Oakland, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Oakland, New Jersey
Borough
Demarest House
Seal
Location of Oakland in Bergen County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Bergen County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
Census Bureau map of Oakland, New Jersey
Oakland, New Jersey Location in Bergen County, New Jersey Show map of Bergen County, New Jersey Oakland, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Oakland, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Bergen
Incorporated	April 8, 1902
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	8.77 sq mi (22.71 km2)
• Land	8.50 sq mi (22.02 km2)
• Water	0.27 sq mi (0.69 km2)  3.06%
Area rank	223rd of 565 in state 5th of 70 in county
Elevation	233 ft (71 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	12,748
• Estimate  (2023)	12,680
• Rank	200th of 565 in state 27th of 70 in county
• Density	1,499.4/sq mi (578.9/km2)
• Density rank	335th of 565 in state 64th of 70 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07436
Area code(s)	201
FIPS code	3400353850
GNIS feature ID	0885330

Oakland is a town called a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. It is a suburb of New York City. In 2020, about 12,748 people lived there.

Oakland became an official borough on April 8, 1902. It was formed from parts of Franklin Township. The town got its name from the many white oak trees that grew in the area.

History of Oakland

The Van Allen House was built in 1748. George Washington and his soldiers stopped there in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War.

From the 1940s to the 1960s, a summer community grew in West Oakland. It was in a valley along the Ramapo River. Many families from New York City and other parts of New Jersey came here to escape the summer heat. The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad even had a passenger station in West Oakland during these months. This area was also near a training camp for boxers. Famous boxers like Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Robinson were sometimes seen running past the summer homes.

Some streets in Oakland are named after Native American tribes and first names.

What is Oakland Like?

Oakland covers about 8.77 square miles (22.71 square kilometers). Most of this area is land, with a small part being water.

Some smaller communities and places within Oakland include Ramapo Lake and Rotten Pond.

Oakland shares its borders with several other towns. In Bergen County, it borders Franklin Lakes and Mahwah. In Passaic County, it borders Pompton Lakes, Ringwood, Wanaque, and Wayne.

People in Oakland

2010 Census Information

In 2010, Oakland had 12,754 people living there. Most people (about 92.7%) were White. About 4.2% were Asian, and 0.9% were Black or African American. About 5.3% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

Many households (39.8%) had children under 18. Most families (71.3%) were married couples. The average household had 2.89 people.

The median age in Oakland was 42.8 years old. This means half the people were younger and half were older than 42.8.

What People Do in Oakland

Oakland's main shopping area is along Ramapo Valley Road (which is U.S. Route 202). The Copper Tree Mall is the biggest shopping spot in the borough.

Oakland also has some areas for businesses and factories, called industrial parks. The largest one is near the border with Franklin Lakes. Companies like Royle Systems Group and Topcon Medical Systems have offices there.

A company called Russ Berrie and Company, Inc., which made teddy bears and gifts, used to have its main office in Oakland.

Fun and Games

Oakland has a Recreation Commission run by volunteers. They help organize fun activities for the community.

The biggest recreation area is called the Alexander Potash Recreation Complex. People often call it the "Rec Field." Here you can find:

• Nine baseball and softball fields
• Six tennis courts
• A roller hockey rink
• Basketball courts

New Jersey's Ramapo Mountain State Forest is partly in Oakland. You can get to it from Skyline Drive.

Camp Tamarack was a Boy Scouts of America camp. It was open from the late 1920s until the mid-1980s. Now, it is abandoned, but some buildings are still there. The headquarters for the Northern New Jersey Council of the Boy Scouts is currently in Oakland.

The Rec Field also hosts the yearly carnival and fireworks show in the summer.

Oakland offers a summer camp for six weeks. There's also a "safety camp" for young children starting kindergarten.

Crystal Lake Beach Club is a private beach club. You need a membership to use its facilities. It's open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Holiday Bowl on Spruce Street is a place to go bowling. High school teams use it, and you can rent lanes by the hour.

Schools in Oakland

Students in Oakland from kindergarten through eighth grade attend the Oakland Public Schools. In the 2022–23 school year, about 1,326 students were in these schools. There are four schools in the district:

• Dogwood Hill Elementary School (grades K-5)
• Heights Elementary School (grades K-5)
• Manito Elementary School (grades K-5)
• Valley Middle School (grades 6-8)

For high school, students in grades nine through twelve attend schools in the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District. This district serves students from Oakland, Franklin Lakes, and Wyckoff. Students can choose to attend one of two high schools:

• Indian Hills High School, located in Oakland.
• Ramapo High School, located in Franklin Lakes.

The district's board of education has nine members, with three from Oakland. These high schools were created in the 1950s. Ramapo High School opened in 1957, and Indian Hills High School opened in 1960.

Students in Bergen County can also apply to special high school programs. These are offered by the Bergen County Technical Schools. They include the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack and the Bergen Tech campuses in Teterboro or Paramus.

Oakland also has private schools:

• Barnstable Academy: A school for students in fifth through twelfth grades.
• The New Jersey Japanese School: Helps Japanese students prepare to return to the Japanese school system.
• Gerrard Berman Day School (Solomon Schechter of North Jersey): A Jewish day school for students from preschool through eighth grade.

Awards and Recognition

Business Week magazine once ranked Oakland 43rd on its list of "Great Places to Raise Kids—for Less." This ranking looked at things like test scores, number of schools, cost of living, fun activities, and crime rates.

In 2013, New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Oakland #1 for Young Families. They said Oakland is "woodsy and a bit remote, but its midsize homes, good schools and low crime rate make it popular with young families."

Getting Around

Interstate 287 southbound in Oakland

Oakland has many roads. Major roads that go through Oakland include Interstate 287, Route 208, and U.S. Route 202.

You can also get around using public transportation.

• Buses to New York City: Coach USA (Short Line) offers bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City.
• Local Bus Service: NJ Transit has limited bus service on the 752 route. This route connects Oakland to Hackensack through Ridgewood.

A freight train line, the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway, runs through Oakland. Passenger train service stopped in 1966. Oakland is a stop for the yearly Toys for Tots train.

For air travel, Newark Liberty International Airport offers flights.

Oakland's railroad stations

The patch of grass representing the former Oakland station, which was demolished in 1999, as viewed in October 2011

The former West Oakland station site, as viewed in October 2011, 45 years after station service ended.

News and Media

WVNJ AM-1160 is a radio station licensed to Oakland.

Oakland Patch is a website that shares local news and events about Oakland. The Franklin Lakes / Oakland Suburban News is a weekly newspaper. The Oakland Journal is another online news source that covers local political, community, and social events.

The borough also has its own Communications Commission. This group publishes a monthly email newsletter. They also run a local TV channel called Oakland TV (on Optimum Channel 77 and Verizon Fios Channel 45).

Famous People from Oakland

Many interesting people have lived in or are connected to Oakland:

• Jonathan Ames (born 1964): A writer, artist, and actor who created the HBO show Bored to Death.
• Roger Nash Baldwin (1884–1981): One of the people who started the American Civil Liberties Union.
• Ali Brustofski (born 1993): A singer-songwriter who was a finalist on a TV singing show.
• Cindy Callaghan (born around 1976): An author of children's books. Her book Just Add Magic was made into an Amazon TV series.
• Neil Cole (1926–2016): A stock car racing driver who competed in NASCAR races.
• DeAnne DeFuccio (born 1973): A politician who serves in the New Jersey General Assembly.
• Louis DiGiaimo (1938–2015): A casting director and film producer.
• W. Cary Edwards (1943–2010): A politician who was the New Jersey Attorney General.
• Madge Evans (1909–1981): A stage and film actress.
• Sidney Kingsley (1906–1995): A writer who won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Men in White.
• Karen McCullah (born 1967): A screenwriter and novelist.
• Doug McKeon (born 1966): An actor, director, and screenwriter. He was famous as a young actor in movies like On Golden Pond.
• Peter "Produce Pete" Napolitano (born 1945): A grocer known for his TV segments about produce. He owns Napolitano's Produce in Oakland.
• Mike Teel (born 1986): A football quarterback.
• Valentin Turchin (1931–2010): A computer scientist.
• Lawrence Tynes (born 1978): A placekicker who played for the New York Giants football team.
• Arthur Vervaet (1913–1999): A politician who served as mayor of Oakland.

See also

In Spanish: Oakland (Nueva Jersey) para niños