Old Tappan, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Old Tappan, New Jersey
Borough
Borough of Old Tappan
Gerrit Haring House in 1937
Map highlighting Old Tappan's location within Bergen County. Inset: Bergen County's location within New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Old Tappan, New Jersey
Old Tappan, New Jersey Location in Bergen County, New Jersey Show map of Bergen County, New Jersey Old Tappan, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Old Tappan, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Bergen
Incorporated	October 18, 1894
Named for	Tappan tribe
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	4.16 sq mi (10.78 km2)
• Land	3.32 sq mi (8.59 km2)
• Water	0.85 sq mi (2.20 km2)  20.38%
Area rank	293rd of 565 in state 19th of 70 in county
Elevation	52 ft (16 m)
Population  (2010 Census)
• Total	5,750
• Estimate  (2019)	5,894
• Rank	357th of 566 in state 55th of 70 in county
• Density	1,725.8/sq mi (666.3/km2)
• Density rank	311th of 566 in state 59th of 70 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07675
Area code(s)	201
FIPS code	3400354870
GNIS feature ID	0885336

Old Tappan ( tə-PAN) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,750, reflecting an increase of 268 (+4.9%) from the 5,482 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 1,228 (+28.9%) from the 4,254 counted in the 1990 Census.

Old Tappan was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on October 18, 1894, from portions of Harrington Township, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier. The borough was formed during the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 1894 alone. On April 23, 1896, additional territory was annexed from Harrington Township. The borough's name is derived from the Tappan tribe of Native Americans.

Geography

The Lake Tappan reservoir straddles the Bergen County municipalities of Old Tappan and River Vale, as well as a smaller portion within adjacent Rockland County, New York.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Old Tappan borough had a total area of 4.197 square miles (10.870 km²), including 3.332 square miles (8.629 km²) of land and 0.865 square miles (2.241 km²) of water (20.62%).

One of only four confluence points in New Jersey, the 41°N 74°W crossing, is in Old Tappan on watershed property owned by United Water.

The borough is bordered to the north by the hamlets of Pearl River and Tappan in the town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York. Lake Tappan and the Hackensack River are on the western side of the town, bordering River Vale. Harrington Park is to the south and Northvale and Norwood are to the east.

Demographics

2010 Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 5,750 people, 1,931 households, and 1,593 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,725.8 per square mile (666.3/km²). There were 1,995 housing units at an average density of 598.8 per square mile (231.2/km²)^*. The racial makeup of the borough was 74.78% (4,300) White, 0.73% (42) Black or African American, 0.09% (5) Native American, 22.24% (1,279) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.63% (36) from other races, and 1.53% (88) from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.01% (288) of the population. Korean Americans accounted for 17.1% of the population.

There were 1,931 households out of which 40.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.1% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.5% were non-families. 16.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the borough, the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 18.0% from 25 to 44, 32.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.2 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 88.2 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $125,435 (with a margin of error of +/- $30,643) and the median family income was $158,140 (+/- $27,026). Males had a median income of $90,536 (+/- $18,555) versus $61,875 (+/- $9,686) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $58,673 (+/- $7,319). About 2.4% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Same-sex couples headed 8 households in 2010, an increase from the 6 counted in 2000.

Parks and recreation

Old Tappan Golf Course is a 9-hole golf course located on DeWolf Road. The golf course is a private club but is open to the public at a fee of 40 dollars. The field is very well maintained. There is also Stone Point Park and Oaks Park. There is also a little league field called Gallagher Field, named for Edward J. Gallagher, who had served as the borough's mayor for 16 years. The field is located on Charles Place near the elementary and middle school. There are also a track and football field at the high school that is open to the general public. There are four baseball fields at Stone Point Park as two basketball courts. There are a dozen tennis courts at the high school, located on Central Avenue.

Transportation

County Route 116 (Old Tappan Road) in Old Tappan

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 32.72 miles (52.66 km) of roadways, of which 27.54 miles (44.32 km) were maintained by the municipality and 5.18 miles (8.34 km) by Bergen County.

Main roads include Old Tappan Road, Washington Avenue, Westwood Avenue, and Orangeburg Road.

Public transportation

Rockland Coaches provides service on routes 14ET to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.

Historic sites

Old Tappan is home to the following locations on the National Register of Historic Places:

• Frederick Haring House - Old Tappan and De Wolf Roads (added 1983)
• Gerrit Haring House - 224 Old Tappan Road (added 1983)
• Teunis Haring House - 70 Old Tappan Road (added 1979)
• Haring-DeWolf House - 95 De Wolf Road (added 1983)

Education

The Old Tappan Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through eighth grade. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 655 students and 61.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.7:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School with 346 students in grades K - 4 and Charles DeWolf Middle School with 294 students in grades 5 - 8.

Students in public school for ninth through twelfth grades attend Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, together with students from Harrington Park, Northvale and Norwood, along with students from Rockleigh who attend the high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship. As of the 2018–19 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,170 students and 97.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1. The school is one of the two schools of the Northern Valley Regional High School District, which also serves students from the neighboring communities of Closter, Demarest and Haworth at the Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest. During the 1994-96 school years, Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education.

Public school students from the borough, and all of Bergen County, are eligible to attend the secondary education programs offered by the Bergen County Technical Schools, which include the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, and the Bergen Tech campus in Teterboro or Paramus. The district offers programs on a shared-time or full-time basis, with admission based on a selective application process and tuition covered by the student's home school district.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Old Tappan include:

• Robert Auth (born 1956), politician who represents the 39th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly.
• Joe Benigno (born 1953), sports radio personality on WFAN.
• David Berkowitz (born 1949), professional bridge player.
• Lisa Berkowitz (born 1952), professional bridge player.
• P. J. Byrne (born 1974), film and television actor of Horrible Bosses, Final Destination 5 and Legend of Korra.
• Al Di Meola (born 1954), jazz fusion guitarist.
• Sophia Eckerson (c. 1880 – 1954), botanist and microchemist.
• Joe Ferriero (born 1957), former chairman of the Bergen County Democratic Organization.
• Jon Hensley (born 1965) and Kelley Menighan Hensley (born 1967), husband and wife actors who had appeared together on the daytime soap opera As the World Turns.
• Robert A. Lewis (1918–1983), co-pilot of the Enola Gay.
• Jeffrey Maier (born 1984), best known as the young fan who deflected a ball in play during Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles.
• Kenyon Martin (born 1977), professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets.
• Mike Milo (born 1965), Emmy Award-winning animator, director, storyboard artist, writer and producer in the television industry.
• Rob Segedin (born 1988), professional baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Images for kids

• 

  Old Tappan Sunday School, Old Tappan Road

See also

In Spanish: Old Tappan para niños