Wharton is a compact borough in central Morris County, New Jersey, occupying about 2.2 square miles along the Rockaway River. Its population of 7,254 at the 2020 census makes it one of the county's smaller, denser municipalities, and its location between Routes 15, 46, and 80 places it squarely within the region's commuting geography. The borough stretches south from the main entrance of Picatinny Arsenal, a 6,400-acre Army research and development installation that is among the area's largest employers, to Route 46, bordered by Roxbury Township to the west and Dover and Rockaway Township to the east. Wharton's roots are industrial. The area began as a mining and forging settlement known first as Irondale Docks and later as Port Oram, where iron ore was mined, smelted, and shipped along the Morris Canal. The borough was incorporated as Port Oram in 1895, taking its name from Robert F. Oram, an English immigrant drawn to the region's iron industry, and was renamed in 1902 for Joseph Wharton, the Philadelphia industrialist. Forges had operated at the Rockaway River's waterfalls since the mid-eighteenth century, when Colonel Jacob Ford erected two forges at Mount Pleasant in 1750. Today Wharton functions as a residential borough with a walkable downtown, an active volunteer community, and a diverse population. Its history as a working-class mining and railroad town is reflected in its housing stock and street grid, and the borough has evolved into a practical home base for families and commuters tied to Morris County's employment centers and the Picatinny Arsenal campus. Public education is provided by the Wharton Borough School District, a single kindergarten-through-eighth-grade district, with high school students attending Morris Hills Regional High School along with Denville, Rockaway Borough, and Rockaway Township. NJ Transit rail service is available at nearby Dover station, and the borough's location among three major highways keeps the wider region readily accessible.