Historical Parks & zoos
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Fort Lee Historic Park
The Fort Lee Museum is an historic museum in Fort Lee. It is located on Palisade Avenue inside with Monument Park. This museum was established on April 1999, operated by the Fort Lee Historical Society. This building was going to be demolished in the year 1989 but residents prevented it and the borough bought it.
The museum includes history of Fort Lee, a picture of American’s first motion picture which was the George Washington Bridge and Palisades Amusement Park. The Monument Park where the building is located, is very important to history, it is where General George Washington stationed his army, that consisted of 2,600 troops. Monument Park is one of the two parks in the US dedicated to soldiers in the American Revolution, the second park is the Continental Park in Brooklyn.
Address: 1588 Palisade Avenue
Open Hours: Saturday & Sunday 12:00pm-4:00pm
Phone: (201)-592-3580
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Washington Spring Garden/Bergen County Zoo at Van Saun County Park
Washington Spring, located in Van Saun County Park, is associated with General George Washington and the movement of his Continental Army through Bergen County during the Revolutionary War.The park’s land was part of 300 acres owned by Albert Zabriskie in 1686. In 1695, he sold 224 acres to Jacob Van Saun of New York City. The zoo opened in 1960. Its railroad, the Van Saun Park Railroad, was first built in 1963.The carousel was built in 2000, when the park built a new train station, a new entrance, and a discovery center for animals.
The Baylor Massacre Burial
Address: 216 Forest Ave, Paramus, NJ 07652
Hours: Monday-Sunday: 10am-4pm
Contact: 201-336-7267
Van Saun Park: 201-262-3771
Website: https://www.co.bergen.nj.us/parks-recreation-areas/washington-spring
Review: https://www.yelp.com/biz/van-saun-county-park-paramus
This park is owned by the county. This park was the site of the Baylor Massacre, which was a surprise attack on the 3rd Continental Light Dragoons by the British soldiers. The Baylor Massacre is located along the Hackensack River in River Vale in the upper part of Bergen County, NJ.
In the year 1778, after a dispute between the British forces and the Light Dragoons, many soldiers died, others were injured but eventually died the next day. The following day, the Bergen County Militia were dispatched into River Vale just to see if there were any survivors. The found six dead patriots and were scared of the British troops having to come back, they immediately buried them by the river.
This burial location was passed on for many generations. In the year 1967, a resident did not let a new housing development destroy the historical burial site, research was done by the County and the found six set of remains, since that day the County kept the site and dedicated it as a County Park.
The "Rock"
Address: 486 Rivervale Drive, River Vale, NJ, 07675
Open Hours: Daytime only
Phone: (201)-336-7267
Website: https://www.visitnj.org/nj-historic-sites-memorials/baylor-massacre-burial-site
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The town of Glen Rock, NJ gets it name from the "Rock". It's not just any ordinary rock, it has a rich history that's part of the history of Bergen County itself. It settled around a large boulder in a small valley (glen) from which it gets it name. It weighs 570 short tons and it's believed that it has been carried to the site by a glacier that picked up a rock 15,000 years ago near New York and carried it to its present location: This is an interesting part of Bergen County’s early Native American history and is located right off the downtown area of the town on Rock Road.
Address: Glen Rock, NJ 07452
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The Easton Tower
The Easton Tower is a beautiful and unique historic site in Bergen County. The stone was built in 1900, it is surrounded by very busy New Jersey roads. It was first used to pump water. The stone is a 20-foot rectangular tower topped with a wood-frame roof. It was designed by architect Henry Ihnen. Edward D. Easton acquired this property in 1899, he had a large house built in the site and wanted the tower to be built near his house.
This tower has been the favorite of many photographers and has been used for post cards. During the winter it is beautiful, people pass by just to see how amazing it looks, to take boat rides, ice skating around the tower. The site has been used to record silent films.
Gallery Bergen-West Hall
The Gallery Bergen is an artwork exhibit created by the students and faculty that attend Bergen Community College. Here you would find art that engages a diverse audience and explore many different opportunities to exhibit artwork. This is also used as a learning and teaching resources for the students, artists, faculty and community. They have very interesting pieces to see when showcasing final projects and student work from the art students.
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Address: Route 4 & Saddle River Road, Paramus, NJ, 07652
Open Hours: Open to Dusk
Website: https://www.visitnj.org/nj-historic-sites-memorials/easton-tower
Gethsemane Cemetery
Address: 400 Paramus Road, Paramus, NJ 07652
Phone: (201) 447-7100
Open: Monday-Friday 11:00am-5:00pm/Closed on Saturday and
The name Gethsemane originates from a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where Jesus and his disciples prayed the night before Jesus’ crucifixion. This cemetery was opened in 1860 as a burial ground for the nearby African-American residents. There are over 500 people buried in less than an acre of land. In 1985 Bergen County took over the maintain of the cemetery and dedicated it as a County Historic Site.
Address: Between Summit Place & Liberty Street (with entrance on Summit Place North of Route 46) Little Ferry, NJ 07643
Phone: (201) 336-7267
Hours: Secured historic site: Open by appointment only
Old Paramus Reformed Church
Old Paramus Reformed Church has a rich past. The congregation was formed in the year 1725. During the American Revolution, the Paramus Church was the site of a Continental Army military post for four years during which clashes between American and British forces took place. Washington had his headquarters here at the church a total of ten times during various days from 1778-1780. They have the decorated organ pipes in the rear of the chancel (choir loft) behind the pulpit date back to 1892.
Historic New Bridge Landing
New Bridge was a flourishing mill hamlet based on a strategically located bridge at the Hackensack River’s narrows. The location of a crucial bridge spanning the Hackensack River during the American Revolution, where General George Washington led his men in retreat from British forces. New Bridge Landing was the upper Hackensack Valley business center shopping mall of its day.
The Hermitage: A National Historic Landmark
This museum is a fourteen-room Gothic Revival built in 1847. Due to its excellence of architecture, it was designated as a National Historic Landmark. In the museum, they have acquired many preserves and conserves objects from 1750 through the 20th century. Most of the house’s furnishings reflect the late Victorian lifestyle of the Rosencrantz family.
Address: 660 E Glen Ave, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Phone: (201) 444-5933
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Address: 1201-1209 Main Street, River Edge, NJ 07661
Phone: (201) 343-9492
Address: 335 North Franklin Turnpike, Ho Ho Kus, NJ 07423
Phone: (201) 445-8311
Hours: Wednesday-Sunday 1:00pm-4:00pm/Grounds from
Hackensack Water Works
The New Milford Plant of the Hackensack Water Company opened on Van Buskirk Island in 1882. The red brick site contains building clusters of cantilevered roof lines, Victorian oval windows, gables, and a square monitor tower. The facility supplied Bergen County with clean drinking water. Ideas and proposals for what to do with the island and the houses have been discussed and contested for almost two decades.
Clinton Ave Reformed Church
The Clinton Avenue Reformed Church, known as The Friendly Church, had its beginning in the home of Mr. & Mrs. Rudolph Illig, on September 30, 1923. Services were conducted by Rev. F. K. Shields, Sr., Bergen County Classis Missionary. The Board of Domestic Missions of the RCA procured a plot of land at the corner of Clinton Avenue and James Street, and the cornerstone of the Chapel was laid on November 18, 1923.
Pascack Reformed Church
In the 1700's the early settlers of the Dutch Reformed faith in the Pascack Valley attended the churches of Tappan, Schraalenburgh, (Bergenfield-Dumont), Paramus and Saddle River. On October 23,1812, Peter Wortendyke his wife Matze, and Abraham Campbell and his wife Margaret deeded one acre of land to John J. Demarest, Garret J. Ackerson, Albert Wortendyke and John J. Blauvelt, appointed trustees for the building of the Reformed Dutch Church as Pascack, for the sum of $60.00 (current New York State money).On August 29, 1814,, the new church was officially organized and incorporated as "The Consistory of the Congregation of Pascack in the County of Bergen."
Teaneck, NJ Historical Burial Ground
Address: 58 James St, Bergenfield, NJ 07621
Phone: (201) 384-2454
Opening Hours: Monday-Friday: 8am-2pm, Sat: 5:30pm-7:30pm, Sun: 8am-12pm
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Address: 65 Pascack Rd, Park Ridge, NJ 07656
Phone: (201) 391-4066
Operation hours: Monday-Friday: 9am-12:30pm, Sat: Closed, Sun: 8am-1pm
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The land was used as a burial ground by the Native Americans prior to the arrival of the European settlers. It's been used for centuries as a burial site for the Native Americans. It consisted of 2,260 acres which included Teaneck, Bogota, and Ridgefield Park. To hinder the loss of this sacred ground, the ‘Coalition to Preserve Teaneck's Native American/African Slave/Settler Cemetery’, was organized. With the Coalition’s encouragement, in 2006 Teaneck bought this open parcel of land on the banks of the Hackensack River.
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Address: 622 Pomander Walk Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666
Phone: 201-336-7267
The James Rose Center
The James Rose Center is a non-profit landscape research and study base. The mission of the Center is to contribute to a more sustainable suburban condition through preservation, research and design. The work of the landscape architect is now used at the Rose Center as a opportunity to create a moving and encouraging aesthetic
Waldwick Signal Tower
Erie Railroad predecessor New York, Lake Erie & sole surviving Western built the ornate Queen Anne style wood tower in 1890. It’s situated in a North Jersey on Erie's Jersey City-Chicago main line.There were 50 controls in the tower's interlocking machine. The tower remained open through the 1960 Erie Lackawanna merger and the 1976 formation of Conrail, ultimately coming under New Jersey Transit ownership. NJ Transit closed the tower in 1986.. It was restored and reopened by the Waldwick Historical Society in 2016.
Address: 3 Bohnert Pl #1503, Waldwick, NJ 07463
Website: http://allaboardwaldwick.org/
Hours: open per the events schedule but if you are in the area, you could just stop by
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The Wyckoff Historical Society
This 1890’s structure was recorded as being a barbershop in 1905 when it was owned by John Lawrence, who worked for the railroad by day and cut hair at night. The building was on Main Street and Everett Avenue relocating to its current home and donated to the Wyckoff Historical Society by resident and member, Sebastian Gaeta.The building was neglected for several years and was restored several times, most recently in the summer of 2018 by the society including a full paint job of the interior and exterior and refinishing the bare floors.
Garretson Forge & Farm
Address: Wyckoff NJ 07481 (The shop next to the pond)
Website: https://wyckoffhistory.org/
**General meetings are announced on website
Address: 506 East Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450
Phone: (201) 446-6017
Open: Tuesday-Sunday- 10:00am-4:00pm/Closed Mondays
This farm is owned by the Garretson Family since 1719. It is one of the oldest historic sites in Bergen County. During its existence, it was a large plantation that grew various types of crops and also housed multiple slaves. Today you can visit the museum and explore the outdoors and as well as the extensive garden. The farm contains many historic buildings and artifacts that you can explore and interact with. Garretson Forge and Farm provides a role in the local community as well as being a living museum and garden.
Address: 4-02 River Road, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
Phone: (201) 797-1775
Open: Open the Second and Fourth Sunday 1:00pm-4:00pm
