Glen Ridge, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Borough
Toney's Brook flowing through The Glen in Glen Ridge
Seal
Location of Glen Ridge in Essex County highlighted in red (right). Inset map: Location of Essex County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (left).
Census Bureau map of Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Glen Ridge, New Jersey Location in Essex County, New Jersey Show map of Essex County, New Jersey Glen Ridge, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Glen Ridge, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Essex
Incorporated	February 13, 1895
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	1.28 sq mi (3.31 km2)
• Land	1.27 sq mi (3.30 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.01 km2)  0.39%
Area rank	475th of 565 in state 21st of 22 in county
Elevation	197 ft (60 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,802
• Estimate  (2023)	7,952
• Rank	298th of 565 in state 19th of 22 in county
• Density	6,119.2/sq mi (2,362.6/km2)
• Density rank	87th of 565 in state 12th of 22 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07028
Area code(s)	973
FIPS code	3401326610
GNIS feature ID	2390559

Glen Ridge is a borough in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,802, an increase of 275 (+3.7%) from the 2010 census count of 7,527, which in turn reflected an increase of 256 (+3.5%) from the 7,271 counted in the 2000 census.

History

Glen Ridge traces its beginning to 1666 when 64 Connecticut families led by Robert Treat bought land from the Lenni Lenape Native Americans and named it New Ark to reflect a covenant to worship freely without persecution. The territory included the future towns of Bloomfield, Montclair, Belleville and Nutley. When Bloomfield was established in 1812, Glen Ridge was a section "on the hill" composed mostly of farms and woodlands with the exception of a thriving industrial area along Toney's Brook in the glen. For most of the nineteenth century, three water-powered mills produced lumber, calico, pasteboard boxes and brass fittings. A copper mine and a sandstone quarry were nearby.

With the arrival of the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad in 1856 and the construction of the Glen Ridge station and the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway station at today's Benson Street in 1872, Glen Ridge began its transition to a suburban residential community. Stately homes slowly replaced orchards and wooded fields.

Mountainside Hospital, a local hospital with more than 300 beds now known as HackensackUMC Mountainside, was founded in 1891. The Glen Ridge Country Club was founded in 1894, making it one of the state's oldest clubs.

Residents "on the hill" became unhappy with their representation on the Bloomfield Council. In spite of repeated requests to Bloomfield officials, roads remained unpaved, water and sewer systems were nonexistent, and schools were miles away. Area residents marked out the boundaries of a 1.45-square-mile (3.8 km²) area to secede from the adjoining town. At the election held on February 12, 1895, the decision to secede passed by only 23 votes. Robert Rudd was elected the first mayor of Glen Ridge.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.287 square miles (3.332 km²), including 1.282 square miles (3.320 km²) of land and 0.005 square miles (0.012 km²) of water (0.36%). It is bounded by Bloomfield, Montclair and East Orange.

Glen Ridge is a maximum of six blocks wide and in "the Panhandle" north of Bay Avenue it is only three or two blocks wide.

Climate

Glen Ridge has a temperate climate, with warm / hot humid summers and cool / cold winters, according to the Köppen climate classification humid subtropical climate. The town gets an average of 49 inches of rain per year and 20 inches of snowfall, compared to the US averages of 37 and 25 inches. Glen Ridge has 124 days of measurable precipitation a year.

There are typically about 205 sunny days per year in Glen Ridge. The temperature ranges from a high around 86 degrees in July and a low around 21 degrees in January. The comfort index for the town is 47 out of 100, compared to a national average of 44 (with higher numbers being more comfortable).

Demographics

2010 Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 7,527 people, 2,476 households, and 2,033 families residing in the borough. The population density was 5,872.8 per square mile (2,267.5/km²). There were 2,541 housing units at an average density of 1,982.6 per square mile (765.5/km²)^*. The racial makeup of the borough was 86.21% (6,489) White, 5.04% (379) Black or African American, 0.04% (3) Native American, 4.65% (350) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 1.37% (103) from other races, and 2.70% (203) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.01% (377) of the population.

There were 2,476 households out of which 49.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.9% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.9% were non-families. 14.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.39.

In the borough, the population was spread out with 32.2% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 89.0 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $160,511 (with a margin of error of ±$11,073) and the median family income was $173,466 (±$25,554). Males had a median income of $111,968 (±$11,975) versus $85,938 (±$24,626) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $64,222 (±$8,487). About 1.1% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Education

Ridgewood Avenue school

The Glen Ridge Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 1,899 students and 148.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.8:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Forest Avenue School with 223 students in grades Pre-K–2, Linden Avenue School with 242 students in grades Pre-K–2, Ridgewood Avenue School with 575 students in grades 3–6 and Glen Ridge High School with 837 students in grades 7–12.

The high school was the 12th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 328 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2012 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 4th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.

Housing

Christ Church Episcopal

The median price for a house in Glen Ridge in 2014 was $580,000, which is double the national average. Out of the 2,549 houses in the borough, 84.7% of them were single units (detached) and had a median of 7.7 rooms. Glen Ridge is known for its old town charm, with 72.8% of its houses having been built before 1939. In 1895, when the town was chartered, Glen Ridge became one of the first communities to hire a town planner which resulted in many late Victorian and Edwardian elements. The condition of the town has been maintained due to the building codes that were established, the creation of the Building Department which included a Building Inspector, and a zoning ordinance (the first in the state of New Jersey). Although the majority of Glen Ridge consists of houses, many residents live in apartment complexes. One apartment complex is behind the Glen Ridge Community Pool, while the other apartment complex is not far from that.

The architecture of the borough includes houses representing every major style from the mid-nineteenth century onward. Some of the architecture styles include the Carpenter Gothic, the Medieval, the High Victorian Period, the Queen Anne Cottage, American Georgian, Shingle Style, and the Prairie Home Style. Notable architects that have left their legacy in the town include Frank Lloyd Wright, Stanford White, and John Russell Pope. To maintain the historical feel of the town and protect the architectural features, the town has created a Historic Preservation Commission which reviews construction on houses in the historic district. Many homes are included in the Glen Ridge Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1982 and later expanded in two boundary increases. It includes the Glen Ridge and the Benson Street train stations.

Transportation

View west along County Route 506 in Glen Ridge

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 23.29 miles (37.48 km) of roadways, of which 18.19 miles (29.27 km) were maintained by the municipality and 5.10 miles (8.21 km) by Essex County.

The primary roads directly serving Glen Ridge include County Route 506 (Bloomfield Avenue) and County Route 509. Major highways near the borough include the New Jersey Turnpike, Interstate 80, Interstate 280, the Garden State Parkway, U.S. Route 46, Route 3 and Route 21.

Public transportation

Glen Ridge is a little over 2-mile (3.2 km) long, north to south, via Ridgewood Avenue, making it accessible for residents by walking or biking.

NJ Transit provides bus service to Newark on the 11, 28 and 29 via Bloomfield Avenue.

Commuters can also take trains from the Glen Ridge station (formerly named Ridgewood Avenue station), where NJ Transit provides service to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan and to Hoboken Terminal via the Montclair-Boonton Line. There are many other train stations near Glen Ridge.

The town has a jitney service which provides transportation to and from the Glen Ridge Station for commuters. This service has a fee and is only available between certain hours in the day. The Freeman Parkway Bridge, constructed in 1926, is a deck arch bridge that crosses over Toney's Brook and the Montclair-Boonton Line.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Glen Ridge include:

See also

In Spanish: Glen Ridge (Nueva Jersey) para niños