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CHistory
History · Mountainside

Mountainside dates to 1895, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #394 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it

Most of Mountainside was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1957. Its Register listings are the Deacon Andrew Hetfield House and the Badgley House and Site. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1900.

1895founded
2on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mountainside’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mountainside began

When was Mountainside founded?

1895

Mountainside dates its founding to 1895 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 367 in 19002020 census: 7,020131 years

How historic is Mountainside?

C

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1897.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mountainside’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mountainside is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #394 of 468 in New Jersey. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mountainside’s overall grade.
Founding era1895, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19404.6% of homes (±3.2) · typical NJ town 14.7% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 2.8 per 10,000 residents · typical NJ town 3.7 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 33%
NewerOlder
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 16%

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 Mountainside’s 2.8 sits near the middle of its state (44% of New Jersey towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). Two sources give 1895.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Mountainside’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are 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 Mountainside change.Old housesHalf of Mountainside’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mountainside’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mountainside’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 viewBadgeleyHouseMountainsideNJ: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Mountainside on the map, 1888 to 1995

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

Mountainside on the 1888 USGS mapMountainside on the 1893 USGS mapMountainside on the 1905 USGS mapMountainside on the 1921 USGS mapMountainside on the 1955 USGS mapMountainside on the 1970 USGS mapMountainside on the 1981 USGS mapMountainside on the 1995 USGS map1888Plainfield 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 Mountainside.

The story

How Mountainside came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mountainside.

Read it all →

In 1958, part of Nike missile battery (NY-73) was installed, with the missile launchers themselves in Mountainside while the radar station was installed in Berkeley Heights. It remained in operation until 1963. Remnants of the control site are located adjacent to Governor Livingston High School, while the part of Watchung Reservation that was cleared in order to accommodate the missile launchers became the Watchung Stables.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Mountainside in 1897

Passages that mention Mountainside, cut from the printed page as they were published.

served upon them by residents of the northern end of the township, now known as Mountainside Borough. The reasons for such injunction are specifically named elsewhere under the proper heading, " The Borough of Mountainside." When the injunction was raised bonds were issued and ground was broken for…
History of Union County, New Jersey1897 · page 557Read the page →
Read the text

served upon them by residents of the northern end of the township, now known as Mountainside Borough. The reasons for such injunction are specifically named elsewhere under the proper heading, " The Borough of Mountainside." When the injunction was raised bonds were issued and ground was broken for the new sewer, in June, 1895, in front of the Union County Standard. The sewer farm is located about two miles from the village in the southern part of the township and cost ten thousand dollars.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Mountainside, 1888 to 1975

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1895
    FoundingMountainside is established
  4. 1897Post officeThe Mountainside post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1911Post officeThe Mountainside post office closes
  7. 1955Born hereDean Fasano is born here
  8. 1967Born hereLaurie Collyer is born here
  9. 1970Born hereJanet Truncale is born here
  10. 1971Born hereDale Torborg is born here
  11. 1975In the archiveBadgeleyHouseMountainsideNJ
By decade

Mountainside, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s2 items
BadgeleyHouseMountainsideNJc. 1975BadgeleyHouseMountainsideNJSomerset Service Station1978Somerset Service Station
1980s–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
Today10 recent
Watchung Reservation History Trail 2013-05-192013Watchung Reservation History Trail 2013-05-19Protesters at IRS2013Protesters at IRSMountainside New Jersey house jacked up2013Mountainside New Jersey house jacked upLake Surprise Boat Launch 2013-05-192013Lake Surprise Boat Launch 2013-05-19Lake Surprise 2013-05-192013Lake Surprise 2013-05-19Playground in Watchung park in Union County NJ2012Playground in Watchung park in Union County NJModel of park in Trailside Nature & Science Center in Watchung NJ2012Model of park in Trailside Nature & Science Center in…Deacon Andrew Hetfield House2011Deacon Andrew Hetfield HouseFamous Dave's interior2008Famous Dave's interiorMountainside nj 0392005Mountainside nj 039
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.

BadgeleyHouseMountainsideNJ
Retake this viewBadgeleyHouseMountainsideNJ, c. 1975

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Mountainside

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Badgley House and Site
Deacon Andrew Hetfield HouseBadgley House and Site
Buildings
Deacon Andrew Hetfield HouseBuilding
All 2 listings
Badgley House and SiteBuilding · listed 1976

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

People over time

Mountainside, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 7,520

Between 362 and 7,520 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

5 famous people were born in Mountainside

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

See all →
L
Laurie CollyerFilm director · b. 1967
D
Dale TorborgAmerican professional wrestler and baseball pla… · b. 1971
D
Dean FasanoAmerican musician · b. 1955
J
Janet TruncaleAmerican business executive · b. 1970
A
Alexandra EldridgePainter · b. 1948
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Mountainside had its own post office from 1897 to 1911.

Mountainside
1897–1911
18901960today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Berkeley Heights Township3 historic placesB+Westfield7 historic placesASummit5 historic placesA+

Questions about Mountainside’s history

What year was Mountainside founded?

In 1895, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mountainside’s post office opened in 1897, and the census of 1900 counted 367 people here.

How does Mountainside rank for history?

Mountainside is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #394 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 Mountainside?

Two places: the Deacon Andrew Hetfield House (listed 1989) and the Badgley House and Site (1976).

How old are the homes in Mountainside?

5% of Mountainside’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 15% for a New Jersey town; the median home was built in 1957.

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 (2), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.