MONTCLAIR
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at
Lackawanna Station at Bloomfield Avenue, which opened in 1913.
RAILROADS TRANSFORMARURAL VILLAGE
When the Greenwood LakeRailroad Co. was granted acharter in1868 to build arailroad between Jersey City and Montclair, Montclair was acommunity of farms, orchards andwoods, with afew dirt roads, ahandful ofbusinesses, and 2,000 inhabitants.
In the years that followed, many of theold farms were bought by investors. Theybuilt newroads through their properties and divided them into building lots tosell to newcomers, who were attracted to Montclair’ scountry atmosphere and proximity to New York.
By 1880, just12years later, Montclair’ spopulation had morethan doubled, and thecharacterofthe town had changed forever. Oneimmediate effect of the railroad wasasharp rise inproperty values. Before the railroad was proposed, an acre of property sold forbetween $ 150 and $ 1,000; after railway construction began, the same property cost between $ 1,000 and $ 3,500 an acre.
Whilerapid growth brought decided benefits, problems came with it. Inevitable clashes alienated the old-timers, who were content with the way things had alwaysbeen, and the newcomersanxious to make improvements to their new hometown.
The 1860s provided none ofthe municipal services we takefor granted today. Therewas no fireor police department, no public watersupply ortown sewers, no streetlighting. In fact, there were hardly any streets. Inthe decadesthatfollowed, improvements were made and services introduced, but not without astruggle over what should beprovided, howitshould be provided – and most of all who should pay for it.
When the Township of Montclair was formed, it
Erie Railroad crossing atNormal Avenue in Upper Montclair
adopted the government that had been in existence formanyyears. It did not provide forappropriations to be made directly by the Township Committee.
Every township improvement, whether roads, streetlights or sidewalks, had to be voted upon by the citizens. This suited Montclair when it was a small rural village, but created problems for a growing town. Understandably, a self-sufficient farmer living in Upper Montclair was reluctant to pay taxes for streetlights on Bloomfield Avenue, or for someoneelse’ s water supply.
Finally, in 1894, theold form of government was abolished, and anew charter, creating the Town of Montclair, was adopted. The new charter authorized the Town Council tomake appropriationsdeemed necessary, thus paving the way for providingservices needed by the community.
Not all township improvements were made by the government. During this period, several civic and charitable groups were organized by citizens who did much to make Montclair adesirableplace to live. The Fire Department wasstartedbyvolunteers. What evolved into the Public Library was founded in 1869 by Israel Crane and his wife, who were concernedthat there was no library in town.
From the Village Improvement Society, which promoted the planting of street trees, to The Citizen’ s Committeeof One Hundred, which monitored the town’ s saloons and fought against the evils of public drinking, Montclair’ searly residents worked to improve the quality of life of their hometown.
FROM THE MONTCLAIR TIMES ARCHIVE
PHOTOS / MONTCLAIR PUBLIC LIBRARY’ SHISTORIC IMAGE DATABASE
36 SPRING 2018 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE