Local History

This postcard commemorates the 1962 homecoming celebration for astronaut Wally Schirra in Oradell, New Jersey. Schirra, one of NASA’s original Mercury Seven astronauts, became the third American to orbit the Earth. Piloting his spacecraft Sigma 7 , he completed six orbits around the planet. The town of Oradell honored his achievement with a parade and public festivities.

Oradell’s first public library opened in 1913 in the back of the post office building. In 1924, the Haring House, pictured here, was donated for use as the town’s library. The building stood on the same site as the present-day Oradell Public Library at Kinderkamack Road and Church Street. Portions of this original structure remain within the current building, which was constructed in 1969.

Camping was once a favorite pastime along the Hackensack River. Pictured here is the vacation camp “Idylwild,” belonging to Harold Maples and Dudleigh Jewell. They are joined by their Sunday visitors, Martha Knapp and Grace Westervelt.

The 1915 basketball team of Delford Public School featured future Lieutenant Commander Hugh Black, seen second from the right. Black was killed in 1942 when his ship, the USS Jacob Jones , was sunk by a German submarine. In his honor, the destroyer USS Black was commissioned in 1943, and Oradell later named a street, Commander Black Drive, after him.

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Six members of the Oradell Junior High School girls’ basketball team, photographed in 1916. At the time, the school was located in the Borough Hall building.

A view looking northwest across the tracks at the Oradell train station. Oradell’s long railroad history began on March 4, 1870, with the opening of the Hackensack and New York Extension Railroad. The original station building was rebuilt in 1890 when the line became part of the New Jersey and New York Railroad, later connected to the larger Erie Railroad system. The town of Oradell purchased the station in 1966. Since 1984, the Oradell train station has been listed on both the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.

This 1935 aerial view shows the Hackensack Water Company complex located on Van Buskirk Island at Elm Street and New Milford Avenue. Established around 1882, the Hackensack Water Works was a vital facility for supplying water to northern New Jersey throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries and remained in continuous operation until about 1990. Following its closure, ownership was transferred to Bergen County, and the property is now part of a county park. The Hackensack Water Works is listed on both the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places and is recognized as a rare surviving example of early municipal water-treatment infrastructure.

Built by Isaac Demarest in the late 1800s, the Hotel Delford once stood at the eastern end of what is now Schirra Park in Oradell. The hotel attracted visitors with its convenient location near the train station and easy access to recreational activities along the Hackensack River in the early 1900s. When the Hackensack Water Company purchased land to the north, dammed the river, and created a reservoir, public access to the river was largely eliminated. As a result, the Hotel Delford lost its appeal to summer guests and was eventually demolished.

Classroom of students at Oradell Public School, which opened in 1902 with 153 enrolled students. This building served as the town’s school until 1929, when the current school building on Prospect Street was constructed. Afterward, the original building became Oradell Borough Hall and still serves as such today.

The old Oradell ice wagon, pulled by two horses, stands along Maple Avenue as children sit on a nearby lawn. The wagon belonged to D.Z. Westervelt, who owned the local ice company and later expanded his business to deliver coal as well.

Oradell’s early two-room schoolhouse was located behind the site of the present-day town hall. This building served as the designated school district for the Township of Midland (prior to the formation of Oradell) from 1870 to 1894. It functioned as the town’s school until the construction of the Oradell Borough Hall building, which was built as a school in 1902.

The Atwood-Blauvelt Mansion was constructed between 1896 and 1897 for Kimball Chase Atwood and designed by architect Fred W. Wentworth of Paterson, New Jersey. In 1926, the estate was purchased by Elmer Blauvelt. This grand 25-room residence stands on a spacious property featuring a two-acre sloping lawn that extends down to Kinderkamack Road. Of the mansion’s original outbuildings, only the carriage house and stables remain. The carriage house now serves as the Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum and Foundation, devoted to wildlife art. Today, the property is owned by Care One.