison’s historic station stands on the Morris & Essex Lines, whose direct New York service influenced the borough’s development. The downtown civic-commercial district, including borough hall and the station, is listed on New Jersey’s historic register. Cultural institutions include the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and the Museum of Early Trades and Crafts, whose collection holds more than 8,000 artifacts.