June 22nd, 2025 will be our June open-house from 1 - 4 PM at the Van Allen House. We will be displaying 18th century items essential to farming and hunting life in the "Ponds" or Yawpo area as it was when Gen. Washington visited on July 14th, 1777 .
We will also be discussing plans for our participation in the upcoming 250th anniversary of the birth of our
country starting July 4th 2026. Come help us prepare for the inclusion of the Van Allen House in activities planned in the area prior to and following this great event. 2027 is the 250th Anniversary of George Washington's stay at the Van Allen House, as he rested there on 7/14/1777.
The Borough of Oakland was incorporated in 1902. 2027 will thus also be the 125th anniversary of our town. We need to celebrate in style. The Public Events Committee along with the Arts Council of Oakland are already planning to make that a very special celebration year.
We will also be discussing plans for our participation in the upcoming 250th anniversary of the birth of our
country starting July 4th 2026. Come help us prepare for the inclusion of the Van Allen House in activities planned in the area prior to and following this great event. 2027 is the 250th Anniversary of George Washington's stay at the Van Allen House, as he rested there on 7/14/1777.
The Borough of Oakland was incorporated in 1902. 2027 will thus also be the 125th anniversary of our town. We need to celebrate in style. The Public Events Committee along with the Arts Council of Oakland are already planning to make that a very special celebration year.
Oakland Train Station August 30th, 1898. A photo from The Years Between taken as the Sunday School group from Ponds Church were getting ready for their picnic trip to Echo Lake. A fifth of the local population turned out. Women held the community together and took their families along for the ride.
Let's be thankful for the roads that have held America together for almost 250 years! From the days that the Lenape Natives lead Dutch Settlers to the local iron ore mines to the recent time when Oakland was a summer vacation spot along the tracks of the Susquehanna RR.
The 250th anniversary of the American Revolution is coming up soon, and the Van Allen House should not be left out. Route 202 by Franklin Avenue has many stories to tell. Come visit the House and follow the maps and train tracks of Oakland's long history.
E-mail Klaus or Jerri at [email protected] or call us at 201-337-9652.
In other News on Women's History Month, March, 2024
Harriot Stanton(Elizabeth Cady Stanton's 6th child) and the Suffragist movement have a strong Bergen County, NJ history in Tenafly. Harriot led the Women's Land Army to provide home-grown food for soldiers & families left behind as the troops were deployed from Cresskill, NJ to go overseas in 1917 & 1918 for WWI.
*We have photos of "President Woodrow Wilson" with suffragist "Harriot Stanton Blatch" and a WWI Red Cross nurse from our 2017 History Day exhibit at the Hermitage in Ho-ho-kus.
Be sure to check out the Northwest Bergen History Coalition website for other local open-houses at http://www.nwbergenhistory.org/
Find out about the new book from the historical societies of NW Bergen County. It was compiled and written by Peggy Norris and Kay Yeomans with photography by Marion T. Brown. It displays the wealth of antique quilts and coverlets the exists in Bergen County homes, complete with histories of the cloth artwork. Please contact us if you are interested in obtaining a copy for $25. Part of the price is a donation to the Oakland Historical Society. See the photos below and the notes on how to obtain a copy of this new book.
Let's be thankful for the roads that have held America together for almost 250 years! From the days that the Lenape Natives lead Dutch Settlers to the local iron ore mines to the recent time when Oakland was a summer vacation spot along the tracks of the Susquehanna RR.
The 250th anniversary of the American Revolution is coming up soon, and the Van Allen House should not be left out. Route 202 by Franklin Avenue has many stories to tell. Come visit the House and follow the maps and train tracks of Oakland's long history.
E-mail Klaus or Jerri at [email protected] or call us at 201-337-9652.
In other News on Women's History Month, March, 2024
Harriot Stanton(Elizabeth Cady Stanton's 6th child) and the Suffragist movement have a strong Bergen County, NJ history in Tenafly. Harriot led the Women's Land Army to provide home-grown food for soldiers & families left behind as the troops were deployed from Cresskill, NJ to go overseas in 1917 & 1918 for WWI.
*We have photos of "President Woodrow Wilson" with suffragist "Harriot Stanton Blatch" and a WWI Red Cross nurse from our 2017 History Day exhibit at the Hermitage in Ho-ho-kus.
Be sure to check out the Northwest Bergen History Coalition website for other local open-houses at http://www.nwbergenhistory.org/
Find out about the new book from the historical societies of NW Bergen County. It was compiled and written by Peggy Norris and Kay Yeomans with photography by Marion T. Brown. It displays the wealth of antique quilts and coverlets the exists in Bergen County homes, complete with histories of the cloth artwork. Please contact us if you are interested in obtaining a copy for $25. Part of the price is a donation to the Oakland Historical Society. See the photos below and the notes on how to obtain a copy of this new book.
NWBC History Coalition Quilt collection includes these samples from Oakland, NJ
NORTHWEST BERGEN HISTORY Coalition has published a new book: Stitched and Woven - Bergen County Quilts and Coverlets 1800 - 1976 by Peggy Norris and Kay Yeomans. It is a display of cloth works from each NW Bergen County historical society. A copy can be ordered through this site.
A 100 anniversary of Womens' Suffrage is also taking place this year. Please share your stories with us on History Notes page or contact us by e-mail.
Further Notes from previous events:
Members of the Oakland Historical Society got to meet with "President Woodrow Wilson" at the Hermitage May 20th 2017 at our History Day event. The re-enactor shared the president's support for the Red Cross aids during WWI, portrayed by Linda Arns, as well as for the suffragists as represented by "Harriot Stanton Blatch", daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, portrayed by Jerri Angermueller.
Harriot actually grew up in near-by Tenafly, New Jersey. She continued her mother's struggle for getting the women's vote in the USA, which became reality after WWI in 1920. Harriot learned about supporting the strong female labor force while she was living with her husband in England. She helped the women brewery workers improve their working conditions, then returned to America to help the silk
factory workers in New Jersey and New York become able to improve theirs. She was responsible for bringing female speakers from England over to the US to support the Women's Land Army. Women wanted to help feed the troops and found much resistance from the government in carrying out this much needed service during WWI. The advances made in Bergen County were presented at the event.
