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The
Dutch immigrants, along with the Huguenots settled here and named it
Schraalenburgh, meaning barren knoll or hill. Most of the
residents were Dutch farmers and during this century only one house
was inside the limits of what is now Bergenfield, a brownstone
parsonage used by the south Church pastor. There were only
three other stone buildings, a tavern, a flour and feed mill and a
woodworking mill. However by the time of the Civil War, there
was a tannery, a saw mill and chair factory, a harness making shop,
a shoemaking shop and a blacksmith and wheelwright shop.
In
1873, the New Jersey and New York Railroad decided to build a
station in the southern half of Schraalenburgh. They asked the
residents to name the station, but no name could be agreed upon so
the railroad officials imprinted "Bergen Fields" on the
tickets. When the borough was incorporated, its leaders
modified it to the more urban "Bergenfield".
The
growth and development of Bergenfield from those early days is
dramatic. In 1894, the Borough had no central water supply, no
gas service or street lighting and no post office. In 1904,
the Alert Fire Company No. 1 was organized with a hand-drawn hose as
its first piece of equipment. In 1917, Bergenfield Fire
Company No. 2 and Prospect Fire Company No. 1 were formed and
mechanical equipment was purchased. In 1921, the Bergenfield
Police Department was formed. Between 1900 and 1930, the
dramatic growth was apparent through the construction and expansion
of four public schools and one private school. The growth also
fostered the construction of churches and synagogues such as St.
John's the Evangelist R.C. Church in 1905, St. Matthew's Lutheran
Church in 1908, Trinity Evangelist Lutheran Church in 1910, Clinton
Avenue Reformed Church in 1923, the Baptist Church in 1926 and the
Bergenfield-Dumont Jewish Community Center in 1927. With this
growth came a strong commercial business district and the Chamber of
Commerce.
In
1923, the Bergenfield Chamber of Commerce was a sponsor of a meeting
which led to the construction of the George Washington Bridge and
opened the Borough and northern New Jersey to a period of
unparalleled growth. Between 1930 and 1950 the Borough's
population more than doubled, growing from 8,816 to 17,647.
This dramatic increase in population produced an even greater need
for public service and facilities. The Borough responded with
the construction of two new public schools with additions made to
the existing buildings. In 1934, the Post Office was erected
and Cooper Pond Park was built by the W.P.A. in 1938. In 1936,
the Borough Hall was moved from the Knollwood Hotel to its present
location in the former Elks Lodge on North Washington Avenue.
The Bergenfield Volunteer Ambulance Corps was founded in 1941 along
with organization of the Borough's Civil Defense (now called
Emergency Management).
The
post-war period brought with it the latest in the Borough's history
of boom periods. From the 1950 population of 17,647 the
Borough reached a peak of 29,700 in 1970. The most recent
census of 1990 placed the current population at 24,458. This
period saw the development of the Little League Fields in 1955 and
P.A.L. Fields in 1961. The construction of the High School was
in 1959 and additions to the Middle School in 1967. In 1969,
the Bergenfield Free Public Library moved from Borough Hall to its
building on West Clinton Avenue. The 1970s saw improvements to
the Borough Hall and the construction of the Department of Public
Works garage. In 1975, the Bergenfield Swim Club was formed to
operate on land leased from the Borough.
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