Ricalton School in 1903
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Did you miss out on Durand-Hedden’s popular, groundbreaking exhibit “Exploring Golf Island” last winter? Good news: The exhibit will reopen Sunday, Nov. 17, from 1 to 4 p.m. and remain on view on program days through Feb. 23, 2020. Learn how this early area of Maplewood, bordered by the Maplewood Country Club golf course, the Morris and Essex rail line, and Maplewood Middle School, evolved from farmland in the 19th and early 20th centuries to today’s cohesive suburban neighborhood.
From 1861 to 1867, Maplewood’s first developer, New York druggist John W. Shedden, purchased 30 acres around Maple Avenue, mapped home lots, built two “cottages” and advertised them for sale. He ensured the value of his property and thereby the growth of the nascent town by buying one acre of land close to Golf Island, near Lenox Place in the current village, and selling it to the Morris and Essex Railroad to build a station, soon named “Maplewood Station” for a notable nearby maple tree. Development began slowly, then accelerated in the early 1900s with new streets and houses and the construction of the 1903 brick Maplewood School on Baker Street.
By 1910, the neighborhood largely took on the layout seen today. In 1916, the Maplewood Field Club, later the Maplewood Country Club, acquired property to the east, previously owned by Charles DeGrasse, builder of its more blue collar predecessor, the Maplewood Sporting Club. This began the setting of clear boundaries and preventing further development of the land surrounding Golf Island.
The exhibit will display maps; show representative houses; explain the history of the Maplewood Country Club and golf course, and Maplewood Middle School; and feature histories of some developers and residents.
The event is free; donations are welcome. Durand-Hedden House is located in Grasmere Park at 523 Ridgewood Road in Maplewood. For more information, call 973-763-7712 or visit durandhedden.org.
Photos Courtesy of Durand-Hedden and NPS
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