} Ridgefield is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

in Bergen County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, United States. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, the borough's population was 11,032,DP-1 - Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 for Ridgefield borough, Bergen County, New Jersey
,

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

. Accessed March 13, 2013.Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2010 for Ridgefield borough
,

New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north ...

. Accessed March 13, 2013. reflecting an increase of 202 (+1.9%) from the 10,830 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 834 (+8.3%) from the 9,996 counted in the 1990 Census. Ridgefield was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on May 26, 1892, from portions of Ridgefield Township.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 84. Accessed October 23, 2012. The borough was named for the area's terrain.

History

At the time of European colonization, the area was home to the

Hackensack tribe Hackensack was the exonym given by the Dutch colonists to a band of the Lenape, or ''Lenni-Lenape'' ("original men"), a Native American tribe. The name is a Dutch derivation of the Lenape word for what is now the region of northeastern New Je ...

of the

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

Native Americans, who maintained a large settlement to the north on Overpeck Creek. Their name is an

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group ...

taken from the territory and is translated as ''place of stony ground'' Wright, Kevin G
"The Indigenous Population of Bergen County"
Bergen County Historical Society. Accessed January 5, 2012. which describes the diminishing Hudson Palisades as they descend into the Meadowlands becoming the ''ridgefield'' that is part of

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the subur ...

flood plain. In 1642, Myndert Myndertsen received a patroonship as part of the

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva ...

colony for much the land in the Hackensack and

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69, ...

valleys. He called his settlement Achter Kol, or ''rear mountain pass'', which refers to its accessibility to the interior behind the Palisades. Originally spared in the conflicts that begin with the Pavonia Massacre, the nascent colony was later abandoned. In 1655, Oratam, sachem of the Hackensack, deeded a large tract nearby to Sara Kiersted, who had learned the native language and was instrumental in negotiations between Native Americans and the settlers. In 1668, much of the land between Overpeck Creek and the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between Ne ...

was purchased by Samuel Edsall, and soon became known as the English Neighborhood, despite the fact most of the settlers were of Dutch and

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

origin.

NJT x Hackensack R fr Bergen Bv Park Av Ridgefield jeh

The opening of the West Shore Railroad and Erie Railroad's Northern Branch in the mid 19th century brought suburbanization to the region, and in Ridgefield, significant industry and manufacturing.Home Page
Northern Branch Corridor Project. Accessed June 16, 2016. Grantwood was an artist's colony established in 1913 by

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, although his t ...

, Alfred Kreymborg and Samuel Halpert and became known as the "Others" group of artists. The colony consisted of a number of clapboard shacks on a bluff. To this day the names of the streets in this part of the town—Sketch Place, Studio Road and Art Lane—pay homage to Grantwood's history. Kreymborg moved to Ridgefield and launched '' Others: A Magazine of the New Verse'' with Skipwith Cannell,

Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879 – August 2, 1955) was an American modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as an executive for an insurance compa ...

, and William Carlos Williams in 1915.Stavitsky, Gail
"Afterword: Artists and Art Colonies of Ridgefield, New Jersey"
Traditional Fine Arts Organization. Accessed January 5, 2012. The initial of the

New Jersey Turnpike The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although maintained by NJTA, is not cons ...

were completed in 1952, with the original northern terminus at an interchange connecting to Route 46 in Ridgefield. An additional four-mile stretch of road connecting the Turnpike from Ridgefield to

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one ...

in Teaneck and from there to the George Washington Bridge was completed in 1964. The western spur was added in the 1970s, with its two spurs re-connecting in the western side of the borough. In the 1970s, the area came under the auspices of the

Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC; formerly the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission) was a regional zoning, planning and regulatory agency in northern New Jersey. Its founding mandates were to protect the delicate balance of n ...

, meant to set parameters and balance development in the ecologically sensitive region. Some parts of the low-lying areas, including Skeetkill Creek Marsh, have been set apart as

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

s and extension of system that connects to the Overpeck Reserve and Overpeck County Park.

Geography

St Vartantz Armenian Apostolic Ch Ridgefield jeh

According to the

, the borough had a total area of 2.87 square miles (7.43 km²), including 2.54 square miles (6.59 km²) of land and 0.33 square miles (0.85 km²) of water (11.39%). The borough shares borders with Carlstadt, Cliffside Park, Fairview, Fort Lee, Little Ferry, Palisades Park, Ridgefield Park and South Hackensack in Bergen County; and

North Bergen North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by ...

in Hudson County. The borough is informally divided into three sections based on the geographical contour of the land. The first section is known as Ridgefield, and lies partly in the valley on both the east and west sides and partly on the first hill. The second section is known as Morsemere, and is located in the northern part of the borough. The third section is Ridgefield Heights, on the second hill at the extreme eastern part of the borough, running north and south. Undercliff Junction is an unincorporated community located within Ridgefield.. Morsemere, which includes the southernmost part of Palisade Park, was named by a real estate development company in honor of Samuel F. B. Morse, inventor of the

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

and

Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one ...

. During the middle of the 19th century, Morse owned vast tracts of land in the borough. Ridgefield's telephone exchange was Morsemere 6 until dial service arrived in the mid-1950s. Grantwood straddles Cliffside Park.

Demographics

2010 Census

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars)

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways ...

was $59,784 (with a margin of error of +/− $12,149) and the median family income was $76,618 (+/− $5,428). Males had a median income of $51,682 (+/− $4,297) versus $39,178 (+/− $5,838) for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the borough was $28,107 (+/− $2,625). About 3.7% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

2000 Census

As of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 c ...

there were 10,830 people, 4,020 households, and 2,966 families residing in the borough. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 4,149.8 people per square mile (1,602.1/km²). There were 4,120 housing units at an average density of 1,578.7 per square mile (609.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 75.87%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.77%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.08% Native American, 17.42% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 3.50% from other races, and 2.32% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 13.80% of the population.Census 2000 Profiles of Demographic / Social / Economic / Housing Characteristics for Ridgefield borough, New Jersey
,

. Accessed March 13, 2013.DP-1: Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 - Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data for Ridgefield borough, Bergen County, New Jersey
,

. Accessed March 13, 2013. As of the 2000 Census, 16.31% of Ridgefield's residents identified themselves as being of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

n ancestry, which was the sixth highest in the United States and fourth highest of any municipality in New Jersey—behind Palisades Park (36.38%), Leonia (17.24%) and Fort Lee (17.18%)—for all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry. In the same census, 3.0% of Ridgefield's residents identified themselves as being of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

n ancestry. This was the third highest percentage of people with Croatian ancestry in any place in New Jersey with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry. 2.4% of Ridgefield's residents identified themselves as being of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

n ancestry, the 16th highest percentage of Armenian people in any place in the United States with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry. As of the 2000 Census, 1.3% of residents identified themselves as being of Turkish American ancestry, the seventh-highest of any municipality in the United States and fifth-highest in the state. There were 4,020 households, out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.19. In the borough, the population was spread out, with 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $54,081, and the median income for a family was $66,330. Males had a median income of $47,975 versus $36,676 for females. The

for the borough was $25,558. About 4.7% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the

, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Ridgefield is governed under the

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities (of the 564) statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey. The governing body is comprised of a Mayor and a Borough Council, with all positions elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council is comprised of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle.''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'',

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, March 2013, p. 160. The Borough form of government used by Ridgefield is a "

weak mayor Weak may refer to: Songs * "Weak" (AJR song), 2016 * "Weak" (Melanie C song), 2011 * "Weak" (SWV song), 1993 * "Weak" (Skunk Anansie song), 1995 * "Weak", a song by Seether from '' Seether: 2002-2013'' Television episodes * "Weak" (''Fear t ...

/ strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council. , the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Ridgefield Borough is Democrat Anthony R. Suarez, whose term of office ends on December 31, 2023. Members of the Ridgefield Borough Council are Council President Russell A. Castelli (D, 2023), Craig Dorsett (D, 2024), Hugo Jimenez (D, 2022), James V. Kontolios (D, 2022), Lauren Larkin (D, 2023) and Ray Penabad (D, 2024).Meet Our Mayor and Council
Ridgefield, New Jersey. Accessed July 20, 2022. "The Mayor is elected to a four-year term and is eligible for re-election.... The Council consists of six members. Two are elected at large each year for three-year terms."''2022 County and Municipal Directory''
Bergen County, New Jersey, March 2022. Accessed July 1, 2022.Bergen County Statement of Vote November 2, 2021 Official results
Bergen County, New Jersey, updated November 17, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.Precinct Summary Results Report - Combined 2020 Bergen County General Election - November 3, 2020 Official Results
Bergen County, New Jersey, December 3, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.Bergen County November 5, 2019 General Election Statement of Vote
Bergen County, New Jersey Clerk, updated December 10, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020. In June 2018, the Borough Council selected Lauren Larkin from a list of three candidates to fill the seat expiring in December 2020 that became vacant following the resignation of Javier Acosta. Larkin served on an interim basis until the November 2018 general election, when she was elected to serve the balance of the term of office.Bergen County November 6, 2018 General Election Statement of Vote
Bergen County, New Jersey Clerk, updated February 11, 2019. Accessed September 26, 2019. In July 2009, Mayor Suarez was one of 44 people arrested across the state as part of Operation Bid Rig, a joint investigation into political corruption and

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdicti ...

. Suarez was charged with accepting a $10,000 cash bribe for assistance in arranging approvals to develop properties in Ridgefield. In a special election in August 2010, Suarez narrowly survive a recall effort and was acquitted on all charges in October 2010.

Federal, state and county representation

Ridgefield is located in the 9th Congressional DistrictPlan Components Report
New Jersey Redistricting Commission, December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020. and is part of New Jersey's 36th state legislative district.Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District
New Jersey Department of State. Accessed February 1, 2020.''2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
New Jersey League of Women Voters. Accessed October 30, 2019. Prior to the 2011 reapportionment following the 2010 Census, Ridgefield had been in the 38th state legislative district.''2011 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''
, p. 63, New Jersey League of Women Voters. Accessed May 22, 2015.

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 5,467 registered voters in Ridgefield, of which 1,810 (33.1% vs. 31.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 1,098 (20.1% vs. 21.1%) were registered as Republicans and 2,558 (46.8% vs. 47.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There was one voter registered to another party.Voter Registration Summary - Bergen
New Jersey Department of State Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed December 15, 2013. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 49.6% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 63.2% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide). In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

received 2,320 votes here (58.3% vs. 54.8% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 1,570 votes (39.4% vs. 43.5%) and other candidates with 42 votes (1.1% vs. 0.9%), among the 3,980 ballots cast by the borough's 5,848 registered voters, for a turnout of 68.1% (vs. 70.4% in Bergen County). In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 2,319 votes here (53.0% vs. 53.9% countywide), ahead of Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

with 1,960 votes (44.8% vs. 44.5%) and other candidates with 40 votes (0.9% vs. 0.8%), among the 4,372 ballots cast by the borough's 5,853 registered voters, for a turnout of 74.7% (vs. 76.8% in Bergen County).2008 General Election Results for Ridgefield
''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * ''The Record'' (album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Records, an English power pop band * '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record'', a 2001 greatest-hits album by the pop-music group Bee G ...

''. Accessed January 5, 2012. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

received 2,172 votes here (51.0% vs. 51.7% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 2,038 votes (47.8% vs. 47.2%) and other candidates with 23 votes (0.5% vs. 0.7%), among the 4,262 ballots cast by the borough's 5,845 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.9% (vs. 76.9% in the whole county). In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 56.8% of the vote (1,410 cast), ahead of Democrat

Barbara Buono Barbara A. Buono (born July 28, 1953) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014, where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate, succ ...

with 41.9% (1,040 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (33 votes), among the 2,625 ballots cast by the borough's 5,586 registered voters (142 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 47.0%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Democrat Jon Corzine received 1,390 ballots cast (48.0% vs. 48.0% countywide), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 1,281 votes (44.2% vs. 45.8%), Independent Chris Daggett with 135 votes (4.7% vs. 4.7%) and other candidates with 18 votes (0.6% vs. 0.5%), among the 2,898 ballots cast by the borough's 5,658 registered voters, yielding a 51.2% turnout (vs. 50.0% in the county).

Education

The Ridgefield School District serves public school students in

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

. As of the 2018–2019 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 1,480 students and 158.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 9.3:1.District information for Ridgefield School District

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district financ ...

. Accessed April 1, 2020. Schools in the district (with 2018–2019 enrollment from the

) are Shaler Academy and Bergen Boulevard School with 191 students in grades Pre-K/K and 196 students in grades 1–2, Slocum-Skewes School with 771 students in grades 3–8 and

Ridgefield Memorial High School Ridgefield Memorial High School is a comprehensive community four-year public high school located in Ridgefield, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of ...

with 514 students in grades 9–12. Public school students from the borough, and all of Bergen County, are eligible to attend the secondary education programs offered by the Bergen County Technical Schools, which include the

Bergen County Academies Bergen County Academies (BCA) is a tuition-free public magnet high school located in Hackensack, New Jersey that serves students in the ninth through twelfth grades from Bergen County, New Jersey. The school was founded by John Grieco, also fou ...

in Hackensack, and the Bergen Tech campus in Teterboro or Paramus. The district offers programs on a shared-time or full-time basis, with admission based on a selective application process and tuition covered by the student's home school district.

Transportation

Roads and highways

, the borough had a total of of roadways, of which were maintained by the municipality, by Bergen Countyand by the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...

and by the

New Jersey Turnpike Authority The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) is a state agency responsible for maintaining the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, which are two toll roads in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The agency is headquartered in Woodbridge T ...

. The

( Interstate 95) passes through Ridgefield. The Turnpike's Vince Lombardi service area is located between Interchanges 18E/18W and the George Washington Bridge at mileposts 116E on the Eastern Spur and 115.5W on the Western Spur. U.S. Route 1/9, U.S. Route 46, Route 63, Route 93 and Route 5 also pass through Ridgefield.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides bus service to and from the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 bus ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildi ...

on the 127,

154 Year 154 ( CLIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Lateranus (or, less frequently, year 907 ''Ab urbe cond ...

, 165,

166 Year 166 ( CLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pudens and Pollio (or, less frequently, year 919 ''Ab urbe condita' ...

168 Year 168 ( CLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Paullus (or, less frequently, year 921 ''Ab urbe co ...

and the

321 Year 321 ( CCCXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Crispus and Constantinus (or, less frequently, year 1074 ' ...

(an 18-minute ride from the Vince Lombardi Park & Ride) routes and to Jersey City on the 83 route. Original plans for the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail included a northern terminus at

Vince Lombardi Park & Ride The Vince Lombardi Park & Ride is located on the New Jersey Turnpike in the New Jersey Meadowlands, Meadowlands in Ridgefield, New Jersey, Ridgefield, Bergen County, New Jersey. The park and ride and separate Rest area, service area to south of it ...

. Plans for an extension through the town called the Northern Branch Corridor Project call for a station in the borough along the Northern Branch right-of-way at Hendricks Parkway. The station at the park and ride is being studied as part of the

Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project The Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project is a project under study by NJ Transit to reintroduce passenger service on a portion of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW) right-of-way (ROW) in Passaic, Bergen and Hudson counties ...

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Ridgefield include: * Tim Bogert (born 1944), bass guitarist and vocalist * Marlene Caride (born 1963), politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2012 to 2018, where she represented the 36th Legislative District *

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

(1887–1968), French artist * Ronald Enroth (born 1938), Professor of Sociology at Westmont College * Gilbert Gaul (1855–1919), painter and illustrator of military subjects ranging from the American Civil War to World War I, as well as American Western vistas and scenes * Samuel Halpert (1884–1930), painter * Thomas H. Herring (1812–1874), President of the New Jersey Senate in 1859 as well as the President of the Northern Railroad starting in 1859 * David Schenk Jacobus (1862–1955), mechanical engineer who served as president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in the year 1916–1917 * Frederick Krafft (1860–1933),

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

political activist and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

, who was convicted in 1918 for a violation of the Espionage Act and was the only person convicted under this law to receive a full executive pardon from

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

* Alfred Kreymborg (1883–1966), poet and novelist *

Joseph Lagana Joseph A. Lagana (born December 15, 1978) is an American Democratic Party politician who has represented the 38th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate since 2018. He served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2014 to 2018. Persona ...

(born 1978), politician who has represented the 38th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since January 2014 *

Chris Lema Christopher Lema (born August 5, 1996) is an American association football, soccer player who most recently played as a Midfielder (association football), midfielder for USL Championship side San Antonio FC. Career Youth Lema grew up in Ridgefi ...

(born 1995),

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for New York Red Bulls II in the United Soccer League *

(1890–1976), one of the most important painters and photographers of the Surrealist and Dada movements, had a house in an artists' colony that once existed in Ridgefield * Judd Sergeant, contestant on the eleventh season of '' Survivor'' * Bob Schroder (born 1944), MLB infielder who played for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

Alexander Shaler Alexander Shaler (March 19, 1827 – December 28, 1911) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He received the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Second Battle of Fredericksburg. Af ...

(1827–1911),

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

general in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

who later served as Mayor of Ridgefield, New Jersey * Gregor Weiss (born 1941),

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

who represented the United States at the 1964 Summer Olympics, placing 7th in the team event * Henry Wessel Jr. (1942–2018), photographer and educator * William Carlos Williams (1883–1963), poet

In popular culture

* Ridgefield is the setting for the 1998 Adam Sandler film (and subsequent 2006 musical) ''

The Wedding Singer ''The Wedding Singer'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Christine Taylor, and tell ...

''.Nash, Margo
"Theater; To Recreate Ridgefield, It's All in the Local Detail"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', April 16, 2006. Accessed September 26, 2018. "IT may not have A. W. Meyer Hardware sitting on Broad Avenue or that tricky traffic circle, but Ridgefield, 1985, is being recreated on Broadway in ''The Wedding Singer,'' based on the Adam Sandler movie about a local rocker who has a day job as a wedding singer."

References

Sources

* ''Municipal Incorporations of the State of New Jersey (according to Counties)'' prepared by the Division of Local Government, Department of the Treasury (New Jersey); December 1, 1958. * Clayton, W. Woodford; and Nelson, William
''History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men.''
Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1882. * Harvey, Cornelius Burnham (ed.)
''Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey.''
New York: New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Co., 1900. * Van Valen, James M
''History of Bergen County, New Jersey.''
New York: New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Co., 1900. * Westervelt, Frances A. (Frances Augusta), 1858–1942
''History of Bergen County, New Jersey, 1630–1923''
Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1923.

External links

Ridgefield Borough official website

Ridgefield School District
*
School Data for the Ridgefield School District

{{authority control 1892 establishments in New Jersey Borough form of New Jersey government Boroughs in Bergen County, New Jersey New Jersey Meadowlands District Populated places established in 1892