Montclair Magazine Spring 2018 | Page 33

1700 1740 The first one-room stone school house is built on what is now Church Street, near Orange Road. 1800 1806 The Newark and Pompton Turnpike Company is incorporated; Israel Crane, Azariah’s descendant, becomes the sole owner of the stock. 1856 Train service begins after the first rail lines are laid from Newark to West Bloomfield. 1868 1900 1894 A May 14 ordinance creates Montclair’s first police force. 1977 2000 The Montclair public school system implements its voluntary desegregation plan, allowing parents to choose the magnet program their kids will attend. Bloomfield won’t take on debt to build a second train line serving the north end of Montclair, so the citizens of Montclair vote to secede from Bloomfield. 1913 The third Lackawanna Station is dedicated on June 28, and is celebrated with a town-wide holiday and reception at the Hotel Montclair. The station’s design attracts universal praise. MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE SPRING 2018 33