Pictured is Robert Rudd, the first mayor (1892-1902) and a leader in the secession movement. He died of typhoid shortly after retiring as mayor.
The Glen Ridge Historical Society and historian Sally Meyer will present, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, in the council chamber, at 7 p.m., a slide show and lecture about the borough when it was a section of Bloomfield.
The talk is a reprise of one done in 2012. Meyer said that it is being offered now because a traditional fall historical walking tour has been cancelled.
However, the Glen Ridge Tree Commission and the society will have a tour of the Bloomfield Cemetery in April.
Meyer’s talk goes back to the Lenape people living in the area. Secession, from Bloomfield, came by vote, on Feb. 12, 1895. Bloomfield incorporated in 1812.
The vote was very close. Secession won by 23 votes.
“We were just a sliver of land,” she said, “with a stream running through it. It was a neighborhood of Bloomfield called Ridgewood.”
The “Ridgewood” name copied that of a residence of a Rev. Joseph Gallager. His home was in the center of town. But when the borough broke off, this name was changed to Ridge because Ridgewood was already being used. The “Glen” in the name came from the landscape.
“Societal issues were waking up to where people were discouraged because they weren’t getting enough for their taxes,” she said. “There was litigation for years. Some people weren’t happy that we broke from Bloomfield.”
Bloomfield tried to block the incorporation, but learned that one hour before filing its objections, the votes had been certified and the incorporation was valid. But Bloomfield continued to object citing minor discrepancies. The lawsuit went to the State Supreme Court which dismissed it June 20, 1895. Legal skirmishes persisted for 15 years to no avail.
“The lecture will tell a story with images from the collection of Frank Barrows, a very forward-looking man who had asked residents to contribute photos and postcards,” Meyer said. “He was a mayor, but did this after he was mayor. Carteret Field is really named Barrows Field.”
Once Glen Ridge succeeded, Meyer said the residents did what they felt was not being done by Bloomfield. One improvement was much better roads. There was no more taxation without representation.
One image to be included in the presentation is the Keynes Farm.
“Most of the property was farmland,” Meyer said. “It’s the only image of a farm. It was at the northern-most end of the borough.”
Also there is a picture of Glen Ridge Hall, now the Blue Foundry Bank which is next to the train station.
“It was a private school, the Henrietta Northall School,” Meyer said.
The Glen Ridge Historical Society was established in 1977 as an outgrowth of the American Bicentennial.
“The bicentennial required a lot of research,” Meyer said. “It was the same all over the country.”
But Meyer thought to replicate the bicentennial effort today might be impossible because often now both parents work.
“It would be difficult to pull off a grassroots organization,” Meyer said. “There’s still volunteering in Glen Ridge, but it’s more of a challenge. It was very brave of the people who wanted succession. It could have failed. But I do think people work in many ways to keep Glen Ridge as nice as it is.”
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