History Notes
Bergen County Quilts and Coverlets 1800–1976
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The Northwest Bergen History Coalition (NWBHC) has published: Stitched and Woven — Bergen County Quilts and Coverlets 1800–1976 by Peggy W. Norris and Kay Yeomans (2020). The vibrant exhibit consisted of cloth works from Northwest Bergen County historical societies. The Oakland Historical Society contributed its quilts to the exhibit —two of which were created by 20th century local artisans and capture scenes from the Borough’s history.
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Lunch with President Wilson — Remember the Ladies
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, who was portrayed by Jerri Angermueller.
Harriot Stanton Blatch 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.
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, who was portrayed by Jerri Angermueller.
Harriot Stanton Blatch 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.
Some of Oakland’s World War II Personalities
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Arthur William “Bud” Vervaet Jr. served his country from 1941 to 1946 as an officer in Combat Intelligence. He was awarded three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for gallantry in action.
Born in Pompton Lakes, Bud’s family moved to Oakland in 1917 when he was three years old. He attended the one-room schoolhouse in Oakland and, later, graduated Butler High School and Notre Dame. By his early 20s he had already become a Boy Scout Troop leader overseeing a troop of 44 boys. He was also involved with the Planning and Zoning Boards of Oakland. Following his return from combat duty, Bud became Mayor of Oakland in 1951 and organized the first Oakland Recreation Committee. He was also elected to the General Assembly of New Jersey in 1951 where he was Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the Highway Committee. Bud may have set a record when in one year he introduced 21 bills — all of which were enacted into law. In 1958 he was elected to the Board of Chosen Freeholders and became a member of the County Planning Board and Chairman of Public Works and became Director of the Board of Freeholders in 1964. Bud had been a protégé of Mayor Clifford MacEvoy who was mayor from 1936 to 1941. Mr. MacEvoy's wife was Bernice (neé Ryerson) and their daughter, Ryerson Vervaet (neé MacEvoy), was the author of The Valley of Homes. So the commitment of Vervaet and MacEvoy families to Oakland was as strong as that of the Ryerson family. Martin Ryerson served as Mayor in 1912–1913 and George Ryerson was one of the first settlers in 1695. Bud Vervaet’s continued allegiance to Oakland was again proven in 1954 when his niece, Connie Williams (Mrs. Monks) became one of the first members of the Oakland First Aid Squad. Connie’s parents, Mr. & Mrs. Herbert Williams were both very involved in Borough activities such as sports and the schools. Arthur Vervaet owned the Vervaet Woven Label Company at the corner of Franklin Ave and Rt. 202 across from the Van Allen House. He bought the building from Edward Page's family, who owned the Van Allen House and the Vygeberg Farm in 1921. Bud Vervaet always supported Oakland's heritage and we thank him for his service to his country, his state, his county, and his town. ——-- Read more about Bud at his FindAGrave Memorial Page. |
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The “Colony”
Did you know there was a summer colony where the same families came every summer to vacation? Read about The Colony of "West Oakland", as it was called, in the Oakland Journal...
For 350 years farmers have tended the fields, and enjoyed the natural resources of our rich community. From iron mines and a timber & charcoal industry to a Garden State throughout suburbia, Oakland has been a center for family living and working to survive, and survive well. Come see our farming and working tool collection from ages past, outdoors and inside. Learn about the agricultural power of the Stream House.
Learn how the Dutch settlers found out about local sources of iron-ore from the Lenapes back in the 1690's. After the British made the Dutch leave New Amsterdam (New York City), they continued to thrive up in Albany and throughout NY State. NY governor Pieter Schuyler's son Arendt became friendly with local native tribes, and convinced them to show him hematite sources in the Ramapo Mtns. from Pompton Plains up to Sloatsburg and beyond. Sloatsburg is dutch for "borough of furnace smoke-stacks." Pompton Lakes still has the remains of a colonial era stone iron ore furnace in the woods near the lake. A lot of Dutch settlers were very busy making charcoal, building forges and furnaces, and creating large quantities of pig iron starting at 1695. The women were busy tending the farms and young families. Want to learn more? Come visit us at the next open house.
For 350 years farmers have tended the fields, and enjoyed the natural resources of our rich community. From iron mines and a timber & charcoal industry to a Garden State throughout suburbia, Oakland has been a center for family living and working to survive, and survive well. Come see our farming and working tool collection from ages past, outdoors and inside. Learn about the agricultural power of the Stream House.
Learn how the Dutch settlers found out about local sources of iron-ore from the Lenapes back in the 1690's. After the British made the Dutch leave New Amsterdam (New York City), they continued to thrive up in Albany and throughout NY State. NY governor Pieter Schuyler's son Arendt became friendly with local native tribes, and convinced them to show him hematite sources in the Ramapo Mtns. from Pompton Plains up to Sloatsburg and beyond. Sloatsburg is dutch for "borough of furnace smoke-stacks." Pompton Lakes still has the remains of a colonial era stone iron ore furnace in the woods near the lake. A lot of Dutch settlers were very busy making charcoal, building forges and furnaces, and creating large quantities of pig iron starting at 1695. The women were busy tending the farms and young families. Want to learn more? Come visit us at the next open house.
The Doty Road Bridge Returns Home to Phoenixville, PA
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Crafted in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, the original Doty Road bridge was disassembled and replaced in the early 2000s. “The bridge was named after the Doty family, early settlers in Oakland Borough, Bergen County, N.J. The original bridge was 80 feet long and constructed in 1891 and spanned the Ramapo River in an area traditionally referred to as the ponds…”
But although the original bridge could not be used any more there is a happy outcome. Working with the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and archeologists and advisors, the bridge was transported back to its Phoenixville, PA birthplace where it was reinstalled in a town park. [Continue reading the article from the US Army Corps of Engineers.] Explore more images and information about the Doty Road bridge at the Library of Congress’ Historic American Building Survey Collection. |
Illustrating Oakland’s History
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Presented at right is a 1930s mural in Oakland's Public Library illustrating Arendt Schuyler and his Dutch Compatriots, Ryerson, Mandeville and others, meeting with local Lenni-Lenape Natives for the first time in Northern New Jersey.
Natives peoples knew where sources of iron ore could be found in the Ramapo Mountains. Used by the Lenape as a pigment for paints, the Lenape didn't fully understand the incredible value that the recent immigrants placed on the ore. The Dutch representatives offered the Lenape shell wampum for the right to mine and remove the ore — and thus began our history of mining towns in the Ramapos. Rich veins of ore stretched from the Ramapo Valley up into the mountains past Ringwood and beyond and a very lucrative industry sprung up. Generations of immigrants — including many Catholic Germans fleeing religious persecution at home — flocked into these rich mountains to extract its resources and raise their families in insular, remote mining company towns. The iron ore they extracted would be made into useful farm tools, plows, and cooking vessels as well as cannonballs, arms, and the “great chain” that stretched across the Hudson River blocking enemy ships from traveling north. Mining in Northern New Jersey has a rich history well worth exploring and historic furnaces are preserved at the Long Pond Ironworks State Park, a short drive over the mountain. (For more information, see The Years Between and other local history books.) |
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