The sun., 1908-05-24
BEYOND THE PlLIsADEd
WHERE MEADOW AND WOODLAND
BLEND IN THE $0OTRILLS.

RGGND nv THE TUVA hALf<o.
..ha ---7------ ttaHN
A Score OF Picturesque Connecting Towns
Oyeriooiting the Farms and Orchards
Of the Hachensack Valley Arc Served
by the-Northern Railroad Of New Jersey.
Tho Northern Railroad Of New Jersey.
branch line Of the Erie, runs northward
from Jersey City for twenty-five miles.
following close to the. base Of the western
slope Of the Palisades, then strikes through
a narrow cleft between the hills at, t,Sparkill
and follows the west branch Of the Hudson
River to Nyack. four miles further on.
Along the route are score Of towns and
villages, In four distinct divisions.
At the lower end OF the region. just above
Jersey City. are four or Ave suburban
settlennents THAT have sprung up very re-
Gently through the activity of several big
land companies. They are still largely in
q raw, unfinished state, their streets In
some cases being distinguished from the
rest of the cleared woodland merely by
wooden signposts.
Included In the second division are
Englewood. an old established rather
aristocratic community. and its two sub
urbs. Highwood to the north and Nordhon
to the south. Both are residential settle
nents. rejecting on slightly reduced
scale the high social standard and exclu-
siveness Of the parent town.
Between Englewood and Sparkil strung
along the RAILROAD at frequent intervals
are number Of small country villages that
are rising to Importance as committing
towns. They include TenaAy, .Cresskill.
Demarest. Qoster. Norwood. Worthwhile
and Tappan.
Along the west bank OF the Hudson
River above Sparkill are Piermont, Grand
View. South Nyack and Nyack. The first
three are entirely residential settlements
populated mainly by New York people.
Nyack. in addition to it's residence colony.
has an extensive business district that
ranks first among the important distribute
ing oentres>of lower Rockland county.
,Ridgefeld, Morsemere. Palisades Park,
Grantwood and Leonia. in the fret division.
lie spread out along the crest Of the Pail
sades, extending from Edgewater, which
lies about opposite 10th street. north
ward to Englewood. Rdgeheld is a very
old settlement, dating back 20 the Colonial
period. Among its relics of historic in
terest are q church and several quaint
dwellings erected before the Revolution.
The other four towns are of recent origin
and owe their existence almost entirely TO
development companies that have been
operating there on a large scale within
the last few years. The dense forest Of
hardwood timber that covered this upland
region five or six years ago has been almost
entirely cleared away. leaving great patches
- -, .Ax ~, -
boulders. In these clearings streets and
sidewalks have been laid out. gas and water
mains laid and all the conveniences Of
a modern city installed. Building has been
especially active and hundreds Of new
dwellings have been erected The houses
are mainly of the suburban villa type and
are built on plots varying from 80 to 400
feet in width. AS is usual in suburban
settlements OF this type building plots and
houses are sold on the instalment plan. The
small monthly payments made are not much
greater than the rent OF a good sized apart
ment in New York and people Of moderate
means who desire to get outside Of the city
are locating there in steadily increasing
numbers.
The region has q commanding situation,
rising to heiaAfof over 800 feet short
distance back of the cliffs along the Hudson
River. From the western slope one may
obtain a view across the Hackensack
meadows and the valley of the Passaic River
TO the distant Orange Mountains
In addition to the train service on the
Northern Railroad Of New Jersey the terri
tory Ia furnished with transportation by
three high speed trolley lines. two running
ofna I'D to
Hackensack and Englewood. the third ex-
tending porthward from the West Shore
Railroad ferry opposite Fifty ninth street
to Coytesville. above Fort Lee.
Epglewood lies on both sides Of the rail-
road tracks. To the west on level stretch
thriving business district and the small
frame dwellings, Of it's cheaper residence
sSction To the east in the city proper is
the educa tional centre with its fine public
schools, libraries and churches Among its
institutions are several we'll known banks
and trust com panies and the branch offices
of important New York firms. Englewood
has ell the imnortant qualifications % en- in
corporated city, foremost among which are
a fire department, police protection and
well equipped hospital with an efficient
ambulance service.
The better residential section of the town
occupies three district ridges that rise in a
series OF terraces. each over looking its
predecessor, from the railroad tracks to the
high tableland forming the crest Of the
Palisades. Englewood has earned the dis
tnction If being one Of the most beautiful
of the New Jersey suburbs. The streets
are Of unusual width and are shaded by
elms that were planted over century ago,
when the town was first established. To-
day their spreading branches interlace far
above the roadway, forming long. vaulted
arches through which one may drive for
miles. On either hand are big residences
and fine estates.
Above Englewood the marshes and sub
merged meadowland Of the Haokensaok
River are gradually succeeded by stretch
Of open country in which fields and wood
land alternate The railroad follows a
broad valley. through which flow Trenekill
Creek and many tributary streams.
Tenafy, Cresskill, Demarest, Closter
Norwood and Worthwhile lie between EnRle-
wood and the State line, They were orig
inally agricultural villages, but haveN In
recent years attracted large committing
population. While retaining many of their
old time rural features they have comforts
and conveniences that are usually found
only in large cities. All have macadamized
streets, paved sidewalks public water sup
ply, gas and electric light. Rents are mod
crate <and land values exceptionally low.
Tenafy and Cresskill lie spread out over
the ateeD slope tn the right OF the Northern