Business View Magazine | August 2019

293 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE AUGUST 2019 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, 20 miles from Manhattan. Stately homes slowly replaced orchards and wooded fields. Over time, 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 small area, and in 1895, Glen Ridge seceded from the adjoining town. Today, the Borough of Glen Ridge is, according to Mayor Stuart K. Patrick, a “very attractive and restful type community,” home to approximately 7,600 residents. About 90 percent of the town is located in an historic district, with a preservation commission established in 1987 to conserve and protect its housing stock of vintage Victorian, Georgian, and Edwardian structures. “We still have slate walks, huge sycamores, and a gazebo down in the glen,” says Patrick. In addition, out of approximately 3,000 gas street lamps still in existence in the United States, Glen Ridge is home to 667. GLEN R IDGE BOROUGH, NEW JERSEY