The three times I have visited the Gethsemane Cemetery, it was a very quiet place to reflect on the people who are buried here. Located by a stretch of Route 46 West, you would hardly notice it was there. Sitting on a small hill above the highway lies some of our Counties most prominent Black citizens as well as just ordinary people and freed slaves who were denied entry into other church cemeteries. They were interned here in their own cemetery.
Gethsemane Cemetery is located west of the Hackensack River in southwest Bergen County on a one acre sandy hill located in Little Ferry, NJ. The 1860 deed of sale identifies it as a “burial ground for the colored population of the Village of Hackensack.” In 1901, it was turned over to seven African-American trustees and incorporated as Gethsemane Cemetery.
The entrance to the Gethsemane Cemetery in Little Ferry, NJ
Although there are only 50 graves stones, the graves of over 500 people have been documented, including that of Elizabeth Dulfer, who was born a slave (c 1790), freed in 1822 and died in 1880. She became one of the wealthiest business owners and landholders in Bergen County. Three Civil War veterans, Peter Billings, Silas M. Carpenter and William Robinson are also buried here.
Gethsemane Cemetery figured the center of controversy surrounding the burial of Samuel Bass, sexton of Hackensack’s First Baptist Church. When he died on January 22, 1884, his family wanted to bury him in the Hackensack Cemetery but was refused due to his race. Mr. Bass was then buried in Gethsemane Cemetery.
New Jersey Governor, Leon Abbett, protested the denial: “The Legislator should see that the civil and political rights of all men, whether white or black are protected…It ought not be tolerated in this State that a corporation whose existence depends on the Legislature’s will…should be permitted to make a distinction between a white man and a black man.” Two months later in March 1884, New Jersey’s “Negro Burial Bill” was passed desegregating cemeteries in New Jersey.
In 1985, Bergen County acquired the neglected cemetery and dedicated it as a County Historic Site. It was entered into the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places in 1994 for the historical significance it played in the enactment of N.J.’s early Civil Rights legislation and for containing evidence of West African burial customs.
The County of Bergen marker
In 2003, the county celebrated the dedication of new meditation areas and historic interpretive panels that tell Gethsemane’s story and lists the names of 515 people known to be buried here.
The cemetery markers
New mediation areas and historic panels tell the story of the cemetery and list the names of 515 people who were buried here.
My International Marketing class at Bergen Community College recently did a complete study and marketing plan for the “Bergen250” on the Revolutionary War veterans buried at graveyards and cemeteries all over Bergen County, NJ:
For a Mapping of all the historic graveyards and cemeteries, I had the students visit all the sites that the Daughters of the American Revolution had researched and I had the students find all the locations, photo the tombstones and create a bio on each of the veterans. I enclosed a copy of their work above.
My blog on the historic graveyards and cemeteries of Bergen County:
The cemetery is open only a few times a year to the public for special holidays and events. I came for the Juneteenth Celebration of the emancipation of slavery from the Union on June 19th. There was an independent tour on your own of the cemetery and the panels. If you had any questions, there are County representatives to guide you through.
The Gethsemane Cemetery in the Fall
(Information taken from the Bergen County Parks System guide).
Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from the Bergen County Parks Directory. Please call or email the above information for more details on visiting the cemetery. It can be opened for private tours.
The Van Allen House in 2023 during the next History Coalition
I visited the Van Allen House on my first trip on the Northwest Bergen History Coalition 6th Annual History Day tour of Upper Bergen County in 2016 and in 2019. It is mentioned on ‘Day Forty-Three’ of my blog, ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’. It had been my last stop of the day. The historic home is currently closed due to renovations on the house and will open in the Fall of 2019.
The Van Allen House during the renovation in 2023 with the added dormers
Of all my stops that day, I found that the Van Allen House was in need of a renovation. From the outside, it is very quaint. On the inside, the house needed a lot of fixing up and restoration work. The upstairs had water marks all over the ceilings. The gardens also needed some serious weeding and planting. IN 2023, the renovations of the upstairs had been completed and the home was replastered and painted. Most of the artifacts were stored in a few rooms that were being finished.
The kitchen is as you enter the home
During the renovation, a lot of the artifacts were being stored in the addition to the house that took place in the early 1800’s. Many of the things that had been donated were showcased in this room off the kitchen and shows the wide variety of the society’s collection. There were all sorts of items from the home, decorative pieces and a variety of things that would have been used at the house as it being a working farm. There were also many Native American artifacts.
Some of the artifacts in the downstairs room
Artifacts in the room downstairs
Household items donated to the society
More household items of the Van Allen House
More artifacts of the Van Allen House Collection
The vast array of items in the downstairs addition of the house will be used all over the house once the renovation is completed sometime in the next two years. There was still a lot to do around the house. There had been so much damage to the house over the years that it needed a major renovation.
The upstairs had been finished with the addition of the domers which a few of the society members had said that these were not part of the original house. They can debate about it but the house looks really nice with them and makes the house look realistic. Still from what the people said that they were not part of the original design.
You could see the vast improvement in the house over the last three years and the extent of the work that had been done already. All the outstairs rooms had been plastered and painted. The rooms looked very modern,
The upstairs has been nicely restored
The upstairs rooms now house many of the home furnishings of the collection along with clothes and personal items of families that have donated them over the years. The upstairs is just finishing the renovation so things will have to be organized in the future but at least you can see the things that the Historical Society has in the collection.
Household items in the collection upstairs
Clothing and bedding items at the Van Allen House
The smaller bedroom of the Van Allen House
One of the best things of the house is its gift shop. It has some of the most unusual handmade gifts that it was worth the trip out to the house. One of the members makes handmade cloth dolls for $5.00 that are just quaint and make a beautiful gift.
The Oakland Historical Society, who operates the house, was putting a lot of time and effort in the renovations of the house and their volunteers I was told would be working on the gardens. Either way, it is an interesting house to visit and it is steeped in history.
The upstairs beams leading to the bedrooms
The toy collection at the top of the stairs
The History of the Van Allen House:
The Van Allen House was built around 1740 as the home of farmer Hendrik Van Allen. During the Revolutionary War, it served as the headquarters for George Washington on July 14, 1777. At the time, he moving his troops from Morristown, NJ to New York (Wiki).
In 1778 and 1779, Bergen County used the house as a court. Edward Day Page, a dairy farmer, businessman and Oakland’s second mayor, owned the house as well as the northern fourth of Oakland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century (Wiki).
Household items at the Van Allen House
It was saved from demolition by the Oakland Historical Society with aid from the Woman’s Club of Oakland. It is now maintained as a museum displaying colonial Dutch life. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1973. There were several branches of the family in the Paterson, Passaic and Bergen Counties in New Jersey (Wiki).
Items in the family collection
The Oakland Historical Society:
The mission of the Oakland Historical Society (Oakland, NJ) is to bring to life and help maintain the history of the Borough of Oakland by activating and preserving especially the Van Allen House site, with the Vygeberg Farm Office Building and by keeping a museum there showing living displays and memories of Oakland’s past. We support living displays and memories of Oakland’s past. We support the Borough’s efforts to continue and complete the renovations of both buildings with the help of the Bergen County Office of Historic Preservation (OHS).
The Children’s bedroom at the Van Allen House
During the year we offer opportunities from people to visit the Van Allen House and experience local life as it was in the 18th and 19th Centuries on a farm settlement in northern New Jersey. The Lenni-Lenape Indians are known to have used the path which followed the Ramapo River Valley north and south and has now become an interstate roadway, Route 202, which goes from Maine south into Maryland and beyond. Copies of letters George Washington wrote at the House are available there during open-houses, usually the 3rd or 4th Sunday afternoon many months during the year. Please check our events page to see when the house will be open (OHS).
The Van Allen House on that gloomy Saturday morning
The site also has a building from 1902, built by Edward Page, one of the industrialists who settled along Route 202 to develop agricultural for the growing cities of Northern New Jersey, such as Paterson or Newark (OHS).
The Van Allen House Marker
The house was really interesting to visit during the Northwest Bergen Historical Coalition. The docents were really nice and they gave some interesting insights about the family and the house itself.
The Christmas holiday eventcelebrating Sinterklaas and the Dutch Christmas:
The outside of the house decorated for Christmas
The front door wreath
The wreath
In December of 2025, I visited the historical site for the Sinterklaas celebration for the Christmas season. It was a nice festival with making in the hearth and gingerbread man decorating for the kids. These were delicious.
Baking in the hearth
Decorating gingerbreadmen
Indulging in freshly baked gingerbreamen
There was a woman playing Christmas songs on the harpsichord to the group of patrons in the main room of the house and an old fashioned Christmas tree decorated for the holidays.
The colonial woman playing the harpsichord
The performance
Sinterklaas, the Dutch version of Santa Claus was on hand to talk to the children and give out well wishes to everyone.
Sinterklaas talking to the guests
The jolly man greeting all of us
The house both inside and out was decorated for the Christmas holidays and had that early colonial look about it. Back then things were not as elaborate as the Victorian era and were simple pines, green and berries.
The simple table tree
The pines and greens decorating the mantle
The wonderful artifacts that are part of the collection
In the gift shop area there were very reasonably priced handmade dolls and ornaments made by one of the members. These one of a kind pieces are a perfect gift for the holidays. These are a very special gift for a lucky child.
The handmade items in the gift shop area
The grounds of the house and outside doors were decorated with wreaths and greens as well.
The wreath outside the Dutch doors
It was a nice event and the perfect way to start the holiday season. These Oakland Historical Society did a nice job with popular family event. It was a nice way to start the holiday season. The house was beautifully decorated for the season and the Society was planning all sorts of events for the Spring.
The “Brides and Mother’s” exhibition and tour of the home in May of 2026:
I went to visit the Van Allen House for a special exhibition they were having during Mother’s Day of 2026 entitled “Brides and Mothers”, a show displaying the bridal mementos of residents of Oakland, NJ.
The exhibition of “Brides and Mothers”
Family wedding pictures
George and Martha Washington marriage
The Washington’s pictures
Family bridal pictures of local residents
Some of the bridal gowns from the exhibition
The bridal gown and accessories of a local resident
The Spoon Collection hanging on the wall
The Bridal and baby items including blankets and dolls
The baby items for a new family
One of the antique China dolls from the exhibit
The wedding pictures and announcements of local couples, mostly from the 1960’s and 70’s
The display of wedding gowns and hats plus some children’s items
The hats on display
A closer look at the wedding gowns
The bridal gown on display with a wedding registration
The very fancy wedding registration
After touring the exhibition and talking with the docents on the display, I toured the rest of the museum whose displays were being remounted by the current board members.
The refreshed historical kitchen
The historic kitchen
The history of the Cast-iron stove
The display of farm equipment
The antique voting box from Oakland, NJ
The antique toy display
After touring the rest of the displays in the house, I visited their small gift shop filled with home cloth dolls and glass pieces that were stamped with George Washington’s face.
The beautiful handmade dolls
The glass coasters
I then had enough time to tour the grounds on this beautiful afternoon. Some of the volunteers were cleaning up the gardens while I was there and the lawn had been freshly cut.
The front of the Van Allen House in the Spring of 2026
The side lawn and woods on the outside
The steam and bridge on the side of the property
Historic memorial on the edge of the property of the Red Oak Freedom tree that used to be there
The historic sign outside the house with its history
Another historic sign outside the house
The entrance of the house during the Spring of 2026
The front of the house in the Spring of 2026
The outside of the house was in full bloom in the Spring of 2026 and the grounds were nicely landscaped. It really was a nice tour.
Northwest Bergen History Coalition History Day/Summer Open House 2026:
I visited the Hopper-Goetschius House Museum during the 8th Annual Northwest Bergen History Coalition History Day. I had never been here before and it is a real treat. There are many buildings on the property to visit on top of the house and the fact that this was someone’s house into the 1980’s is pretty interesting.
The historic marker in front of the house
The Hopper property in July 2026 for the Weekend Open House
The Gris Mill wheel
The historical tree stump
The historical plaque
The property in the Summer of 2026
Christmas Open House December 2019:
The house still holds many secrets. The best part of the tour of the house is the secret stairs in the kitchen that lead to the old second floor. This can only accessed behind a panel that leads to a narrow set of steps. You can see it from the new second floor from the top floor.
I attended Holiday Celebration on December 8th, 2019 and it was a beautiful sunny day for an outside event. It was a really nice afternoon. They had a visit with Santa at the Dutch barn which was decorated with trees surrounding him and presents and a decorated Dutch sleigh. In the schoolhouse, there were all sorts of games and talks to enjoy.
Santa in the Dutch Barn at the Hopper museum
In the outside kitchen, there were chestnuts and fresh popcorn being made that you could munch on while walking around enjoying the festivities and the smells of the cooking food were mouthwatering. The gentleman doing the cooking was doing a demonstration on how the food was cooked and the amount of time it took to make things.
The outside buildings still had a bit of snow left
The inside of the house was decorated for the Victorian holidays with a nicely decorated tree in the Living Room and garland all over the place. There was a Victorian music box playing songs and a reading of “The Night Before Christmas” being read on the hour.
In the kitchen of the oldest part of the house, they served hot cider and homemade Christmas cookies of all kinds. They were also selling fresh homemade jam that one of the members made. The kitchen was decorated for the holidays as well. There was an open tour of the house and it was fun to see the upstairs decorated with all sorts of Victorian toys and dolls. The fee was a $5.00 donation and it happens every first week of December at the site.
The Hopper House kitchen
The house is a treasure trove of period furniture and family items and on the property there is a schoolhouse, a barn, a blacksmith shop and an outhouse. During the Summer months, the house is open for special tours on the weekends and in the Fall, they have a Harvest Festival and Christmas holiday events. The house is run and operated by the Upper Saddle River Historical Society.
The antique toys in the upstairs bedroom
In April of 2023, I returned to the Hopper-Goetschius House for the Northwest Bergen History Coalition Day for the event. It was a gloomy day with mist and rain but that did not put a damper on the event. There were lots of activities going on in each of the buildings.
My first stop was at the barn where the ladies were doing a demonstration on spinning thread and we had a conversation of where the expression “Pop goes the weasel” came from (from the spun threat reaching its max and then the machine made a ‘pop’ sound). The ladies were demonstrating the way women spun yarn and made clothes and the work that it entailed.
The yarn spinning demonstration at the Hopper Barn
The ladies explaining how the spinning works
‘Pop goes the weasel’, the weasel at the Van Riper-Tice Barn
When I left the barn, I went over to the school house building to see what was going on. A very bored volunteer took up all my time and would not leave me alone. She had to read from a script and take me all over the house. I just wanted to get out of there. Thank God another person walked in so that I could escape and see the rest of the property.
The Ramsey House was moved to the property to save it from destruction and the society has done a good job transform it to a turn of the century classroom. This is a surprising display in many historical societies as I am sure that people have donated so much of their childhood mementos.
The Ramsey House schoolroom
The schoolroom
The teacher’s seat at the school room. Nothing has really changed.
The farm artifacts at the Ramsey House schoolhouse
After the tour of the Ramsey House, I took the tour of the main house again and its secrets. The Hopper House is a very interesting home as the owner did not want plumbing in the house. Up until 1963, she still used the well. She was forced by her nephew to get a modern bathroom. I thought this was strange that the woman did not want a bathroom. She still used the outhouse into the 1960’s.
The Hopper House kitchen
The home is decorated with all sorts of beautiful antique furnishes and decorations. The house is so well organized and the volunteers do such a nice job telling its story especially at the holidays. I visited all the rooms where the volunteers explained its purpose.
The bedroom upstairs
Bedroom Two
Bedroom Three in the upstairs loft of the house
My last part of the tour was visiting the Smokehouse right behind the house.
The Smokehouse during the Summer Open House
Inside the kitchen during the Open Kitchen
The inside of the Smokehouse
The volunteers were cooking corn bread, homemade potato soup and biscuits in the fireplace. It was interesting to see how food was cooked on the farm in the days before modern kitchens.
The two volunteers working there were so happy to see someone. They told me that no one wanted any soup. On a cold rainy and misty day, I was taking them up on it and it was really good! Talk about warming you up.
The Smoke House on the Hopper estate was cooking away that afternoon
The volunteers were making breads, biscuits and soup that afternoon that warmed me up
The delicious Potato Kale Soup warmed me up on this rainy day
The delicious Corn Bread was cooked with bacon fat and tasted so good! I munched on most of this.
I finished eating and talking with the volunteers about all cooking they were doing. They told me that they were following the recipes that were from the late 1700’s that would have been cooked at the farmhouse at that time. It was a really interesting conversation we had on cooking. It was nice to eat something as well. I was starved at this point.
After the meal, I left to go to the next site. I felt for these volunteers. The Hopper House is off the beaten tract and they must have not gotten the visitors that the other homes had seen. Still it was a wonderful visit with members who care so much about the house and its grounds.
The Hopper estate with the barn, school house and ice house in the distance during the Northwest Bergen Historical Coalition Day
The Hopper House entrance hall
The Hopper-Goetschius house on the corner of Lake Street and East Saddle River Road dates back to 1739. Built by the Hopper family, it is the oldest remaining house in Upper Saddle River. We know it existed in 1739 because it was recorded in surveyor Charles Clinton’s journal and possible it is older.
The picture of Steven Goetschius and his wife,
The other family pictures on the table in the parlor
Rosalie Fellows Bailey in her book on pre-Revolutionary Dutch houses, says it was marked as the home of Gerrit Hoppa on a rough sheepskin map made about 1713.
The Goetschius family, the second owners of the house
The house underwent several changes in the mid 1800’s. The large central chimney with back to back fireplaces was removed. Probably, with more modern forms of heating available such as wood stoves, the fireplace seemed a bit old-fashioned and the owners took it out. Besides, they wanted to use the entrance hall as a room, so the stairway along the east wall was removed and a central staircase added where the fireplaces had once been. The dormers were added in the Victorian era.
The Hopper house in 2023
The Hoppers farmed the land and had a lot of it by today’s standards. The property extended from the Saddle River (Lion’s Park) up the hill almost to Montvale and up the East Road to where Creative Gardens was located.
The antique dolls at the Hopper House bedrooms
(From the Society website)
In 1814, the house became the home of the Reverend Stephen Goetschius of the Old Stone Church. It remained in the Goetschius family for a century and a half, always a place of central importance in town as Stephen Goetschius, the great-great grandson of the Reverend Stephen, served as the borough clerk for over 40 years and conducted his town business from the east room of the house (SRHS.com).
The Hopper House Living Room
The house was without running water until Stephen’s death in 1962. Until improvements were made at that time, Steve’s wife, Lizzie, as those before her, carried water from the well for washing, cooking and shoveled coal for heat (SRHS.com).
The Hopper House Kitchen
The kitchen in the new section of the house
In 1985, the Hopper-Goetschius house was presented to the Borough of Upper Saddle River by Clinton and Grace Carlough. Lizzie Goetschius, the last resident of the house was Clint Carlough’s aunt. The house today serves as a museum, run by the Upper Saddle River Historical Society and offers the public historically related events throughout the year (SRHS.com).
The Hopper House Living Room
The back bedroom Dutch wardrobe
The Patriotic Display for the ‘Bergen 250’
(Upper Saddle River Historical Society)
The Hopper House property also contains:
*The Privy or Outhouse that was in use at the Hopper-Goetschius House until 1962 when plumbing was installed in the house.
The Outhouse
Hopper House estate with all the important buildings in the Summer of 2026
*The Ramsey Sayer House was moved to the grounds in 1999 to become part of the museum complex. This is the oldest existing from house in Upper Saddle River, a good example of a tenant house common on farms in this area. The Ramsey Sayer house belonged to William Ramsey, the grandfather of Kate Fisher Goetschius, mother of Steve Goetschius, who lived in the Hopper Goetschius house for many years.
The Ramsey-Sayre House now serves as the makeshift schoolhouse
The schoolhouse at the turn of the last century
The Native American artifact collection at the Schoolhouse
*The Van Riper-Tice Barn was erected about 1800 by the Van Riper Family on their farm on West Saddle River Road (near the Cultural Center). It was later owned for many years by Harmon Tice.
The Dutch American barn in the Summer of 2026
Sleighs and buggies and outdoor equipment
In 1989, it was scheduled to be demolished to make way for a development, the Historical Society dismantled it, moved it to the Museum ground and had it restored and rebuilt on its present location.
The inside of the Van Riper-Tice Barn at the Hopper House estate
Winter transportation at the barn
Transportation and farming equipment
The farming equipment display
More farming equipment
The displays of wool at the Van Riper-Tice Barn
The display of waffle irons
The Apple Cider Press that the Tice and Van Ripper families were so well known for making especially at Thanksgiving
*Snake Fence: a zig-zag fence of split rails once common in this area was added in the property north of the Van Riper Tice barn. The project was completed in 2001 with the help of Will Mazzuto and the vision of John Kroner and Joanne Lombardo.
The Hopper House estate
The Blacksmith Shop
The blacksmith doing a demonstration
The Upper Saddle River Historical Society:
The Upper Saddle River Historical Society was organized in 1977 to collect, preserve and distribute the history of the Upper Saddle River area. The Society is also responsible for the management and restoration of the Hopper-Goetschius House Museum located at 245 Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
The Historical Society has over 500 members and is host to nearly 2000 museum visitors each year. The Society holds program meetings throughout the year along with special events such as a Spring Concert, a wonderful Harvest Fair in the fall and an Old Time Holiday Open House in December, featuring mulled cider with chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
The Museum is open for tours every Sunday during July & August from 2:00pm-4:00pm or by appointment. For group or individual tours contact: Althea Gardner @ (201) 327-7807 or Kay Yeoman @(201) 327-2236.
Hopper-Goetschius House Museum Restoration Fund Drive
Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from the Upper Saddle River Historical Society website. Please check the site for the hours and days it is open.
*The Museum is currently closed for the season yet it was open for this event. It will reopen in late June. Admission to the museum is $3.00 per person over the age of 16 and is free for kids under 16 years of age.
TripAdvisor Review:
The front of the Old Station Museum in Downtown Mahwah, NJ
The historic Marker for the Old Train Station
As part of my tour on the Eighth Annual Northwest Bergen History Coalition Day, I visited the Old Station Museum, which is partnered with the Mahwah Museum (mentioned in this blog also) and its concentration is on the history of trains and the trains that serviced the area.
They had an interesting exhibition on the trains that used to run in the area before they consolidated years ago, the companies that ran them and a full train display (as well as there is a complete train set in the lower level of the Mahwah Museum that you should not miss. It will bring the kid out in you).
The Old Caboose in the back of the museum is open for touring in the summer months
One of the displays that I really liked was the Pullman Car exhibition of menus, china and other things that were used on the car to make service the best it could be. Like they mentioned in the display, food was a loss leader to the company which was made up in the ticket itself but it is what made the experience for the passenger. It what was brought them to the train in the first place. All I could keep thinking of was Eve Marie Saint in ‘North by Northwest’ when she was dining with Cary Grant.
The inside of the Caboose at the Old Station Museum in Mahwah.
The best part of the museum is when you tour the museum’s caboose that is located in the back of the museum. There are displays of the men that worked the line and their role in the railroad as well as a display of their living conditions. With new technology the caboose went out of service and there are very few left now. You really see the caboose from inside out and its purpose on the train.
The historical sign in front of the museum
I revisited the museum during the Northwest Bergen Historical Coalition. The museum was closed but I got to see the museum from the outside.
The outside of the Caboose
The outside sign
The inside Station Manager’s display
The inside train set
The Museum’s History:
(from the Mahwah Museum website):
The exhibition at the station this season features several models built by former Mahwah resident, Hollis C. Bachmann. Mr. Bachmann constructed a model of N.Y.C. #999 and several other trolleys. We are fortunate to receive a donation of this balance of Mr. Bachmann’s collection from his niece, Kay Doody. Mr. Bachmann had built out model of the North Jersey Rapid Transit interurban car (trolley) that ran from Suffern to Paterson. You may remember seeing that model in our main museum building. It was constructed of tin cars, was two feet in length and included a detailed interior, having taken Mr. Bachmann six months to build. Please come by and see these really nicely detailed creations that are the offspring of that trolley.
The Old Station Museum established in 1967 is located in a building that was the original station on the Erie Railroad in Mahwah. It was rescued from destruction, first by the Winters family and later by the Mahwah Historical Society. It contains many interesting artifacts given to the museum by collectors of railroad memorabilia. It also features a 1929 Erie cupola caboose which has been recently restored. There is a scale model of the Erie system and photos of the early days of railroading in Mahwah and along the rest of the mainline.
In 1848, the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad was built through Mahwah to carry passengers and freight from New York City via Paterson to the mainline of the Erie Railroad located in Suffern, New York. From there, connections could be made to upstate New York then Chicago and on to the west.
In 1871, the leaders of Mahwah petitioned the Erie to allow a stop at a new station in Mahwah. The 1871 station remained in service until 1904 when the Erie expanded to four tracks and raised the roadbed from the ground level. The second station remained until 1914 when it was destroyed by fire. The current station was built in 1914 and still serves commuters today.
Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from the museum’s website and I give them full credit for all of the work. The museum will be reopening in June so be on the lookout for more information on events at the museum. It is a great place for kids.
