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AHistory
History · Glen Ridge

Glen Ridge’s post office opened in 1883, and 81% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #51 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 1,880 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1900.

1883first post office
2on the National Register
81%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
36famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Glen Ridge’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Glen Ridge began

When was Glen Ridge founded?

1883

The Glen Ridge post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,960 in 19002020 census: 7,802143 years

How historic is Glen Ridge?

A

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Glen Ridge post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Glen Ridge’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Glen Ridge is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #51 of 468 in New Jersey. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Glen Ridge’s overall grade.
Founding era1883, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194081.1% of homes (±5.4) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register2 listings, 1,881 historic buildings, 2,368 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 92%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 89%

New Jersey towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Jersey town has 3.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Glen Ridge’s 2,368 sits above most of its state (100% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 1,881 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Glen Ridge’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Glen Ridge Historic District takes in 1,880 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18888 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Glen Ridge change.Old housesHalf of Glen Ridge’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 1,881 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1,881
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Glen Ridge Historic District
Glen Ridge Historic District
Districts
All 1 listings
Glen Ridge Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Glen Ridge’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Glen Ridge’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view54280.BB#001--Proposed siding to serve …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Glen Ridge on the map, 1888 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Glen Ridge. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Glen Ridge on the 1888 USGS mapGlen Ridge on the 1892 USGS mapGlen Ridge on the 1900 USGS mapGlen Ridge on the 1947 USGS mapGlen Ridge on the 1955 USGS mapGlen Ridge on the 1970 USGS mapGlen Ridge on the 1981 USGS mapGlen Ridge on the 1995 USGS map1888Paterson sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Glen Ridge.

The story

How Glen Ridge came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Glen Ridge.

Read it all →

In 1666, 64 Connecticut families led by Robert Treat bought land from the Lenni Lenape Native Americans and named it New Ark to reflect a covenant to worship freely without persecution. The territory included the future municipalities of Bloomfield, Montclair, Belleville and Nutley. When Bloomfield was established in 1812, Glen Ridge was a section "on the hill" composed mostly of farms and woodlands with the exception of a thriving industrial area along Toney's Brook in the glen. For most of the nineteenth century, three water-powered mills produced lumber, calico, pasteboard boxes and brass fittings. A copper mine and a sandstone quarry were located on the north side of the brook.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Glen Ridge, 1883 to 1990

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Glen Ridge post office opens
  3. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1913In the archive54280.BB#001--Proposed siding to serve the Bergen Corporation--Glen Ridge, NJ [1913.09.07]
  6. 1952Born hereHenry Selick is born here
  7. 1954Born hereCindy Sherman is born here
  8. 1963Born hereJon Brion is born here
  9. 1990Born hereKacy Catanzaro is born here
By decade

Glen Ridge, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
54280.BB#001--Proposed siding to serve the Bergen Corporation--Glen Ridge, NJ [1913.09.07]191354280.BB#001--Proposed siding to serve the Bergen Cor…
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today11 recent
Martin Baldwin House2020Martin Baldwin HouseGRborohall2013GRborohallFreeman Parkway, Toney's Brook, and Montclair-Boonton Line2013Freeman Parkway, Toney's Brook, and Montclair-Boonton…Linden Sch Glen Ridge NJ 1911 jeh2011Linden Sch Glen Ridge NJ 1911 jehToneys Brook gazebo Glen Ridge jeh2010Toneys Brook gazebo Glen Ridge jehLolly lady Glen Ridge jeh2010Lolly lady Glen Ridge jehGlen Ridge PO jeh2010Glen Ridge PO jehGlen Ridge Boro Hall jeh2010Glen Ridge Boro Hall jehCarlBergmanson2009CarlBergmansonGlen Ridge School2008Glen Ridge SchoolGlen ridge nj 0132005Glen ridge nj 013
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

54280.BB#001--Proposed siding to serve the Bergen Corporation--Glen Ridge, NJ [1913.09.07]
Retake this view54280.BB#001--Proposed siding to serve the Bergen Corporation--Glen Ridge, NJ [1913.09.07], 1913

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Glen Ridge’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Glen Ridge, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 8,518

Between 1,960 and 8,518 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Glen Ridge’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

36 famous people were born in Glen Ridge

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Cindy ShermanAmerican photographer · b. 1954
Henry SelickAmerican filmmaker · b. 1952
Jon BrionAmerican musician · b. 1963
Kacy CatanzaroAmerican gymnast, wrestler, and American Ninja … · b. 1990
Tommy PageAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1970
Duncan SheikAmerican singer-songwriter and composer · b. 1969
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Bloomfield Township5 historic placesA+Montclair Township54 historic placesAWatsessing2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrookdaleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Glen Ridge’s history

What year was Glen Ridge founded?

The Glen Ridge post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Glen Ridge rank for history?

Glen Ridge is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #51 of 468 in New Jersey. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Glen Ridge?

2 listings: 1 historic district, the Glen Ridge Historic District, with 1,880 contributing buildings. 1,881 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Glen Ridge?

81% of Glen Ridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1938.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.