Historic Map - Garfield, NJ - 1909

Birds eye view of Garfield, New Jersey 1909 / drawn and published by T. M. Fowler.

This reproduction panoramic view of Garfield, New Jersey was drawn and published by Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler in 1909. The Hackensack Clan of the Leni Lenape Tribe of Algonquin Indians lived and worked in this area where the Passaic and Saddle Rivers meet. A natural rock dam on the Passaic River may have inspired the Indians to construct their own rock dams to catch fish and eels. Some of these dams are still visible today.

When Gen. George Washington took flight from Fort Lee and Hackensack in 1776, he marched his troops over a bridge crossing the Passaic. They camped for the night and then fled to Pennsylvania. Upon their exit, local patriot John H. Post, who was only a farm lad at the time, destroyed the bridge, delaying the British troops advancing on Washington for several days.

A dam was built in the early 1800s and mills were erected along the river in what was called East Passaic. In the1860s the Saddle River Horse Car Railroad from the Passaic River to Paterson, N. J. was built to provide transportation for millworkers. Later during the Panic of 1873, this route became important to the economy of the community as future railroad funds dried up for a time.

The town in Bergen County was formed in 1873 and known then as East Passaic. The name was later changed to honor U. S. President James A. Garfield and incorporated as a borough in 1898. Eight years after this map's publishing Garfield would reach city status.

The bird's-eye view map from 1909 shows Garfield's streets, bridges and buildings. It features inset illustrations of the following:

Borough Hall.
Belmont School.
School No. 6.
First Reformed Church.
Presbyterian Church.
Factory of Passaic & Garfield Construction Co. Mfrs. of Ornamental & Building Cement Blocks.
John Karl Real Estate.
Hammerschlag Manufacturing Company.
Lotsey Toth Plaudersville Cafe.
Garfield Worsted Mills.