Glen Ridge Historical Society

In 1932, a competitive bid for scavenger services in Glen Ridge was won by Miele Bros. Their five-year contract for the collection and disposal of ashes, garbage, and rubbish was challenged in court by the prior contractor, C. Egan and Sons of East Orange. The Miele bid prevailed, and first year charges were $31, 582. Soon after, the town's incinerator was permanently shut down, and ash heaps no longer allowed on Carteret Field.

If you'd like to learn more about Glen Ridge history, we're hosting open hours this Saturday, April 11 from 9:00-noon. The Terry S. Webster Archives is located on the third floor of the Glen Ridge Congregational Church. Enter on Clark Street.

Mountainside Hospital opened for services in 1891 on the corner of Bay Street and Highland Avenue. In 1900, its surgeon was well-attended by a bevy of nurses. Their operating room was modestly furnished with wheeled tables, porcelain basins and lit by gaslight fixtures. A sign on the wall entreats “No Loud Talking.”

If you'd like to learn more about Glen Ridge history, we're hosting open hours this Saturday, March 14 from 9:00-noon. The Terry S. Webster Archives is located on the third floor of the Glen Ridge Congregational Church. Enter on Clark Street.

The Great Blizzard of 1888 struck the East Coast with a vengeance. In Glen Ridge, railroads were shut down for a week, and snowdrifts reached second story windows. With food delivery at a standstill, people depended on the charity of neighbors to survive. This photo from Clark Street looks across Ridgewood Avenue towards 'Sunnycrest', one of three houses torn down in 1967 to build Glen Ridge High School.

If you'd like to learn more about Glen Ridge history, we're hosting open hours this Saturday, February 14 from 9:00-noon. The Terry S. Webster Archives is located on the third floor of the Glen Ridge Congregational Church. Enter on Clark Street.

In 1878, Samuel Benson established his third mill in Glen Ridge at the corner of Belleville and Sherman Avenues. Today it is the site of Clay Field. The company manufactured sheet and rolled brass and silver-plated copper for carriage lamp reflectors. When the factory closed in 1932, Flit gun insecticide sprayers were its final products. A portrait of Samuel’s daughters, Harriet and Margaretta, hangs in the main reading room of the Glen Ridge Public Library.

If you'd like to learn more about Glen Ridge history, we're hosting open hours this Saturday, January 10th from 9:00-noon. The Terry S. Webster Archives is located on the third floor of the Glen Ridge Congregational Church. Enter on Clark Street.