Downtown Oakland What Happened to Oakland’s Downtown 9 Oct, 2014 in Features / OaklandNJ What Happened to Oakland’s Downtown? By Kevin Heffernan Downtown Oakland…..Well folks, I’m sad to say that this term is a bit of an oxymoron. No, I’m not poking fun at it and I’m not attempting to abuse the priceless memories of those who grew up here. So why is it an oxymoron and what happened to whatever we refer to as downtown Oakland? In 1872 the wilderness of a farming Oakland had a railroad, a railroad station and large house serving as a ticket agency and as the post office. Then realizing that local citizens needed stuff that the railroad…
-
-
The Roots and Origin of the Hansen House
July 3, 2018 The Roots and Origin of the Hansen House Oakland, New Jersey 1938 – 1973 The Portobello Banquet Facility as a Time Capsule Summary and Conclusion The core of the Hansen House is believed to originally be a farmhouse built at or before 1861 and greatly expanded by Mrs. Florence Vernam in the early 1890s. The Case for Its Origins as a Simple Farmhouse 1. The original foundation is crude stone rubble typically deployed by farmers building their own farmhouses. 2. There is evidence of late 19th Century masonry in the basement of Portobello’s Banquet facility indicating a significant expansion of the building during that period. 3. A…
-
The Early Years of the Oakland Volunteer Fire Department
13 Apr, 2016 in Features THE EARLY YEARS OF THE OAKLAND VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT By Kevin Heffernan Responding to the Ashes History records that in November, 1903 a major fire was discovered at the large barn of the Calder estate then located where the Coppertree Mall is currently situated and the need for a fire department in Oakland became apparent. Six years later on June 10, 1909 a informal meeting was held at Ivy Hall to create a volunteer fire department in Oakland. Ludo Wilkins, the owner of the Wilkins Brush Factory in Oakland, was appointed as the first fire chief. And he served six terms as chief until 1916. 1908 Oakland…
-
Vernam Spring – Kanouse Spring Water Co
Vernam Spring – Kanouse Spring Water Co. ….another business giving employment to more than a dozen people was the Knouse Water Supply and Bottling Co. In 1912 Andrew Spear (Drew) as he was often called, leased his sawmill property to the Kanouse Spring Water Co. The old sawmill which was located off present day Long Hill Road had originally been built before the Civil War era by Henry I. Spear, Andrew’s great grandfather. The mill which was located approximately a quarter mile below the natural spring, known then as the Remington Vernam Spring, was situated in such a way that the water would run by gravity down the grade and…
-
Oakland’s Stream House
The Vygeberg Farm Office Building (Oakland’s “Stream House”) A Brief History Built in 1902 as the office building for the dairy farm operations of Edward Day Page, a millionaire businessman whose Oakland estate at its height was variously described as either 600 or 700 acres in size. Page was a founding member of the Sons of the American Revolution. Three of his ancestors fought at Concord Bridge, and some two-dozen others served in the Revolution in state militias or in the Continental Army. Page served at various times as councilman and mayor (1909 – 1911) in Oakland, and was at the time of his death (Christmas Day, 1918) a member…
-
The Mystery and History of Rotten Pond
THE MYSTERY AND HISTORY OF ROTTEN POND (RAMAPO LAKE) by Ed Zindel Feb 2015 When I reflect on the impressive list of local angling opportunities that I enjoyed in my youth, the finest warm water fishery was undoubtedly in an impoundment known as Rotten Pond (Rottan? Pond); located on the Oakland – Wanaque border. Furthermore, due to the abundance of large fish in this lake, it was also the most exciting fishing resource that was accessible to me during those cherished years. From the time I overheard the first whispers about this mountaintop fishing hot spot, the origin of the name “Rotten Pond” (as it was referred to by locals) was…
-
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 downright 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 seemingly…
-
Known as The Colony
The Colony Fifty years from now, what will the children of Oakland be remembering about the time, the people, and the place. For Saul Weitz, Bob Blumenthal and George Cohen, fifty years have come and gone, and the memories remain. As Spencer Tracy might say, “I can tell you the memories are still there- clear, intact, indestructible, and they’ll be there if I live to be 110.” The trio are on a mission to find others who can recall the bygone days of Oakland, specifically to what was, and is, known as The Colony. For those unfamiliar with the term, The Colony refers to a development of housing on the…
-
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…
-
Sonya Hansen Huhn – Growing Up in the Hansen House
Sonya Hansen Huhn Recalls Her Life and Times Growing Up in the Hansen House with Her Parents Mom and the Men Who Came to Dinner Growing up in a boarding house/ vacation resort/ tourist home is different than growing up in a regular house or an apartment. We always had guests. In the summertime guests would fill all of the 27 rooms. Usually they’d stay a week at a time. When the summer ended my folks would welcome boarders. Some stayed a month…the ones I remember best stayed longer. There was this one man called, “Christiansen” he came for a weekend in the summer and stayed for two years. Story…
