The sun., 1908-05-17
INS1HHE BACKENSACK VALLEY
4 REGiON or FARMS AND QCIET
~ COUNTRY VILLAGES. .. d.


,a.~ tCOUNTRK VILLAGES. ..,. '
tue .-rerSetory served by the View Jersey
and New xosft R. n. NJ Perhaps the Most
Rural within, the Commutiny Zone-No
Boon Towns or Factory Centres There.
The stretch Of country through which
flow the headwaters of the Hackensick
River and It's numerous tributaries has
changed but little despite its modern
system of! transportation. The Haoken-
sack Valley has much the same appearance
today ,that it had ten or fifteen years ago,
before Che New Jersey suburbs had become
populous. The settlements along the banks
of the Hackepsack River are almost without
exception country villages whose business
interests are represented merely by two
or three general stores and post office
grouped about the railroad station There
arsn0 big manufacturing cities. no fashion
able summer resorts aad no large private
est6ees or -eosty mansions, Inshad there
are a chain, Jof little villages. a thriving
commercial town. Hsckenslck- a
number OF outlying farms inhabited by
commuters Of modest means and by q small
local population that makes Its living by
tiltnz the soil. Il, ,sr5s.,, 40
The territory served by the New Jersey
and New York Railroad and it's branches
ihchIdes the northern part OF. eastern New
JerSey and the lower end of Rockland
county. -tfhe region is ess sntially farm
ing country that has gradually developed
into a committing region for New York
business men of moderate income and
qqiet stasbesa Land values are, still COM
paratively low-much lower, in fact, than
in s,other ,parts of the suburban district
equally distant from Manhattan. l.-
Small farms In lower Rsckland county
within easy reach of the stations on the
New sJerssy and New York Railroad may
be bought at anywhere from sixty to several
hundred dollars an acre outside the hour
limit. Within an hours ride OF Chambers
STIFF, ths demand for real estate. has been
sulhcisnfly great to raiss the price Of lana
to 1east $aoa or .s8oG an acra- Even these
figures are lower than prevailing values in
othsr parts of New Jersey.
The reason for the unusual spectacle
OF an attractive stretch of country that
10 Within easy reach Of New. York and yet
seehfngy fatains almost .unimpaired its
original rural feetaires. may be explained
on fliB f1dnd that the general preference
OF city people in search OF country homes
is FOR the grander scenery Of the mountains
or the seashore The less varied. though
no less charming aspect of an inland region
like the Hackepsack Valley does not appeal
10 the great ma jorty'" '7E1- -'''--
The New. Jersey and New York Railroad
after leaving the terminal at Jersey City
strikes northwestward across the Hacken-
sack 'fneado@s, turns TO the north at the
further edge of the. submerged area and
follows the base of steep ridge solidly
built up with frame houses OF a pronounced
suburban type Rutherford. Carlstadt.
Woodbridge and Hasbrouck Heights, al
though separate communities, form almost
and south along the narrow tableland
that separates the Hackensack from the
Passaic river: They are finished towns
of fairly recent development and have
considerable German population. Their
rand growth is due mainly to their ease
OF AGpese. from Manhattan. tho run across
the meadows from the Jersey City terminal
taking only about twenty minutes.
Hackensack is the largest and most
important town in,the region, and In fact
the only settlement Of commercial i'm
portsIoe along the New Jersey and New
on the New York. Susauehanna and
Western, now under the control of the
Erie. Communication tickets are good inter-
changeably on both roads. The business
section o. Hackensack lies spread out along
tw9 or three main streets extending north
and sotth parallel TO and only few blocks
from the river front, It has hustling,
modern appearance strangely at variance
with the quiet public squares and tree
lined streets ,of the oiderysection of the
town. The village dates back to the early
I'D Colony dsys, Az gsa. ancient ana fram ins
ohttrrh. In which the early settlers wos.lf
shipped still stands intact facing brad
copnmon only o stones throw from Ftile
heart OF the present business district. ,
On the opposite, side Of the square is the
iMana9n House. which served as Wash
ingtons. Temporary headquarters during
one period OF the Revolutionary. War,
The best residential district lies toathe
north and west Of the town, on the slope
Of u ridgS that rises gradually from. the
level ground along the waterfront. Z, The
section and che residence district in the
least prcpossessing part Of the settlement,
30 that from the car window the traveller
obtAins' only q slight impression OF the
Of the one and the attractive
meas OF the other; ~ t-' tl.1 o.
Ag one travels ncrtthwerd from Hscksn-
sack The town gradually thins out, widening
gape appear between the houses, and
stretches Of open country appear with
frequency. At Cherry Hill,
now lN orth Hackensack, the tracks draw
cieasr 70 the river. and from that point
onward for i've or SIX miles follow tie
ssde, % q steep bluf only few feet above
Riyeredee.. New Milford and orade,I
are quiet little villages that lie spread out
along tbe elope Of the ridge and along the
crest Of the hill Overlooking tho river. A
,teep embankment hides the tracks from
A