The Tower on Top of Skyline Drive On the top of Skyline Drive there is a massive stone tower which seemingly is lording over Oakland below as a sentinel of the valley. Everyone has seen it and many have strolled by it going to Ramapo Lake. However, virtually no one knows who built it when and why, what it is, how it got there and where did it come from. Read on now you will know. But first I’ll offer a brain teaser clue….Oakland owes the existence of our beloved tower to a thirsty Newark some 30 miles to our South. OK, I’ll connect the dots. The story of the…
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The Tainted History of a Summer Pleasure Land
The Tainted History of a Summer Pleasure Land: Posted on February 27, 2013 by Gregg Griffin No one today would consider the northwestern corner of Bergen County to be a resort paradise, but for the first half of the 20th century that’s exactly what it was. In researching the history of the Ramapo River I happened upon several sources describing Oakland as a summer resort town. From the early 1900’s through the 1960’s Oakland was home to a number of resorts located on the banks of the Ramapo River. The quiet town of Oakland would almost quadruple in size during the summer months to accommodate all of the incoming tourists from the urban centers…
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The Last Outhouse
The Unfairest Oakland Tax of All What you are about to read is true and factual as improbable as it may seem. And it’s even official as codified into law. Said another way, you can’t make this stuff up. On occasion some laws pasted by our elected officials seem just down right silly particularly when viewed in a distant retrospect. Thoughts come to mind like ‘What were they thinking?’. Or, they just couldn’t be serious! But when it comes to taxes in general or a particular tax on a particular item held or used by only a portion of the population, one knows that they were serious even though we…
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Oakland Powder Mills Explosion, Sept 1901
Oakland, NJ powder mills explosion, Sept 1901 Submitted by Tim Taugher New Jersey | Explosions | 1901 EXPLOSION IN POWDER MILLS KILLED FIVE Three Houses at the Oakland (N. J.) Works Were Blown Up. Many Were Injured-Badly, and the Families in the Village Were Panic-stricken – Boiler First Exploded. OAKLAND, N. J., Sept. 12. – Three explosions occurred at tht works of the american E. C. and Schultze Powder Company at this place at 1:30 this afternoon. Five persons were killed, two probably fatally injured, and many others badly hurt. The first explosion was the blowing up of a boiler, which caused the two others. Smokeless powder is manufactured at the works,…
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ROTTEN POND (RAMAPO LAKE) DAM
Ramapo Lake Dam Ed Zindel 17 hrs ARTHUR G. PULIS AND THE ROTTEN POND (RAMAPO LAKE) DAM On October 10, 1927 Mr. Arthur G. Pulis, owner of Oakland Beach and Oakland Grove, penned a letter to the New Jersey Division of Water expressing his “anxiety” over the safety of the Rotten Pond Dam. Included were concerns for his downstream cabins and their inhabitants as well as “the increasing number of new bungalows placed on both sides of the Ramapo”. Just two weeks later, on October 24, 1927, a state engineer performed a safety inspection on the Dam and promptly responded with a letter ensuring Mr. Pulis of its safe condition.…
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History of Route 208
Detailed History of Rt. 208 The highway was redesignated NJ 208 when work began in 1952 at the southern terminus with NJ 4. The route, which was completed northwest to US 202 in 1960, was originally constructed as a two-lane undivided highway (one lane in each direction). The state purchased additional right-of-way for a second carriageway, and bridges were built to accommodate additional lanes. The second two-lane carriageway was built during the late 1960’s, bringing NJ 208 up to four-lane divided arterial standards. In 1993, the NJDOT realigned the northern terminus of NJ 208 in Franklin Lakes to coincide with the completion of the long-delayed I-287. New exits also were…
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IF YOU’RE THINKING OF LIVING IN; OAKLAND
Real Estate New York Times – 1985 IF YOU’RE THINKING OF LIVING IN IF YOU’RE THINKING OF LIVING IN; OAKLAND By RACHELLE DePALMA Published: December 8, 1985 NESTLED along the banks of the Ramapo River with the profile of the Ramapo Mountains etched sharply against the sky, the Borough of Oakland stands as a rustic outpost in the northwestern corner of New Jersey. This Bergen County community owes to the sparsely populated mountains a mix of light, contour and color that visitors have called breathtaking for more than 300 years. Its nine square miles are dotted with lakes, ponds and streams that flow near restored farmhouses, frame bungalows and modern…
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24th Anniversary of the Pleasureland Massacre
Aug 4, 2009 24th Anniversary of the Pleasureland Massacre Remembering the “Oakland Massacre”August 4, 1985: The Day the Pleasure Died in Oakland, NJ They sit nestled in the woods of the small northwestern Bergen County town of Oakland, slowly being reclaimed by nature like some ancient Mayan ruins being swallowed up by the jungles of the Yucatan. They are reminders of summer days long gone by. Their turquoise blue paint chips and falls away like Puff’s dragon scales, fading into the past a little further with each passing year. Ladders descend, no longer into cool shimmering water, but into a fetid, stagnant soup of algae and discarded picnic tables. Rusted…
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History of the Railroad in Oakland
History of the Railroad in Oakland Source: The History of Bergen County, James Van Valen, 1900, p. 185-6
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History of the Van Slyke Castle
Oakland, NJ Hike into History Take a hike. Depending on your tone of voice it can be good advice or a condescending suggestion. In this case it is very good advice because Oakland offers its residents a great opportunity to enjoy outdoor exercise, take in some beautiful scenery, and wander down wooded paths that lead you through local, regional and world history. The hike detailed here starts just off Skyline Drive and is approximately five miles, start to finish. It will take you up through the Ramapo Hills to great vistas where you can visit the ruins of what has been called “The Oakland Castle”, “The Van Slyke Castle” or “Foxcroft”.…
