Waldwick, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Waldwick, New Jersey
Borough
Waldwick station in April 2018
Seal
Nickname(s):  "The Light in the Woods"
Location of Waldwick in Bergen County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Bergen County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right).
Census Bureau map of Waldwick, New Jerseyx
Waldwick, New Jersey Location in Bergen County, New Jersey Show map of Bergen County, New Jersey Waldwick, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Waldwick, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Bergen
Incorporated	April 1, 1919
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	2.07 sq mi (5.35 km2)
• Land	2.05 sq mi (5.30 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)  0.97%
Area rank	408th of 565 in state 48th of 70 in county
Elevation	223 ft (68 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	10,058
• Estimate  (2023)	10,105
• Rank	243rd of 565 in state 39th of 70 in county
• Density	4,915.9/sq mi (1,898.0/km2)
• Density rank	116th of 565 in state 30th of 70 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07463
Area code(s)	201
FIPS code	3400376400
GNIS feature ID	0885429

Waldwick (/ˈwɔːldwɪk/) is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 10,058, an increase of 433 (+4.5%) from the 2010 census count of 9,625, which in turn reflected an increase of three people (+0.0%) from the 9,622 counted in the 2000 census.

History

Originally inhabited during the pre-Columbian era by the Lenape Native American tribe, the region surrounding Waldwick was first explored by Europeans when a Dutch trading expedition landed near there in 1610. With the creation of the Nieuw Amsterdam colony in 1624, the present site of the borough became a Dutch possession along with the rest of northeastern New Jersey. During the period from 1624 to 1664 it was sparsely developed by Dutch settlers, mainly for agricultural purposes. With the annexation of Nieuw Amsterdam by the English in 1664 came a nearly instant increase in immigration to the region and the development of several settlements in and around the present borders of the borough.

In the mid-19th century, Waldwick and the surrounding area constituted a small settlement within Franklin Township, an area that encompassed much of northwestern Bergen County. The area's population grew significantly after the Erie Railroad established a train station. On January 1, 1886, Orvil Township was formed from portions of Hohokus Township and Washington Township. The "Boroughitis" phenomenon that swept through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 1894 alone, hit Orvil Township particularly hard, resulting in the formation of five new boroughs created from the nascent township, including Montvale and Woodcliff (now Woodcliff Lake) on August 31, 1894, Allendale on November 10, 1894, Saddle River on November 20, 1894, and Upper Saddle River formed on November 22, 1894. On April 7, 1919, a council of citizens voted to incorporate as the borough of "Waldwick", from the remaining portions of Orvil Township. With the creation of the borough of Waldwick, Orvil Township was dissolved.

Various derivations of the borough's name have been offered, including one that "Waldwick" is Old English, from "wald" (forest) and "wick" (settlement or place). According to The History of Bergen County written in 1900 by James M. Van Valen, the name Waldwick comes from a Saxon language word meaning "beautiful grove" though other sources show a related meaning of "village in a grove".

Historic places

Waldwick is home to the following historic places listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

• Erie Railroad Signal Tower, Waldwick Yard – Northeast end of Bonhert Place, west side of railroad tracks (listed 1983). Built in 1848 for the Erie Railroad.
• Albert Smith House – 289 Wyckoff Avenue, built in 1750
• Waldwick Railroad Station – Hewson Avenue and Prospect Streets (listed 1978). The station opened in 1886 as a station along the Erie Railroad.
• White Tenant House – 16 White's Lane (listed 1983, now demolished)

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.07 square miles (5.35 km²), including 2.05 square miles (5.30 km²) of land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km²) of water (0.97%).

The borough is surrounded by the Bergen County municipalities of Allendale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Midland Park, Ridgewood, Saddle River and Wyckoff.

The Ho-Ho-Kus Brook flows through the center of the borough in a roughly southward direction.

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 9,625 people, 3,420 households, and 2,681 families in the borough. The population density was 4,656.8 per square mile (1,798.0/km²). There were 3,537 housing units at an average density of 1,711.3 per square mile (660.7/km²). The racial makeup was 90.63% (8,723) White, 1.08% (104) Black or African American, 0.11% (11) Native American, 4.99% (480) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 1.76% (169) from other races, and 1.43% (138) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.62% (830) of the population.

Of the 3,420 households, 37.4% had children under the age of 18; 66.1% were married couples living together; 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present and 21.6% were non-families. Of all households, 18.5% were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.20.

25.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 28.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 97.8 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 93.9 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $95,774 (with a margin of error of +/− $7,836) and the median family income was $104,335 (+/− $12,466). Males had a median income of $66,838 (+/− $8,541) versus $57,137 (+/− $6,800) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $41,689 (+/− $3,047). About 2.8% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Same-sex couples headed 16 households in 2010, an increase from the 10 counted in 2000.

Education

Students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade are educated in the Waldwick Public School District. As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 1,630 students and 141.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.5:1. Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Crescent School with 344 students in grades K–5, Julia A. Traphagen School with 425 students in grades Pre-K–5, Waldwick Middle School with 367 students in grades 6–8 and Waldwick High School with 460 students in grades 9–12.

During the 2009–10 school year, Julia A. Traphagen School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive. It was the only school in Bergen County that year out of ten schools honored statewide and the first Bergen County elementary school to receive the honor in six years.

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.

In addition, Waldwick is home of the Waldwick Seventh-day Adventist School; The Village School, a Montessori school for children though 8th grade; and The Forum School, which is an alternative school established in 1954 for students who are developmentally disabled. Pre-school programs are also offered at Rainbow Corners day school, at the Methodist Church, Building Blocks Child Center at Christ Community Church (across from the high school), Building Blocks and at Saddle Acres School.

Transportation

Route 17 northbound in Waldwick

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 36.30 miles (58.42 km) of roadways, of which 31.86 miles (51.27 km) were maintained by the municipality, 3.77 miles (6.07 km) by Bergen County and 0.67 miles (1.08 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Roadways travelling through Waldwick include Route 17, County Route 502 and County Route 507.

Public transportation

Waldwick Station

Waldwick is served by NJ Transit at the Waldwick train station, located at the intersection of West Prospect Street, Lafayette Place and Hewson Avenue. The station is served by both the Bergen County Line and Main Line, which run north–south to Hoboken Terminal with connections via the Secaucus Junction transfer station to New York Penn Station and to other NJ Transit rail service. Connections are available at the Hoboken Terminal to other NJ Transit rail lines, the PATH train at the Hoboken PATH station, New York Waterways ferry service to the World Financial Center and other destinations along with Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service.

Bus service between Waldwick and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan is available via Short Line.

Awards

Safest Small Town in America

In 2017, Waldwick was ranked the "Safest Small Town in America". This title was awarded based on 2015 FBI crime statistic data on the number of violent crimes per 1,000 residents. The rankings were done by LendEDU, a company known for its studies. By their definition, a small town has a population of over 5,000 yet under 10,000. At the time of the ranking, Waldwick had 9,997 residents.

Notable people

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

• Jim Alexander (born 1935), documentary photographer, photojournalist and activist
• Enzo Amore (born 1986), professional wrestler formerly under contract with WWE
• Martha Byrne (born 1969), actress who performed on Broadway as a child in Annie and as an adult in the role of Lily Walsh in As the World Turns
• Jay Dittamo (born 1959), drummer, percussionist and music producer
• Warren Farrell (born 1943), educator, gender equality activist and author
• Dave Fiore (born 1974), former pro football player
• Joe Harasymiak (born 1986), defensive coordinator for the Rutgers football team.
• Frank Herbert (1931–2018), former member of the New Jersey Senate and the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders whose first elective race was a loss running for the Waldwick Borough Council
• Jack Hewson (1924–2012), professional basketball player who played for the Boston Celtics during the 1947–1948 season
• Charles Kinsey (1773–1849), Congressman
• Jerry Palmieri (born 1958), football strength and conditioning coach, most recently on Tom Coughlin's staff for the New York Giants
• Brunilda Ruiz (1936–2019), ballet dancer with the Joffrey Ballet
• Allison Smith (born 1969), actress

See also

In Spanish: Waldwick (Nueva Jersey) para niños