Hillsdale: Its name comes from a school and from its railroad station
HILLSDALE – The story of the evolution of the community known today as the Borough of Hillsdale, with its approximately 3000 homes, business community and a population of 11,700 persons (1975) saturating most of its roughly two square miles of territory, is a colorful one. The delineation of the boundaries of present-day Hillsdale involved a constant erosion of larger land divisions from 17th century colonial days to the final partitioning of eastern Hillsdale Township, to form the Township of River Vale in 1906. There were two eras of great metamorphosis in Hillsdale’s history—the advent of the railroad in 1870, which literally put the few scattered farms and country stores near the banks of the Pascack Brook “on the map,” and the opening of the George Washington Bridge in the early 1930s. Both events brought waves of migration by the masses from the crowded cities of New York, Paterson, and Jersey City. The new arrivals in both migratory waves sought identical goals: land, clean air, and water, in a rural atmosphere, located within reasonable distance to the job markets of the large cities. The first migration proceeded at a leisurely pace through World War I, increasing in tempo as the means of public transportation were improved by increased rail service and the establishment of bus routes. The second tide of migration came to a halt during World War II, but developed into an engulfing wave with the war’s end. This latter migration has today almost completely saturated Hillsdale’s available land space.
COLONIAL DAYS
Although records are almost non-existent, it is believed that the Leni-Lenape Indians, members of the powerful Algonquin Nation, roamed the Hackensack River valley at the time of the arrival of the first Dutch explorers and settlers in 1630. A few Indian artifacts and the names of the Pascack and Musquapsink Brooks are all that remain from the centuries of Indian occupancy of the area.The Dutch settlers from the town of Bergen in Holland transferred the name of their fatherland community to the County of Bergen in 1630, and to the Village of Bergen in 1661, which is now part of Jersey City. In 1665, the village and its surrounding lands became an English colony.
The present State of New Jersey was divided into four counties by the British Crown on March 7, 1682: Essex, Middlesex, Monmouth and Bergen, the latter containing “all the land between Hudson’s River and the Hackensack River.” In 1693, the Colonial Assembly began the division of New Jersey’s counties into townships. Bergen County was divided into three townships, one of which was New Barbadoes Township, which included all the land between the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers. The counties were re-divided in 1710 and Bergen County then comprised “all the land between Hudson’s River, and the Pequannock and the Passaic Rivers.” The present boundaries of Bergen County were established after the creation of Passaic County in 1837, and Hudson County in 1840.
In 1737, Saddle River Township was carved from New Barbadoes, and in 1775, just before the start of the Revolutionary War, Harrington Township was created from Saddle River. Thus, during that war, the area which is now Hillsdale was part of Harrington Township. The farms in the area were ravaged and plundered by the armies of both the Americans, and the British and their mercenary Hessians. The Baylor Massacre on Sept. 28, 1778, at the Hering Farm on Rivervale Road, River Vale, took place on land that was part of Hillsdale from 1898 to 1906. During the war, many farmers in the area were sympathetic to the British Crown and fled to Canada. Some who were sympathetic remained; they were called “Tories.” Some spied for the British army, as in the case of the Rivervale Road farmers who betrayed Colonel Baylor.
TOWNSHIPS FORMED
On Jan. 30, 1840, Washington Township was created out of part of Harrington Township and included “that territory extending from New York Sate on the north to Soldier Hill Road, Oradell, on the south-between the Hackensack River and Saddle River.” In 1894, the Boroughs of Westwood, Park Ridge, Woodcliff Lake, Montvale and Old Tappan were formed, in that order. In 1898, just prior to the Spanish-American War, Washington Township had shrunk to the territory which now constitutes the communities of Hillsdale, River Vale, Emerson and Washington Township.
HILLSDALE INCORPORATED
The state legislature was petitioned by the residents of “Hillsdale,” who had adopted the name from a school built on Pascack Road in 1856 and opened in 1870, for a separation from Washington Township. The legislature granted the petition, and incorporated Hillsdale Township in an act passed on March 25, 1898. The town was comprised of “all the territory between the Hackensack River on the east and Orvil Township (now Ho-Ho-Kus and Waldwick) on the west—between the boroughs of Woodcliff Lake, Park Ridge and the New York State line on the north, and the borough of Westwood and an imaginary line due west on the south.”
Credit for sparking the movement to incorporated Hillsdale has been given to Orin S. Trall (later the tax collector), John H. Riley (later a freeholder), A.C. Holdrum (State Assemblyman during the period), John F. Winters, David H. Demarest, Herridon Rohrs, and the following members of the first official family: Sanford Bogert, Chairman (mayor); George Seaman, treasurer; township committeeman Edmund Greenin; William W. Banta, clerk; Arthur J. Stever, freeholder; John A. Storms, assessor, and Ernest Koester, township counsel.
MUNICIPAL SERVICES
The first election of local officials was held in April 1898, in the former Hillsdale Manor House off upper Broadway, since torn down. Meetings of the township committee were held there until March 1899, held in a room over the Abram C. Hering store (now Pascack Board of Realtors building) at 150 Broadway, until March 1901. The township was divided into three road districts early in 1898. The rate for roadwork was fixed at $1.25 per day, for nine hour’s work, and $4.00 a day (nine hours) for one man and a team of horses. Each of the three township committeemen had charge of one road district.
David Patterson had donated the land for Magnolia Avenue in 1850 and in 1871, donated the land in the center of Hillsdale which is now Memorial Park. The Hillsdale Board of Education was organized on April 23, 1898, with A.C. Holdrum as president and William Blauvelt as clerk. There were three schools in Hillsdale in 1898: No. 1, which was the former School #1 in River Vale: No. 2, on Magnolia Avenue, and No. 3, on Pascack Road, built in 1856. The two latter schools have been torn down. High school children attended schools in Park Ridge, Westwood or Hackensack prior to the Pascack Valley Regional High School being built in 1955.
The tavern of Peter A. Jersey in Pascack (Woodcliff Lake) was the repository for mail addressed to Hillsdale on a once-a-week basis until March of 1870, when the railroad was extended to Hillsdale. At that time, mail was delivered daily to the post office, which was established in the present Leddy Building on Hillsdale Avenue, just west of the railroad tracks. Henry G. Hering, the storekeeper, was appointed the first postmaster, at a salary of $12 per year. He was one of the leading citizens of early Hillsdale for a long period of time. In addition to his storekeeper-postmaster duties, Hering served as stationmaster, secretary of the railroad, township clerk, state assemblyman, under-sheriff of the county from 1881 to 1886, former supervisor and tax assessor for Washington Township before Hillsdale was created, and was a civil engineer and surveyor. He laid out most of the roads in Bergen County and owned and developed most of Hillsdale Manor.
Other early postmasters included school principal W. W. Banta and John W. Kinmouth, who moved the post office to his store on Broadway, now the Cala Brothers Building. At the time of the incorporation of Hillsdale in 1898, the post office was moved back to the Leddy Building, then owned by John W. Winters, who became postmaster.
POLICE AND FIRE
Prior to 1908, public safety in Hillsdale was maintained by constables elected each year. There was no organized fire-fighting unit in the community until the formation of the Hillsdale Fire Association in 1902. In the early days, bucket brigades comprised of local residents fought fires after arriving on the scene on foot or by wagons. The Town did, however, have one of the best fire alarm systems in the county. Since the railroad car shops and roundhouse were in Hillsdale, there were usually several engines parked in Hillsdale. The blowing of the whistles of all the engines in town signaled the outbreak of a fire and could be heard for miles around the countryside. This alarm method was used until the employment of several huge iron rings at various locations in the town, shortly after the turn of the century.
THE RAILROAD
As mentioned previously, the advent of the railroad effected a great change in the character of Hillsdale and its relation to the outside world. A charter was granted by the State on March 14, 1856, to the Hackensack and New York Railroad Company, which began construction of a 21-mile line in the spring of 1869. On Christmas Day of that year, the first engine crossed what is now Hillsdale Avenue, forming a link with the Erie Railway junction south of Carlstadt to a point just west of Hillsdale Avenue, which was its temporary terminus. When Hillsdale Station was opened for public use on March 4, 1870, there were only six houses within a half-mile radius of the site. Hillsdale residents were prominent in the organization of the pioneer railroad. Its president was David P. Patterson. Henry G. Hering was first secretary, and John Alfred Storms was the agent for the first station. Equipment was primitive, with wooden, open-platform cars for passengers and wood burning stoves at either end of the car for heat. The tiny railroad’s first engines were wood-burners, built in Paterson. They remained in service until 1879. Coal burning engines were introduced in 1874, and one engine, No. 2, was adorned with the name “Hillsdale” on its sides.
Shortly after 1870, the 21 miles of track were extended northward from Hillsdale, to Haverstraw, NY, and was known as the Hackensack and New York Extension Railroad. In 1873, the two lines were merged into the New Jersey and New York Railroad Co. An 1879 timetable indicates five round trips were run per day, between Jersey City and Hillsdale, and one round-trip freight train. The cost of commuting between Hillsdale and New York (using the ferry) was $14.50 per month, with a one-way fare costing 75 cents. In 1896, the NY and NJ Railroad was leased to the Erie Railroad.
When Hillsdale became a township in its own right in 1898, the railroad’s engine roundhouse and car shops were located in the town. Two local residents, Rubin W. Jepson and L.B. Van Wagonen were, respectively, superintendent of motive power and superintendent of the car shops. The railroad’s water tank, coaling station and turntable were all located in Hillsdale and were a healthy stimulant to the economy of the community.
The rooms above the railroad station were first used as the superintendent’s office, and later served a multitude of purposes in Hillsdale: the Fire Association and Improvement Association met there; it was the site of early services for the Episcopal Church; local political organizations used the offices; and they were later converted into a real estate and insurance office. By the turn of the 20th century, the first phase of Hillsdale’s growth was well under way, due in large part to the coming of the railroad and the prominent part the town played in its operation.
Township of Hillsdale – The Years 1900 to 1923
HILLSDALE – In the previous issue of this newspaper, the first segment of a series presenting a condensed History of Hillsdale dealt with the history of the community from colonial days to the turn of the 20th century. This week’s segment will review the period from 1900, which was just two years after the incorporation of the Township of Hillsdale on March 25, 1898, through 1922. This period includes World War I and the entire era during which Hillsdale was governed as a township. Hillsdale adopted its present borough form of government on April 24, 1923.
During this 22-year span, the growth of Hillsdale Township remained slow. The character of the town was still rural, with farming the principal occupation for those residents who did not commute to jobs in the large nearby cities of New York, Jersey City and Paterson. Local storekeepers, businessmen, and officials of the railroad were the main community leaders who ran the town.
COMMUNITY SERVICES
The most noteworthy characteristic of the two decades under consideration was the evolution of community services and utilities, which are by many, taken for granted. The era saw the birth of the fire and police departments, the construction of modern roads, the introduction of electric lights and the telephone, water mains and fire hydrants, new and larger schools, organizations such as the Boy Scouts, and the establishment of town parks.
One of the last land alignments in the Pascack Valley took place in 1906, when “all that territory in Hillsdale Township east of Demarest Avenue – Cedar Lane and an imaginary line due north – and the northeast part of Westwood (then known as Eastwood)” was formed into River Vale Township, leaving the boundaries of Hillsdale as they are today. Eugene E. Rich was mayor of the town in that year. From 1900 until March 1901, the township committee met in a room over Abram C. Hering’s store on Broadway, which is now the building housing the Westwood – Pascack Valley Board of Realtors. In the latter year, the meeting place was shifted to Hillsdale Manor on north Broadway (since demolished), where it remained until May 7, 1907, when meetings were held in Fireman’s Hall – the present Borough Hall.
Railroad and Summit Avenues (now Broadway) received the first macadam in the town, in 1902. Special elections in 1907 and 1908 authorized the issuance of a total of $45,000 in bonds to macadamize all accepted streets in the town. The state matched the sum in aid. The importance placed upon roads at this time is shown by the fact that 232 of the town’s 240 eligible voters in the first election approved the bond issue. In 1910, the County Freeholders replaced the iron bridge on Broadway connecting with Westwood, and a second connection through Hopper Street that is now Kinderkamack Road.
A public meeting, held on April 7, 1900, petitioned the township committee to appropriate $200 to improve the present Memorial Park. In 1908, trees, plants and flowers were planted in the park and in 1921, William Hozenthaler was assigned as park caretaker. In the same year, the town purchased a flagpole for the park, and an Honor Roll Committee was appointed to honor World War I servicemen. A huge boulder was brought to Hillsdale on a railroad flatcar. In an attempt to transfer it to the park, the boulder fell off the transfer vehicle. Several meetings were held to review the problem. It was decided it was too costly to attempt to move the boulder, so it remains today where it fell just behind the present bus shelter on Broadway, next to the railroad station. It was decided, in 1922, to erect the present granite monument in the park.
PUBLIC UTILITIES ARE INSTALLED
The Union Electric Company was granted a franchise on May 19, 1900, to erect poles and wires for electric lights in Hillsdale, based on a proposal put forth by Genest M. Ottignon. In February, 1901, the Bergen County Gas & Electric Company, an outgrowth of the former company, was granted a franchise to lay gas mains and erect electric lights in the town. Both companies were later absorbed by the present Public Service Electric and Gas Company.
In 1902, the sum of $2000 was voted by the town “for the electric lighting of public streets, to replace oil lamps, with 32 candlepower lights to be placed on various streets in the township.” A franchise was granted to the NY and NJ Telephone Co. on May 7, 1900, to erect poles and string telephone wires in the town. The first telephone was installed in the home of Thomas C. Demarest, on Broadway, supervised by Edmund L. Greenin, a local township committeeman. The telephone company later became the present-day NJ Bell Telephone Company. In 1903, Mr. Greenin was appointed by the Township Committee to secure water for Hillsdale, and on Sept. 9, 1903, a water franchise was granted to the Hackensack Water Company. Two miles of water mains and 24 fire hydrants were installed shortly thereafter. In 1898, the post office was housed in the back of a store (the Leddy Building) owned by John F. Winters, who was postmaster. In 1913, John W. Kinmouth became postmaster and the first wood frame post office was built.
POLICE DEPT. TAKES FORM
Protection of public property and law enforcement in Hillsdale was maintained by constables elected annually until Feb. 4, 1908, at which time Albert W. Rawson and Christian Dies were appointed “special officers” to assist the constables. They held office until July 1913. Early town records indicate that on May 6th, 1901, the township clerk was authorized to purchase a pair of handcuffs for the constable, and a second pair on June 2, 1902. The first traffic ordinance was passed on June 4, 1900 “prohibiting bicycle riding on the paths upon the roadsides,” and on May 5, 1902, a speed limit of eight miles per hour through the township was established for motorcycles, autos and bicycles. On July 2, 1906, the constables were ordered to enforce the state auto laws.
The Bergen County Detective Association (later to become the New Jersey Rangers Detective Association) was organized on Sept. 10, 1912, with its headquarters on Summit Avenue (Broadway), Hillsdale. At one time, the group numbered 20 men, called “pursuers.” The Rawson twins of Hillsdale, Albert W. and Alpheus E., became famous as early “lawmen” in the Rangers, whose trustees were all Hillsdale residents. Charles E. McCleary, who owned a butcher shop on Summit Avenue, was appointed as the first uniformed Special Police Officer on July 7, 1913, at a salary of $5.00 per week. He served until the summer of 1915 and was followed by various other special police officers until 1921. John G. Ackerman was appointed the first recorder in May 1917, at a salary of $50.00 per year. He resigned in June and Theodore I. Haubner was appointed to complete his three-year term. The first regular police department began to take form in January 1921 when 11 special police officers were sworn in, with John Hartleib named acting chief. The town purchased badges and clubs, and ordered the acting chief to submit monthly reports to the township committee. Fred Walker took over as acting chief from H.E. Hering in 1922.
FIREMEN ORGANIZE
In April, 1902, the Hillsdale Fire Association was organized at a meeting held above the railroad station. John H. Riley was elected president; J.W. Banta, recording secretary; E.F. Taylor, financial secretary; and O.S. Trall, treasurer. The association was incorporated in 1903. In March, 1912, an active “Fire Dept.” was created within the association for members who wished to be active firemen, with others remaining as social members. The association was designated the “Bona-fide Official Fire Dept. of the Township of Hillsdale,” on March 20, 1914, and Henry J. Werner was named the first chief.
Prior to this reorganization, the Fire Association had held its first fair in August, 1902, with the Ladies Auxiliary, and raised the money to purchase a hose reel and pump that was pulled on a wagon by ropes. Enough money was raised with various events to buy a horse-drawn rig and erect the fire headquarters in 1906, which is now the present Borough Hall. Hook & Ladder Co. #1 carried a 40-foot ladder and hose in the rig pulled by horses rented at Calvin Gardenier’s stables on Park Street. In 1907, a horse-drawn hose cart was acquired. The horse hose vehicle was replaced by the first auto, a Mathieson, in 1914. By 1918, the town had three fire trucks and had replaced all the horse-drawn vehicles. On July 8, 1921, the association donated the trucks to the town.
The Hillsdale Fire Patrol was formed on March 14, 1917, with 35 members. The men had authority to arrest violators of the law at a fire. The patrol later became Chemical Co. #1. After several mergers of the different fire companies, the Hillsdale Fire Dept. was established by town ordinance on July 8, 1921, under Chief A. Bachman. J.E. Butenschoen became chief in 1922, the year in which the newly formed eight-member Hillsdale Women’s Fire Dept. attracted the attention of three NY daily newspapers. From an early date, the local fire department gained prominence in county and state firefighting circles. On Sept. 18, 1915, the Hillsdale firemen set a new world’s record at the Ho-Ho-Kus Fairgrounds by laying and coupling 150 feet of hose to a hydrant, from running start, in 41 seconds. In 1916, Hillsdale broke its own record by performing the same feat in 37 seconds.
The NJ and NY Volunteer Firemen’s Association of today was conceived in Hillsdale in 1915, when Henry J. Werner was elected its first president. The department has been a member of the NJ State Firemen’s Assn. since 1916. The Hillsdale Exempt Firemen’s Assn. was organized Sept. 23, 1918 with T.C. Demarest its first president. The NJ State Exempt Firemen’s Association held its convention in Hillsdale in Jun 1922. The Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Hillsdale Fire Assn. was organized in 1902, with Mrs. John Riley as chairman. It was reorganized in 1906, with 32 members and Mrs. M. Clausen as president. The group assisted the firemen at many social functions and carnivals, and assisted the men in fund-raising projects.
SCHOOLS – CHURCHES
The nucleus of what is now the George G. White School, on Magnolia Avenue, was built as 12 rooms in 1921. High school students from Hillsdale attended schools in Park Ridge and Westwood. In school elections prior to 1920 it was necessary to have two ballot boxes, one for election of board members and one for appropriations, because women taxpayers were permitted to vote for appropriations but not for board members. Nominations for board members were made from the floor, with the names placed on a blackboard, with the voters making their choice from the names listed. The Hillsdale PTA was organized in 1922, with 73 members, as the result of a petition drawn up by Mrs. Della Fox.
An addition to the Hillsdale Methodist Church, then across the street from the present church, was built in 1911. William Blauvelt served as treasurer of the church school from 1904 until 1944. The parish house of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, then located on Cross Street, was used extensively during World War I by the Red Cross for making dressings and bandages. Miss Minette Bell became the first church organist in 1905.
THE BOY SCOUTS
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church sponsored Hillsdale’s first Boy Scout Troop, in 1916. The Rev. A.R. McWilliams was scoutmaster of Troop #1, with J. Harry Huser and Rollings Webster as assistant scoutmasters. Two additional Scout troops were sponsored in June 1920, by a group of citizens, including Henry J. Werner, John G. Hansen and Fred D. Day. Walter M. Dwyer and Edward Singleton became scoutmasters of the new troops that later were known as Troops 52 and 81. Girl Scouts, Cubs and Brownies were not organized in Hillsdale until several years later.
LOCAL ACTIVITIES DURING WORLD WAR I
Hillsdale’s participation in home activities during the U.S.’ 19 months of participation in World War I was typical of many rural communities The “Hillsdale Loyal League” was recognized by the Township Committee, with 53 members on April 17, 1917. The unit was led by H.I. Knickerbocker, and members were sworn in as “special police.” An additional 20 members were added by the end of the year. The group was re-designated as the “Hillsdale Home Guard” in January, 1918, and 25 rifles were purchased after a special election on July 5, 1918. A request for ammunition and bayonets was denied, and the rifles were disposed of in 1919, when the unit was disbanded.
Local citizens were busy during the war years, with Red Cross work, scrap drives and other activities supporting the war effort. In 1919, returning veterans organized American Legion Post 162, with Charles Riley as commander of 10 charter members. On July 4, 1920, the first colors were donated to the post by the Hillsdale Fire Association.
Township Of Hillsdale – The Years 1900 to 1923
HILLSDALE – In the previous issue of this newspaper, the first segment of
a four-part series presenting a condensed History of Hillsdale dealt with the
history of the community from Colonial days to the turn of the 20th century.
This week’s segment will review the period from 1900, which was just two
years after the incorporation of The Township of Hillsdale on March 25, 1898,
through 1922. This period includes World War I and the entire era during which
Hillsdale was governed as a township. Hillsdale adopted its present borough
form of government April 24, 1923.
During the period 1900 through 1922, the growth of Hillsdale Township
remained slow. The character of the town was still rural with farming the principal
occupation for those of its residents who did not commute to jobs in the large
nearby cities of New York, Jersey City and Paterson. Local storekeepers,
businessmen, and officials of the railroad were the main community leaders who
ran the town.
COMMUNITY SERVICES
The most noteworthy characteristic of the two decades under
consideration was the evolution of community services and utilities which are
today taken for granted. The era saw the birth of the fire and police departments,
modern roads, the coming of electric lights and the telephone, water mains and
fire hydrants, new and larger schools, organizations such as the Boy Scouts and
the establishment of town parks.
One of the last land alignments in the Pascack Valley took place in 1906
when “all that territory in Hillsdale Township east of Demarest Avenue – Cedar
Lane and an imaginary line due north – and the northeast part of Westwood
(then known as Eastwood)” was formed into River Vale Township, leaving the
boundaries of Hillsdale as they are today. Eugene E. Rich was mayor of the town
in that year. From 1900 until March 1901, the township committee met in a room
over Abram C. Hering’s store on Broadway which is now the building housing the
Westwood – Pascack Valley Board of Realtors. In the latter year the meeting
place was shifted to Hillsdale Manor on north Broadway (since demolished)
where it remained until May 7, 1907 when meetings were held in Fireman’s Hall
– the present borough hall.
Railroad and Summit Avenues (now Broadway) received the first
macadam in the town in 1902. Special elections in 1907 and 1908 authorized the
issuance of a total of $45,000 in bonds to macadamize all accepted streets in the
town. The state matched the sum in aid. The importance placed upon roads at
the time is shown by the fact that 232 of the town’s 240 eligible voters in the first
election approved the bond issue. In 1910 the County Freeholders replaced the
iron bridge on Broadway connecting with Westwood and a second connection
through Hopper Street which is now Kinderkamack Road.
A public meeting April 7, 1900 petitioned the township committee to
appropriate $200 to improve the present Memorial Park. In 1908 trees, plants
and flowers were planted in the park and William Hozenthaler was assigned as
park caretaker in 1921. In the same year the town purchased a flagpole for the
park, and an Honor Roll Committee was appointed to honor World War I
servicemen. A huge boulder was brought to Hillsdale on a railroad flatcar. In an
attempt to transfer it to the park, the boulder fell of the transfer vehicle. Several
meetings were held on the problem. It was decided it was too costly to attempt to
move the boulder, so it remains today where it fell just behind the present bus
shelter on Broadway.
It was decided in 1922 to erect the present granite monument in the park.
PUBLIC UTILITIES ARE INSTALLED
The Union Electric Company was granted a franchise on May 19, 1900 to
erect poles and wires for electric lights in Hillsdale due to a proposal by Genest
M. Ottignon. In February 1901, the Bergen County Gas & Electric Company, an
outgrowth of the former company, was granted a franchise to lay gas mains and
erect electric lights in the town. Both companies were later absorbed by the
present Public Service Gas and Electric Company.
In 1902 the sum of $2000 was voted by the town “for the electric lightning
of public streets, to replace oil lamps, 32 candlepower lights to be placed on
various streets in the township.”
A franchise was granted for the NY and NJ Telephone Co. on May 7, 1900
to erect poles and string telephone wires in the town. The first telephone was
installed in the home of Thomas C. Demarest on Broadway supervised by
Edmund L. Greenin, a local township committeeman. The telephone company
later became the present-day NJ Bell Telephone Company.
Mr. Greenin in 1903 was appointed by the Township Committee to secure
water for Hillsdale, and on Sept. 9, 1903 a water franchise was granted to the
Hackensack Water Company. Two miles of water mains and 24 fire hydrants
were installed shortly thereafter.
The post office in 1898 was housed in the back of a store owned by John
F. Winters (the Leddy building) who was postmaster. In 1913, John W. Kinmouth
became postmaster and the first wood frame post office was built.
POLICE DEPT. TAKES FORM
Protection of public property and law enforcement in Hillsdale was
maintained by constables elected annually until Feb. 4, 1908 at which time Albert
W. Rawson and Christian Dies were appointed “special officers” to assist the
constables. They held office until July 1913.
Early town records show that the township clerk was authorized May 6,
1901 to purchase a pair of handcuffs for the constable and a second pair on June
2, 1902. The first traffic ordinance was passed June 4, 1900 “prohibiting bicycle
riding on the paths upon the roadsides,” and on May 5, 1902 a speed limit of
eight miles per hour through the township was established for motorcycles, autos
and bicycles. On July 2, 1906, the constables were ordered to enforce the state
auto laws.
The Bergen County Detective Assn. (later to become the New Jersey
Rangers Detective Assn.) was organized Sept. 10, 1912 with its headquarters on
Summit Avenue (Broadway), Hillsdale. At one time the group numbered 20 men
called “pursuers.” The Rawson twins of Hillsdale Albert W. and Alpheus E.
became famous as early “lawmen” in the Rangers whose trustees were all
Hillsdale residents.
Charles E. McCleary, who owned a butcher shop on Summit Avenue, was
appointed as the first uniformed Special Police Officer July 7, 1913 at a salary of
$5.00 per week. He served until the summer of 1915 and was followed by
various other special police officers until 1921.
John G. Ackerman was appointed the first recorder in May 1917 at a
salary of $50.00 per year. He resigned in June and Theodore I. Haubner was
appointed to complete his three-year term.
The first regular police department began to take form in January 1921
when eleven special police officers were sworn in with John Hartleib named
acting chief. The town purchased badges and clubs and ordered the acting chief
to submit monthly reports to the township committee. Fred Walker took over as
acting chief from H.E. Hering in 1922.
FIREMEN ORGANIZE
In April 1902 the Hillsdale Fire Association was organized at a meeting
held over the railroad station. John H. Riley was elected president; J.W. Banta,
recording secretary; E.F. Taylor, financial secretary; and O.S. Trall, treasurer.
The association was incorporated in 1903. In March 1912, an active “Fire Dept.”
was created within the association for members who wished to be active firemen
with others remaining as social members.
The association was designated the “Bona-fide Official Fire Dept. of the
Township of Hillsdale” March 20, 1914 and Henry J. Werner was named the first
chief.
Prior to this reorganization, the Fire Association held its first fair in August
1902 with the Ladies Auxiliary and raised the money to purchase a hose reel and
pump pulled on a wagon by ropes. Enough money was raised by various events
to buy a horse drawn rig and build the fire headquarters which is now the present
borough hall in 1906. Hook & Ladder Co. #1 carried a 40-foot ladder and hose in
the rig pulled by horses rented at Calvin Gardenier’s stables on Park Street. In
1907 a horse drawn hose cart was acquired. The horse hose vehicle was
replaced by the first auto, a Mathieson, in 1914. By 1918 the town had three fire
trucks and had replaced all the horse drawn vehicles. On July 8, 1921, the
association donated the trucks to the town.
The Hillsdale Fire Patrol was formed with 35 members March 14, 1917.
The men had authority to arrest violators of the law at a fire. The patrol later
became Chemical Co. #1.
After several mergers of the different fire companies, the Hillsdale Fire
Dept. was established by town ordinance July 8, 1921 under Chief A. Bachman.
J.E. Butenschoen was chief in 1922 the year in which the newly formed eightmember
Hillsdale Women’s Fire Dept. attracted the attention of three NY daily
newspapers.
The local fire department gained prominence in county and state firemanic
circles from an early date. On Sept. 18, 1915, the Hillsdale firemen set a new
world’s record at the Ho-Ho-Kus Fair Grounds by laying and coupling 150 feet of
hose to a hydrant from running start in 41 seconds. In 1916, Hillsdale broke their
own record by performing the same feat in 37 seconds.
The NJ and NY Volunteer Firemen’s Assn. of today was conceived in
Hillsdale in 1915 when Henry J. Werner was elected its first president. The
department has been a member of the NJ State Firemen’s Assn. since 1916. The
Hillsdale Exempt Firemen’s Assn. was organized Sept. 23, 1918 with T.C.
Demarest its first president. The NJ State Exempt Firemen’s Association held its
convention in Hillsdale in Jun 1922.
The Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Hillsdale Fire Assn. was organized in 1902
with Mrs. John Riley as chairman. It was reorganized in 1906 with 32 members
and Mrs. M. Clausen as president. The group assisted the firemen at many social
functions and carnivals and assisted the men in fund-raising projects.
SCHOOLS – CHURCHES
The nucleus of what is now the George G. White School on Magnolia
Avenue was built as 12 rooms in 1921. High school students from Hillsdale
attended schools in Park Ridge and Westwood. In school elections prior to 1920
it was necessary to have two ballot boxes, one for election of board members
and one for appropriations because women taxpayers were permitted to vote for
appropriates but not for board members. Nominations for board members were
made from the floor with the names placed on a blackboard and the voters
making their choice from the names listed.
The Hillsdale PTA was organized in 1922 with 73 members as the result
of a petition drawn up by Mrs. Della Fox.
An addition to the Hillsdale Methodist Church, then across from the street
from the present church, was built in 1911. William Blauvelt served as treasurer
of the church school from 1904 until 1944.
The parish house of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church then located on Cross
Street was used extensively during World War I by the Red Cross for making
dressings and bandages. Miss Minette Bell became the first church organist in
1905.
THE BOY SCOUTS
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church sponsored Hillsdale’s first Boy Scout Troop
in 1916. The Rev. A.R. McWilliams was scoutmaster of Troop #1 with J. Harry
Huser and Rollings Webster as assistance scoutmasters.
Two additional Scout troops were sponsored in June 1920 by a group of
citizens including Henry J. Werner, John G. Hansen and Fred D. Day. Walter M.
Dwyer and Edward Singleton became scoutmasters of the new troops which later
were known as Troops 52 and 81.
Girl Scouts, Cubs and Brownies were not organized in Hillsdale until
several years later.
LOCAL ACTIVITIES IN WORLD WAR I
Hillsdale’s participation in home activities during the two-year period of
World War I was typical of many rural communities
The “Hillsdale Loyal League” was recognized by the Township Committee
with 53 members April 17, 1917. The unit was led by H.I. Knickerbocker and
members were sworn in as “special police.” An additional 20 members were
added by the end of the year.
The ground was re-designated as the “Hillsdale Home Guard” in January
1918, and 25 rifles were purchased after a special election July 5, 1918. A
request for ammunition and bayonets was denied, and the rifles were disposed of
in 1919 when the unit was disbanded.
Local citizens were busy during the war years with Red Cross work, scrap
drives and other activities supporting the war effort.
In 1919 returning veterans organized American Legion Post 162 with
Charles Riley as commander of 10 charter members. On July 4, 1920 the first
colors were donated to the post by Hillsdale Fire Assn
History of Hillsdale Part III
Borough of Hillsdale – 1923-1946
HILLSDALE – During the year 1922, the Civic Association, after canvassing the will of the residents, presented a petition to the Township Committee expressing the opinion that the community had outgrown the township form of government. As a result, the State Legislature passed an act on March 2, 1923, incorporating the Borough of Hillsdale. The residents ratified the legislature’s action in a referendum held April 24, 1923. The first Mayor and Council were elected November 12, 1923, and took office the same day, with Henry J. Werner as Mayor.
The principal officials in the first borough family were: Councilmen G. Graf; W.W. Livengood; Frank Scott; M. Taradash; Harvey E. Hering; C.A. Lorentz; Collector-Treasurer, George W. Saul; Clerk, George M. Yates; Borough Engineer, H.G. Hering Jr.; and Assessor, John W. Kinmouth. Garrett A. Storms served a long tenure as Borough Clerk, from 1926 through 1950. George W. Babcock served as Borough Attorney from 1922 until his death in 1945. The first borough board to be appointed was the Board of Health, formed in November, 1923, with Ralph H. Stever as chairman.
It took more than 20 years to fill out the borough’s present operating boards: the Planning Board organized on Nov. 9, 1927, with W.W. Livengood, Chairman; Zoning Board of Adjustment on July 23, 1929, with J.G. Hansen, Chairman; Shade Tree Commission in April 1931, with R. Lehman, Chairman; Municipal Assistance Commission on June 23, 1933, with William B. Terry, Chairman; Parks and Playgrounds Commission on July 16, 1945, with George Abelman, Chairman. The first borough meeting hall was in Fireman’s Hall until December 4, 1923 when the council met in the old school building on Magnolia Avenue. The first council meeting was held in the present borough hall on Dec. 11, 1928.
COMMUNITY SERVICES ARE EXPANDED
During the two decades between 1923 and 1947, the new borough began to improve community services. The Patterson Street Bridge over the Pascack Brook was built by the county in 1925. Additional homes began to be constructed in the Washington Park Development in 1926, at the then Demarest Farm west of Broadway and Central Avenue. Streets in the Glenbrook Park Development were laid from 1926 through 1928. Axel Gustafson was appointed as the first assigned Road Department employee in 1925 with equipment consisting of a wheelbarrow and hand tools. William Diefenbach was named foreman of the department in March, 1929, and held the position for more than 20 years. The local Civic Association had undertaken the beautification of Memorial
Park up to the summer of 1925. The group was dissolved in July, 1925, and presented the borough a check for $231.50, its total bank account, requesting that the funds be used for beautification of local parks.
The first bus line serving Hillsdale went into operation Sept. 15, 1924, when Avolia Transportation Co. of Paterson ran a line from Hillsdale Station to Paterson, via Pascack Road and Hillsdale Ave. On Nov. 3, 1924, the Park Ridge Transportation Co. received a franchise to operate two buses through Hillsdale, via Broadway, between Pearl River, NY, and Westwood. In 1927, the Spring Valley Bus Co. began a run of five buses from Spring Valley to Jersey City, through Hillsdale. Rockland Coaches began their current runs from Spring Valley to New York in the 1940s. A.J. Tiedeman operated buses from Westwood to Ridgewood, via Hillsdale, and provided taxi service in Hillsdale beginning in 1921.
MODERN POLICE AND FIRE UNITS
Lawrence J. Foley was appointed the first regular Chief of Police with the adoption of a Police Ordinance on July 13, 1928. James A. Holland and William F. Bulach, who later served as chief, were appointed the first regular patrolmen. The Board of Trade donated the present kiosk police booth to the borough on Christmas Day 1925, and the first traffic lights were installed on Hillsdale Ave. and Broadway in July 1927. The first police patrol car was purchased in 1926 and the police headquarters was moved to its present site in Borough Hall in January 1931.
A Mack combination hook & ladder truck was purchased for the Fire Department in April 1926. This was replaced in 1941 by a Ward LaFrance Cities Service Truck, which saw about 15 years of service. A Sanford pumper and hose truck, purchased in March, 1929, was used for more than 20 years. A local fireman, Albert Westervelt, won first prize in a ladder-climbing contest on November 9, 1931, at the State Firemen’s Home in Boonton.
During the Depression, a Welfare Committee of the Hillsdale Fire Dept. was active from 1929 through 1932. The Pascack Valley Fireman’s Association was formed in 1924, with Hillsdale as a charter member. Oscar Bartalot served as president in 1948. The Ladies Auxiliary of the Fire Association was dissolved on May 12, 1924 and reorganized as the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Exempt Firemen’s Association, with 37 members, and Mrs. W. Werkeiser as its first president. The present Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Fire Department was organized with 18 members; Mrs. Ann Farley is president.
The Fire Department erected and presented a World War II Honor Roll to the borough on Memorial Day, 1924, with Assistant Chief R.C. Appeld making the presentation. The roll was built by former Chief Charles Westphal and contained the names of 455 men and women who saw service, and 11 men who had given their lives for their country. The department maintained the roll in the park and later donated it to the American Legion Post, where it can be seen at the post quarters on Legion Drive.
SCHOOLS – LIBRARY – CHURCHES
In 1983, six classrooms and an 800-seat auditorium were added to the original 12-room school on Magnolia Avenue, which is now the George G. White School. High school students attended Park Ridge and Westwood high schools on a tuition basis, paid by the Hillsdale district.
A meeting of local citizens on June 16, 1935, laid the groundwork for a public library in Hillsdale, with Miss Sarah Vander Clute playing a leading role. A small store on the north side of Hillsdale Ave. was dedicated as the library on Jan. 20, 1936, with Judge Walter McIntyre presenting the keys to Mayor John G. Hansen. On Nov 3, 1936, Hillsdale voters made the Free Library a permanent institution, and the borough received a gift of 4500 books as a debt-free library on Jan. 1, 1937. In March 1938, the library moved across the street to the Leddy Building. The first librarian was Mrs. Ruth Newman, and Judge McIntyre was president of the trustees for many years.
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church on Hillsdale Ave. became a self-sustaining parish in May 1945, with Rev. Richard Ashford as the first rector of the parish. Mrs. Helen Riley donated the land for the first St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, at that time a mission on the south side of Hillsdale Ave. Ground was broken on April 4, 1925, by Father O’Donnell and lay trustees Mayor Henry J. Werner and John T. Buckley. The church was dedicated on Dec. 13, 1925, with Father Cornelius A. Corcoran installed as first resident pastor on Oct. 14, 1927. Rev. Thomas J. Duffy was appointed pastor on June 1, 1945. He is presently Monsignor Duffy and pastor emeritus of the parish. The church sponsored Boy Scout Troop 91, which received a charter on May 1, 1944. The troop chairman was G. McAleer, assisted by William Kovac.
SCOUTS AND OTHER LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
The Doubles Club of Hillsdale sponsored Boy Scout Troop 108, which was chartered with 12 boys in February 1945 under the leadership of J. Edward Lohman. Cub Pack 91, sponsored by the Holy Name Society of St. John the Baptist Church, was invested on Sept. 28, 1945, with 31 boys in six dens.
Mrs. John J. Merritt was captain of the first Girl Scout Troop, in 1924. The “Lily of the Valley” Troop was organized in 1927, with Mrs. William Bach as captain. The PTA and American Legion Post were instrumental in organizing many other Boy and Girl Scout troops over the next decade and they played a leading role in local activities during World War II. Three Brownie Scout troops were organized in 1939, by the Hillsdale PTA, with 54 girls.
LOCAL CLUBS AND CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS
In the two decades following 1920, Hillsdale saw the organization of a wide variety of clubs, civic organizations, and business groups, which played a large role in the community life of the town.
In 1925, the Hillsdale American Legion Post was reorganized and Kenneth Anderson was elected Commander. In 1929, the post was incorporated under the name of the General Leonard Wood Post 162. The property where the Legion Hut now stands, on Legion Place, was purchased in 1930 and Legionnaires constructed the present headquarters largely with donated labor and materials. The building was dedicated in 1932 as “Veterans Memorial Hall.”
The American Legion Auxiliary of Post 162 was granted a charter on July 1, 1927, with seven members and Mrs. Elenore Vogler as president. At a meeting at the home of Mrs. Paul Clerke, the Sun Dial Garden Club was organized with 28 members and Mrs. Clerke chosen as president. T.A. Weston was one of the leaders of the club, from 1929 until his death in 1946. The club did much to beautify local parks, stimulate gardening in the town, and planting trees along principal roadways. In 1931, the club donated the sun dial now in Memorial Park, and later a memorial to Mr. Weston.
The Hillsdale Branch of the Hackensack Hospital Auxiliary was formed in May 1935, at the home of Mrs. Garrett Broadhead. At the next meeting, she was elected president by the 15 members of the group. Mrs. Thomas Mullen served as president from 1937 through 1948. Under the sponsorship of the Hillsdale Methodist Church, The Young Doubles Club was organized by Rev. Earl Hampton. The club was non sectarian, with the aim of promoting Christian fellowship among the young married couples of Hillsdale. The club, which became The Doubles Club in 1946, sponsored Boy Scout Troop 108.
The Hillsdale Civic Association was incorporated on August 8, 1945, with 15 trustees and Frank D. Peters as president. The group met twice monthly, sponsored social events, published a newsletter mailed free to local residents, and installed “Welcome” signs at the principal road entrances to Hillsdale. In 1928, the Hillsdale Republican Club was organized as an outgrowth of the Second District Republican Club, which had been in existence for several years under the leadership of Clarence V. Shuttleworth. It pledged to maintain the principles of the Republican Party and to elect local officials who stood for “Good Government.”
Mrs. William B. Terry, president of the Hillsdale Parent-Teacher Association was instrumental in organizing the Hillsdale Recreation Committee in 1934, with 25 members. The committee was later sanctioned by the Mayor and Council, and Board of Education. Harry F. Gunther was chairman of the committee from 1934 to 1942 when it ceased to operate during the war years. In 1941, a program of serving lunches at the playgrounds during summer programs was instituted. Many of the recreation programs now carried on by the Hillsdale Recreation Commission were conceived by the original Recreation Committee.
From its earliest days, Hillsdale won a reputation as the home of outstanding athletic teams. The Hillsdale A.C. was known all over the county for its championship baseball teams. Later, the Hillsdale Saxons and teams sponsored by various business firms carried on the tradition of fielding winning teams.
THE BUSINESS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY
The Business Association of Hillsdale was organized in the fall of 1932 and incorporated in June, 1933. Its first president was Lucien Meyer. Trustees were leading local businessmen: Milton A. Zabriskie, Ira Durie, William Gensheimer, Berthold Hemme, and Jay T. Fast. The association, which was the forerunner of the present Hillsdale Chamber of Commerce, was instrumental in obtaining better street lights for the business section and the widening of Broadway.
The Hillsdale National Bank, predecessor of the Pascack Valley Bank and Trust Company, was organized in 1926. The first Board of Directors consisted of John T. Buckley, Edward P. Davis, William W. Livengood, Charles A. Lorentz, Anton Maksche, Bernard T. Rafferty, John A. Schlotterbeck, Albert H. Storms, Henry J. Werner, and George M. Yates. In January 1927, W. Merle Hoffman was elected cashier, with Edward J. Hauck and Mrs. Claudine Davis as assistants. Deposits at the close of the first day of business totaled $52,064.83 in 110 accounts. Total resources were $101,919.83. Ten years later, on April 1, 1936, when the bank moved across Broadway to its first building at its present location, resources amounted to $667,971.46.
The first automobile agency in Hillsdale was opened in 1909, by Ira Durie. He sold Jackson cars at the corner of Piermont Avenue and Broadway. Durie took on the Oakland franchise in 1922 and was the Studebaker distributor from 1917 until the company went out of business in 1966. He also had an Oldsmobile agency from 1932 through 1940, and the Cadillac agency from 1936 to 1965. Prior to going out of business, the operation was run by Ira Durie Jr. and his son, Keith. A bank is now located on the Durie showroom site.
HISTORY OF HILLSDALE: PART III
Borough of Hillsdale During Years 1923-1946
HILLSDALE – During the year 1922 the Civic Association, after
canvassing the will of the residents, presented a petition to the Township
Committee expressing the opinion that the community had outgrown the
township form of government.
As a result, the State Legislature passed an act on March 2, 1923
incorporating the Borough of Hillsdale. The residents ratified the legislature’s
action in a referendum held April 24, 1923. The first Mayor and Council was
elected November 12, 1923 and took office the same day with Henry J. Werner
as Mayor.
The principal officials in the first borough family were: Councilmen CG.G.
Graf, W.W. Livengood, Frank Scott, M. Taradash, Harvey E. Hering and C.A.
Lorentz; Collector-Treasurer, George W. Saul; Clerk, George M. Yates; Borough
Engineer, H.G. Hering Jr.; and Assessor, John W. Kinmouth. Garrett A. Storms
served a long tenure as Borough Clerk from 1926 through 1950. George W.
Babcock served as Borough Attorney from 1822 until his death in 1945.
The first borough board to be appointed was the Board of Health formed in
November 1923 with Ralph H. Stever as chairman. It took more than 20 years to
fill out the borough’s present operating boards; the Planning Board organized
Nov. 9, 1927 with W.W. Livengood, chairman; Zoning Board of Adjustment on
July 23, 1929 with J.G. Hansen, chairman; Shade Tree Commission in April 1931
with R. Lehman, chairman; Municipal Assistance Commission on June 23, 193
with William B. Terry, Chairman; Parks and Playgrounds Commission on July 16,
1945 with George Abelman, chairman.
The first borough meeting hall was in Fireman’s Hall until December 4,
1923 when the council met in the old school building on Magnolia Avenue. In
1927 the Fireman’s Hall from the Exempt Fireman’s Assn. and the first council
meeting was held in the present borough hall on Dec. 11, 1928
COMMUNITY SERVICES ARE EXPANDED
During the two decades between 1923 and 1947, the new borough began
to improve community services. The Patterson Street bridge over the Pascack
Brook was built by the county in 1925. Additional homes began to be constructed
in the Washington Park Development in 1926 at the then Demarest Farm west of
Broadway and Central Avenue. Streets in the Glenbrook Park Development were
laid from 1926 through 1928. Axel Gustafson was appointed as the first assigned
Road Department in 1925 with equipment consisting of a wheelbarrow and hand
tools. William Diefenbach was named foreman of the department in March 1929
and held the position for more than 20 years.
The local Civic Association had undertaken the beautification of Memorial
Park up to the summer of 1925. The group was dissolved in July 1925 and
presented the borough a check for $231.50, its total bank account, requesting
that the funds be used for beautification of local parks.
The first bus line serving Hillsdale went into operation Sept. 15, 1924
when Avolia Transportation Co. of Paterson ran a line from Hillsdale station to
Paterson via Pascack Road and Hillsdale Ave. On Nov. 3, 1924 the Park Ridge
Transportation Co. received a franchise to operate two busses through Hillsdale
via Broadway between Pearl River and Westwood. In 1927 the Spring Valley Bus
Co. began a run of five busses from Spring Valley to Jersey City through
Hillsdale. Rockland Coaches began their current runs from Spring Valley to New
York in the 1940’s A.J. Tiedeman operated buses from Westwood to Ridgewood
via Hillsdale and provided Taxi service in Hillsdale from 1921.
MODERN POLICE AND FIRE UNITS
Lawrence J. Foley was appointed the first regular Chief of Police with the
adoption of a Police Ordinance July 13, 1928. James A. Holland and William F.
Bulach, who later served as chief, were appointed first regular patrolmen. The
Board of Trade donated the present kiosk police booth to the borough on
Christmas Day 1925, and the first traffic lights were installed on Hillsdale Ave.
and Broadway in July 1927. The first police patrol car was purchased in 1926
and the police headquarters was moved to its present site in borough hall in
January 1931.
A Mack combination hook & ladder truck was purchased for the fire
department in April 1926. This was replaced in 1941 by a Ward LaFrance Cities
Service Truck which saw about 15 years of service, and a Sanford pumper and
hose truck purchased in March 1929 was used for more than 20 years. A local
fireman, Albert Westervelt, won first prize in a ladder climbing contest on Nov. 9,
1931 at the State Firemen’s Home in Boonton. During the depression a Welfare
Committee of the Hillsdale Fire Dept. was active from 1929 through 1932. The
Pascack Valley Fireman’s Assn. was form in 1924 with Hillsdale as a charter
member. Oscar Bartalot served as president in 1948.
The Ladies Auxiliary of the Fire Assn. was dissolved May 12, 1924 and
reorganized as the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Exempt Firemen’s Assn. with 37
members and Mrs. W. Werkeiser as first president. The present Ladies’ Auxiliary
of the Fire Dept. was organized with 18 members and Mrs. Ann Farley as
president.
The fire department erected and presented a World war II Honor Roll to
the borough on Memorial Day 1924 with assistance chief R.C. Appeld making the
presentation. The roll was built by former Chief Charles Westphal and contained
the names of 455 men and women who saw service and 11 men who had given
their lives for their country. The department maintained the roll in the park and
later donated it to the American Legion Post where it can be seen at the post
home on Legion Drive.
SCHOOLS – CHURCHES AND LIBRARY
In 1983 an addition of six classrooms and the 800 seat auditorium was
built on the original 12-room school on Magnolia Avenue which is now the
George G. White School. High school students attended Park Ridge and
Westwood high schools on a tuition basis paid by the Hillsdale district.
A meeting of local citizens on June 16, 1935 laid the ground-work for a
public library in Hillsdale with Miss Sarah Vander Clute playing a leading role. A
small store on the north side of Hillsdale Ave. was dedicated as the library on
Jan. 20, 1936 with Judge Walter McIntyre presenting the keys to Mayor John G.
Hansen. On Nov 3, 1936, Hillsdale voters made the Free Library a permanent
institution, and the borough received a gift of 4500 books in a debt-free library on
Jan. 1, 1937. In March 1938, the library moved across the street to Leddy
Building. First librarian was Mrs. Ruth Newman, Judge McIntyre was president of
the trustees for many years.
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church on Hillsdale Ave. became a self-sustaining
parish in May 1945 with Rev. Richard Ashford as the first Rector of the parish.
Mrs. Helen Riley donated the land for the first St. John the Baptist Catholic
Church, then a mission, on the south side of Hillsdale Ave. Ground was broken
April 4, 1925 by Father O’Donnell and lay trustees Mayor Henry J. Werner and
John T. Buckley. The church was dedicated Dec. 13, 1925 with Father Cornelius
A. Corcoran installed as first resident pastor on Oct. 14, 1927 Rev. Thomas J.
Duffy was appointed pastor on June 1, 1945. He is presently Monsignor Duffy
and pastor emeritus of the parish. The church sponsored Boy Scout Troop 91
which received a charter May 1, 1944. Troop chairman was G. McAleer, and
William Kovac.
SCOUTS AND OTHER LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
The Doubles Club of Hillsdale sponsored Boy Scout Troop 108 chartered
with 12 boys in February 1945 under the leadership of J. Edward Lohman. Cub
Pack 91 sponsored by the Holy Name Society of St. John the Baptist Church was
invested Sept. 28, 1945 with 31 young boys in six dens.
Mrs. John J. Merritt was captain of the first Girl Scout Troop in 1924. The
“Lily of the Valley” Troop was organized in 1927 with Mrs. William Bach as
captain. The PTA and American Legion Post were instrumental in organizing
many other boy and girl Scout troops over the next decade and they played a
leading role in local activities during World War II. Three Browning Scout troops
were organized in 1939 with 54 girls by the Hillsdale PTA
LOCAL CLUBS AND CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS
In the two decades following 1920, Hillsdale saw the organization of a
wide variety of clubs, civic organizations, and business groups which played a
large part in the community life of the town.
In 1925, the Hillsdale American Legion Post was reorganized and Kenneth
Anderson was elected Commander. In 1929 the post was incorporated under the
name of the General Leonard Wood Post 162. The property where the Legion
Hut now stands on Legion Place was purchased in 1930 and Legionnaires
constructed the present headquarters largely with donated labor and materials.
The building was dedicated in 1932 as “Veterans Memorial Hall.”
The American Legion Auxiliary of Post 162 was granted a charter July 1,
1927 with seven members and Mrs. Elenore Vogler as president.
At a meeting at the home of Mrs. Paul Clerke the Sun Dial Garden Club
was organized with 28 members and Mrs. Clerke chosen as president. The late
T.A. Weston was one of the leaders of the club from 1929 until his death in 1946.
The club did much to beautify local parks, stimulate gardening in the town and
planted trees along principal roadways. The club donated the sun dial now in
Memorial Park in 1931 and later a memorial to Mr. Weston.
The Hillsdale Branch of the Hackensack Hospital Auxiliary was formed in
May 1935 at the home of Mrs. Garrett Broadhead. At the next meeting Mrs.
Broadhead was elected president by the 15 members of the group. Mrs. Thomas
Mullen served as president from 1937 through 1948.
Under the sponsorship of the Hillsdale Methodist Church, The Young
Doubles Club was organized by Rev. Earl Hampton. The Club was non sectarian
with the aim of promoting Christian fellowship among the young married couples
of Hillsdale. The club which became The Doubles Club in 1946 sponsored Boy
Scout Troop 108.
The Hillsdale Civic Association was incorporated on August 8, 1945 with
15 trustees and Frank D. Peters as president. The group met twice monthly,
sponsored social events, published a news letter mailed free to local residents
and installed “Welcome” signs at the entrances to Hillsdale on principal roads
In 1928 the Hillsdale Republican Club was organized as the outgrowth of
the Second District Republican Club which had been in existence for several
years under the leadership of Clarence V. Shuttleworth. It pledged to maintain
the principles of the Republican Party and to elect local officials who stood for
“Good Government.”
Mrs. William B. Terry, president of the Hillsdale Parent-Teacher
Association was instrumental in organizing the Hillsdale Recreation Committee in
1934 with 25 members. The committee was later sanctioned by the Mayor and
Council and Board of Education. Harry F. Gunther was chairman of the
committee from 1934 to 1942 when it ceased to operate during the war years.
In 1941 a program of serving lunches at the playgrounds during summer
programs was instituted. Many of the recreation programs now carried on by the
Hillsdale Recreation Commission were conceived by the original Recreation
Committee.
From its earliest days, Hillsdale won a reputation as the home of
outstanding athletic teams. The Hillsdale A.C. was known all over the county for
its championship baseball teams. Later the Hillsdale Saxons and teams
sponsored by various business firms carried on the tradition of fielding winning
teams.
THE BUSINESS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY
The Business Association of Hillsdale was organized in the fall of 1932
and incorporated in June 1933. Its first president was Lucien Meyer. Trustees
were leading local businessmen: Milton A. Zabriskie, Ira Durie, William
Gensheimer, Berthold Hemme and Jay T. Fast. The association, which was the
fore-runner of the present Hillsdale Chamber of Commerce, was instrumental in
obtaining better street lights for the business section and the widening of
Broadway.
The Hillsdale National Bank, predecessor of the Pascack Valley Bank and
Trust Company, was organized in 1926. The first Board Directors consisted of
John T. Buckley, Edward P. Davis, William W. Livengood, Charles A. Lorentz,
Anton Maksche, Bernard T. Rafferty, John A. Schlotterbeck, Albert H. Storms,
Henry J. Werner and George M. Yates.
In January 27, W. Merle Hoffman was elected cashier with Edward J.
Hauck and Mrs. Claudine Davis as assistants. Deposits at the close of the first
day of business were $52,064.83 in 110 accounts. Total resources were
$101.919.83. Ten years later on April 1, 1936 when the bank moved across
Broadway to its first building at its present location, resource amounted to
$667,971.46.
The first automobile agency in Hillsdale was opened in 1909 by Ira Durie
who sold Jackson cars at the site of the present Durie Motors on upper
Broadway. Durie took the Oakland franchise in 1922 and was the Studebaker
tributor from 1917 until the company went out of business in 1966. He also had
an Oldsmobile agency from 1932 through 1940 and the Cadillac agency from
1936 to 1965. The business is now operated by Ira Durie Jr. and his son, Keith.
History of Hillsdale Part IV
Hillsdale During Years Of The 2nd World War
HILLSDALE – During the period of American involvement in World War II, between the years 1941 and 1945, nearly 500 men and women from Hillsdale saw service in the armed forces of their country. Eleven men lost their lives in the four-year struggle. The men with gold stars affixed after their names on Hillsdale’s World War II Honor Roll are: C. Clark, R. Greve, L. Gritman, E. Hills, R. Holensworth, W. Irvine, T. Lyons Jr., C. MacMillan, L. Meyer, H. Springer and R. Swenson. On the home front, the entire community took an active part in supporting the war effort, providing home guard protection and in entertaining servicemen at nearby Army camps.
On May 23, 1941, Mayor Frank E. Hafemann appointed a Hillsdale Defense Council. Its principal leaders were: former Mayor John G. Hansen, chairman; H. Clyde Day, vice chairman; and Garrett A. Storms, secretary. Police Chief Henry P. Koelsch was later added, along with Fire Chief Martin Shaefer and succeeding fire chiefs, as they took office. Three men trained as bomb experts were included on the council: Milton Zabriskie, Henry Heins and R.C. Appeld. In the autumn of 1941, a Police Auxiliary of 21 men was organized and later expanded to 48. Also, a Fire Auxiliary of 24 men was organized, together with a First Aid Class of 40 men and women who received training. The first air raid test was blown on the fire siren in Hillsdale in October, 1941.
DEFENSE COUNCIL HOLDS CONFERENCE
The day after Pearl Harbor, Dec. 8, 1941, the Defense Council held a “war conference,” upon orders from the State. A total of 141 persons were divided into zones in the community, to enforce blackouts, serve as air raid wardens on a 24-hour basis, and maintain order. By the end of 1942, the Defense Council consisted of 200 members. Borough Hall was established as headquarters, with first aid and canteen stations established at the George White School and Hemme Building.
The Army Air Force organized the Aircraft Warning Service under the sponsorship of the American Legion of Bergen County, and many Hillsdale residents joined the service. They were recognized for their contribution at the end of the war. Soldiers from nearby Camp Shanks (Orangetown, NY, Rockland County) manned anti-aircraft stations in the Pascack Valley during the war. Hillsdale young women volunteered as junior hostesses at U.S.O. dances in Hackensack, Westwood and Pearl River, NY. Hillsdale women supplied the soldiers with food books and records, and invited them for Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners at local homes. The Fire Department also entertained soldiers on several occasions.
LOCAL COMMITTEES BACK A WAR EFFORT
A myriad of local committees was formed to cover all types of wartime emergencies: Demolition and Rescue Squad, Transportation Committee, Evacuation Committee, Consumer Interest Committee, and Salvage Committee. A drive held for the collection of aluminum pots and pans, in late 1941, aided the war effort. Later, there were drives for scrap metal and paper; Victory Gardens were encouraged and local residents participated in large numbers in Red Cross Blood Banks and making surgical dressings for the Red Cross. The effects of rationing were felt in Hillsdale, as in other parts of the nation.
When groups of Hillsdale volunteers or draftees left for duty, they were treated to farewell parties and given a pen by the borough. The names of the new servicemen and women were placed on the Honor Roll in the park. Throughout the war, Hillsdale residents contributed generously to bond
drives and other war fund drives.
HILLSDALE HERO HONORED
A Hillsdale resident, Colonel Frank A. Hill, was the first American pilot to shoot down a German plane in World War II. Hill accomplished his feat over Dieppe, France. After completing 166 combat missions in Europe, Hill was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Silver Star, and Air Medal with 19 Oak Leaf Clusters. The fighter pilot had six and one-half German planes to his credit by the end of the war. During his career, Hill rose from a private in the Army Air Corps, was commissioned as a second lieutenant, and was promoted rapidly as his exploits increased. He was never wounded and never lost a plane. On Nov. 24, 1943, the entire town of Hillsdale turned out to honor the 24-year-old hero, in a giant “welcome home” party. Special church services were also held on “D” day, and in 1945, general celebrations took place on “VE Day” and “VJ Day.”
The Hillsdale Defense Council, under John G. Hansen, held its final meeting on Sept. 30, 1945. In September, 1946, a giant “Welcome Home” celebration was staged to honor all men and women who had served in the war, and featured a parade, games at the athletic field, and a dance in the school auditorium.KOREA AND VIETNAM
No accurate records were kept on the number of Hillsdale men and women who participated in the Korean War and the war in Vietnam. A total of six Hillsdale men gave their lives in those two conflicts: Albert Rawson was killed in Korea, and W. Roell, G. Poor, E. Elfenbein, P.P. Muniner, and E.M. Maher Jr. lost their lives in Vietnam. The memory of these men is perpetuated by their inclusion with gold stars on the Honor Roll in the American Legion Post Hut on Legion Place.
History of Hillsdale Part V
Population Explosion Rocks Town ‑ 1948-1973
by G.D. Graves Jr.
HILLSDALE – Explosive growth may be said to be the hallmark of the past quarter century of the history of Hillsdale, which covers the period from 1948 to the 75th anniversary year of the community, in 1973. James A. Tatem was mayor of Hillsdale in 1948 when the groundwork was laid for the Tandy and Allen development of more than 200 homes, which started Hillsdale on a building boom in 1949 and 1950 and one that has only very recently ground to a halt due to the fact that the only available lands in the community suitable for home sites are small lots scattered throughout the borough
Population figures published by the Bergen County Planning Board indicate Hillsdale’s population as being under 4,000 in the late 1940s. The population of the town tripled during the 25 years from 1948 to 1973. The building boom had its sharpest increase in the ten years from 1950 (population 4,127) to 1960 (population 8,734). The official population in 1972 was 12,035, making the community of only two square miles the most populous of the eight towns in the Pascack Valley.
BUILDING BOOM BRINGS SCHOOLS
The most immediate consequence of Hillsdale’s exploding population was the demand for new schools and educational facilities. In 1948, the elementary school enrollment was 496 students, all attending the George G. White School on Magnolia Avenue, which had been enlarged in 1921 and again in1938. A total of 155 Hillsdale High School students attended Westwood and Park Ridge high schools. Lindley Baxter served for 10 years as Superintendent of Schools, beginning in 1948, and E.C. Kenyon was president of the Board of Education. Shepard Cynamon became superintendent in 1962, and the school board president was Harold Keates, who was elected to that position in 1967.
In 1951, the residents of Hillsdale voted to form the Pascack Valley Regional High School District, to include River Vale, Woodcliff Lake and Montvale. Pascack Valley High School, on Piermont Avenue, Hillsdale, was opened in the fall of 1955. A second school, Pascack Hills High School, was opened in Montvale in September 1964. The Ann Blanche Smith School was opened on the west side of town, on Hillsdale Avenue, in 1955, and the Meadowbrook School was built on the east side of town, on Piermont Avenue in 1964, a short distance from the high school. A massive school expansion program was initiated in December, 1972, with the passage of a $1.45 million bond issue. Construction begun at that time included: four classrooms and an expanded library at Meadowbrook School: three classrooms, a double station gym, new library, conversion to a cafeteria, and conversion to two science labs at the White School.
The public school enrollment in 1973 was 1665 students. In 1955, St. John the Baptist Parochial School was constructed on Hillsdale Avenue to accommodate the large Catholic population in Hillsdale. St. John’s School had an enrollment of 560 students in 1973.
Local Government Change
In the fall of 1955, a split within the Republican Party in Hillsdale enabled John F. Dowd, a Democrat, to become the first member of his party to be elected Mayor of Hillsdale. Dowd served with distinction in 1956 and 1957 presiding over an all-Republican Council. His appointment of Walter T. Wittman as Borough Attorney continued for many years. Through the ‘60s, up to 1973, the Hillsdale Council included several Democrats, but up to that time, Dowd had been the only Democratic mayor.
BOROUGH SERVICES TAKE PRESENT FORM
During the ‘60s and ‘70s, Hillsdale’s municipal services began to take their present form. In 1948, William Diefenbach was foreman of the Road Department. He had responsibility for two men, a road grader, a truck, and a gasoline-operated street sweeper. The present borough garage was constructed in 1966 when Gilbert E. Busch was mayor and Robert Raute was the Superintendent of Public Works. In 1973, the department was headed by Joseph D’Amico, with 28 full-time employees, the largest in the Pascack Valley. At that time, the department owned seven trucks and eight other pieces of equipment. All maintenance of equipment, including the police and fire department vehicles, was performed on the premises of the Department of Public Works (DPW). In 1951, the borough began municipal garbage pickup. In August, 1972, six garbage trucks began twice weekly truck pickups, covering the entire community.
Studies aimed at a municipal sewer program were begun in 1959, under Mayor Lester E. Bremer. In 1973, the Borough Clerk-Administrator, S. Halloran, had been on the first sewer committee in 1959. Under Mayor Gilbert E. Busch, in 1968, four sewer contracts were let in rapid succession, backed by bond issues totaling $4,100,000. The entire community was sewered by 1970, at a great saving to the taxpayers. Councilmen Richard Butterworth and Ivan Sattem were instrumental in guiding the sewer program to its completion. The new firehouse on Hillsdale Avenue was completed in 1957 under Mayor Dowd and an addition of a second story was constructed in 1968, under Mayor Busch. The Hillsdale Ambulance Corps began operations on February 1, 1954, and the new building now owned by the corps, behind the firehouse on Washington Avenue, was completed in 1968.
Judge Walter J. McIntyre served as president of the Board of Trustees of the Hillsdale Free Public Library from 1948 until his retirement in 1972, the year in which an extensive expansion program was completed at the library, located on Hillsdale Avenue. At the beginning of 1973, the library had 50,000 volumes on its shelves. Mrs. Betty F. Malone was the full-time librarian in charge of a full staff comprised of several paid and volunteer assistants. Mrs. Dorothy H. Ward was president of the Board of Trustees at this time. The present United States Post Office building was opened in March 1960, with Calvin Piper as postmaster. In 1973, Herman Orfini, a long-time employee of the post office, became the acting postmaster following the retirement of Postmaster Piper early that year.
POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS EXPANDED
In 1948, the Hillsdale Police Dept. consisted of Chief R. Frank Stoeckel, patrolmen Frank Scott, J. Greve and Gerald Schmidt, and one patrol car. Headquarters was located in the rear of Borough Hall. Chief Stoeckel retired in 1969 and Captain Philip J. Varisco was appointed chief. The department, in 1973, consisted of Captain Robert Schramm and 21 other officers and men, with six police vehicles at their disposal. The headquarters was moved to the Municipal Building, adjoining Borough Hall, in late 1973.
The Hillsdale Fire Department was housed on the ground floor of the present Borough Hall in 1948. Robert S. Rawson was chief of the 38 member department in that year, and the equipment consisted of one pumper, and one hook and ladder engine. Oscar Bertalot of Hillsdale was president of the Pascack Valley Firemen’s Association in 1948. The department moved to its new building on Hillsdale Avenue in 1957, across the street from Borough Hall. Franklyn C. Glucker was chief in 1973, with Richard E. Schreiber captain of Hook and Ladder Co. 1 and Wallace G. Brindise captain of Hose Co. 1. At that time, the department had four large, modern engines, including a snorkel pumper, a chief’s car, and an emergency vehicle.
In 1973, George Schoonover was president of the Hillsdale Volunteer Ambulance Service. Rudolf C. Appeld was clerk of the Board of Fire Officers, and Dr. Gerald Dolan was the Fire Department Surgeon. In the fall of 1972, the fire department and ladies auxiliary won several first prizes for competitions in the annual parade and convention of the N.Y. and N.J. Firemen’s Association.
THREE NEW CHURCHES ARE CONSTRUCTED
During the period following 1948, three new houses of worship were constructed in Hillsdale, as the parish membership outgrew the original churches. In 1954, Hillsdale Methodists built a new church on the corner of Magnolia and Hillsdale Avenues, on the site where the original church had burned to the ground. A church school building was constructed some years later. Rev. Lawrence Richards was the pastor of the congregation in 1973.
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church completed a new building around the original church on Hillsdale Avenue in 1966, next to the George G. White School. Rev. John S. Allen was rector of the congregation in 1973.
In 1968, the parish of St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, under the leadership of its pastor, Monsignor Thomas J. Duffy, completed a large new church, with an entrance off Patterson Street. The Rev. Father Thomas Finnegan was pastor of the parish in 1973. The parish also supports St. John the Baptist Parochial School.
NEW MUNICIPAL BUILDING UNDERWAY
In the late fall of 1972, under the leadership of Mayor Richard Englander, construction was started on a large new municipal building facing the firehouse on Hillsdale Avenue. The building was designed to house all borough offices, a meeting hall for the governing body, the Police Department, and Board of Health facilities. It was completed in late 1973.
BUSINESS AREA PUSHES OUTWARD
From the earliest days, Hillsdale’s business district was confined almost wholly to the area surrounding the railroad station on Broadway and Hillsdale Avenue. In the years from 1960 to 1973, the business area pushed both northward and southward along Broadway and its side streets. Valley Fair opened the first shopping center in town in 1968, near the Woodcliff Lake boundary, in an abandoned sand pit. The burning of Koenig’s Hofbrau, long a Bergen County gathering place for Americans of German descent and a meeting place for local residents and civic affairs, in the late 1960s, opened an area east of the Pascack Brook, suitable for a large shopping center. The center was opened in 1970 along with a municipal parking lot made by the demolition of several houses on the south side of Hillsdale Avenue, west of the railroad tracks.
N.J. Bell Telephone Company built two new buildings on Broadway and several other new commercial buildings were constructed on both ends of the street. Both Pascack Valley Bank & Trust Company, formerly the Hillsdale National Bank, and Progressive Savings and Loan Association built new headquarters on Broadway, and the bank opened a branch office in Old Tappan. In 1973, the bank announced plans to merge with the Citizens First National Bank of Ridgewood. Liberty National Bank planned on opening for business in the former Pheifer’s County Hearth Building on Broadway, later that year.
The Hillsdale Business Association was reorganized into the Hillsdale Chamber of Commerce, which had been active in the community in recent years. The president in 1973 was Richard Kelley, president of the Pascack Valley Bank & Trust Co. Several new organizations were formed. A 50 Plus Club was organized by senior citizens, a Hillsdale Branch of the Pascack Valley Hospital Auxiliary was formed after the opening of the hospital, a Democratic Club was organized, and a Veteran’s Council was formed by the Gen. Leonard Wood Post of the American Legion and the recently chartered Hillsdale Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
RECREATION ACTIVITY
The Hillsdale Recreation organization greatly expanded its operations to include year-round activities in the late ‘60s, under a paid director, Joseph Talamo. The Memorial Park Little League Field off Hillsdale Avenue was improved. Beechwood Park recreation area was established with a nature trail and the music shell opened in the park in 1961, with a series of summer concerts. New playgrounds were opened in Glenbrook Park and a small plot of land off west Hillsdale Avenue was set aside as Halloran Park. In 1973, Mrs. Clifton S. Pruett was president of the Recreation Commission and John E. Stubbs chairman of the Environmental Commission, which had been established by the borough in 1969.