Upper Montclair is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
(CDP),
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
and neighborhood within
Montclair in
Essex 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 Delaware ...
, 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 servi ...
, the population for the CDP was 11,565.
[DP-1 – Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 for Upper Montclair CDP, 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 t ...
. Accessed June 11, 2012. The area is served as
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
ZIP code 07043.
[ It is often misperceived, even by Montclair residents, to be a separate municipality from Montclair, perhaps aided by this postal designation.
]
History
The area now known as Upper Montclair was first developed in the early 18th century as a rural community known as Speertown, named for John Speer, an early Dutch settler. The area remained a rural hamlet for much of that century. The modern township of Montclair, including Upper Montclair, was incorporated in 1868 from part of Bloomfield Township. In the early 21st century, the area became known as Uptown Montclair.
Geography
According to the 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 t ...
, the CDP had a total area of 2.536 square miles (6.569 km2), including 2.535 square miles (6.567 km2) of land and 0.001 square miles (0.002 km2) of water (0.04%).[US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990](_blank)
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 t ...
. Accessed September 4, 2014.
Upper Montclair is north of Watchung Avenue, covering 40.2% of Montclair township's area.[GCT-PH1: Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County -- County Subdivision and Place from 2010 Census Summary File 1 for Essex 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 t ...
. Accessed July 22, 2016.
Demographics
Education
Upper Montclair is in the township of Montclair and is served by the Montclair Public Schools
The Montclair Public Schools are a comprehensive community state school, public school district that serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade from the Township of Montclair, New Jersey, Montclair, in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex ...
. More than a quarter of the district's schools are found in Upper Montclair. These include Bradford Elementary and Northeast Elementary, which are two of seven elementary schools in Montclair, and Mt. Hebron Middle School, renamed Buzz Aldrin Middle School in September 2016 in honor of the astronaut, who grew up in Montclair, which is one of three Montclair middle schools. Part of Montclair State University
Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...
's campus is in Upper Montclair.
Upper Montclair is also home to several private schools. They include Lacordaire Academy, Lacordaire Academy Elementary Division an
St. Cassian School
Transportation
Upper Montclair is well connected to the rest 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 and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
and New York City on account of its transportation infrastructure. Public transportation options in Upper Montclair are buses and trains, both provided by New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
, although commuter bus service to Manhattan is provided by DeCamp Bus Lines
DeCamp Bus Lines is an apportioned bus company serving Essex County, New Jersey and Passaic County, New Jersey, with line-run to and from Manhattan and charter service.
History
The family-run business was started as a stage-coach company, in 187 ...
.
Rail
New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
's Montclair-Boonton Line
The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations in the United States. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western R ...
Runs through the neighborhood of Upper Montclair. In total in Upper Montclair there are a total of three train stations of the overall Montclair total of seven. This is because the stations in Montclair are very close together, sometimes under a mile apart. New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
train stations are Upper Montclair, Mountain Avenue, and Montclair Heights. From 1889 to 1928, Valley Road, a major road, had an electric trolley line.
Bus
The area is also on NJ Transit's bus route 28, which goes from Montclair State University
Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...
or Willowbrook Mall along Valley Road through Montclair, Glen Ridge and Bloomfield, to Downtown Newark. This bus route goes along Valley road for the great majority of its path in Upper Montclair, in some places on the route of Decamp's Number 66. Also, two DeCamp Bus Lines
DeCamp Bus Lines is an apportioned bus company serving Essex County, New Jersey and Passaic County, New Jersey, with line-run to and from Manhattan and charter service.
History
The family-run business was started as a stage-coach company, in 187 ...
routes take commuters to 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 buse ...
in New York. Some Number 33 buses go along Grove Street, on the Eastern side of the neighborhood, while number 66 goes on Valley Road, in the West, then the central Park Street.
Road
Upper Montclair has road connections to the rest of Montclair, Cedar Grove, Little Falls, Clifton, and Bloomfield. Just north of the neighborhood's border are U.S. Route 46
U.S. Route 46 (US 46) is an east–west U.S. Highway completely within the state of New Jersey, running for , making it the shortest signed, non-spur U.S. Highway. The west end is at an interchange with Interstate 80 in New Jersey, Intersta ...
and New Jersey Route 3
Route 3 is a major state highway in the northeastern part of New Jersey. The route runs from U.S. Route 46 (US 46) in Clifton, Passaic County to US 1/9 in North Bergen, Hudson County. The route is a divided highway for i ...
.
Commerce
The commercial zone at the center of Upper Montclair, Upper Montclair Business District is home to several restaurants and shops. Unlike many of Montclair's other commercial zones, it has outlets of several major chain stores. In 2009–2010, several new national and local merchants opened in the area. Montclair Station Restaurant & Bar was opened in the historic Upper Montclair train station. Upper Montclair also has both a park, Anderson Park, and a railway station, Upper Montclair, nearby. There is a post office here.
Parks
Upper Montclair is home to many parks and nature reserves. Within Upper Montclair there are Anderson Park, Yantacaw Brook Park, the Bonsal Nature Reserve, Mountainside Park, the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens
Presby Memorial Iris Gardens is a nonprofit, living museum specializing in iris flowers, located at 474 Upper Mountain Avenue, Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States. The gardens are situated on 6.5 acres. Adjacent t ...
, and parts of Mills Reservation
Mills Reservation is a county park, consisting of a protected wooded area located in Cedar Grove and Montclair, New Jersey, United States. The reservation is maintained by the Essex County Park Commission. The reservation has several walking ...
and Brookdale Park. In addition, Upper Montclair has the Mountainside Public Pool, which is the largest of the three public pools in Montclair.
Upper Montclair also has Immaculate Conception Cemetery and Mount Hebron Cemetery.
Notable people
People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Upper Montclair include:
* Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission. As the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' pilot on the 1969 A ...
(born 1930), astronaut who was the second man to walk on the Moon.
* Yael Averbuch
Yael Averbuch West (born Yael Friedman Averbuch; November 3, 1986) is a former American professional soccer player. She was formerly the executive director of the National Women's Soccer League Players Association and is the current general ma ...
(born 1986), soccer player.
* Raymond A. Brown (1915–2009), attorney whose clients included Black Liberation Army
The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was a far-left, black nationalist, underground Black Power revolutionary paramilitary organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of former Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic ...
member Assata Shakur
Assata Olugbala Shakur (born JoAnne Deborah Byron; July 16, 1947; also married name, JoAnne Chesimard) is an American political activist who was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). In 1977, she was convicted in the first-degree murder ...
, boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (May 6, 1937 – April 20, 2014) was an American-Canadian middleweight boxer, wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for murder, until released following a petition of habeas corpus after almost 20 years in prison.
I ...
and "Dr. X" physician Mario Jascalevich The "Dr. X" killings were a series of suspicious deaths by curare poisoning, in 1966 at a Bergen County, New Jersey hospital. A newspaper investigation during the mid-1960s led to the indictment of an Argentina-born physician, Mario Enrique Jascalev ...
.
* Margaret Colin (born 1958), actress.[Klein, Alvin]
"Baldwin Girl Finds Camelot (on Broadway)"
''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 d ...
'', February 22, 1998. Accessed October 10, 2012. "Ms. Colin's Hofstra years lasted from 1976 to 1979, with time out for soap opera stints like ''Edge of Night'' and ''As the World Turns.'' On ''World,'' she played opposite the man she later married, Justin Deas, who is now appearing in the recurring role of Buzz in ''Guiding Light.'' He was Tom; she was Margo. A year and a half ago the couple, married 10 years, and their sons, Sam, 8, and Joe, 4, moved from an apartment in Manhattan to 'a mansion for the money' in Upper Montclair, N.J."
* Justin Deas
Justin Deas (born March 30, 1948, in Connellsville, Pennsylvania) is an American actor. He is known primarily for his work on daytime soap operas.
Personal life
Deas received his Bachelor of Arts from the College of William & Mary. Deas married ...
(born 1948), actor.[
* ]John Langley Howard
John Langley "Lang" Howard (1902–1999) was an American artist, known as a Social Realist muralist, printmaker and illustrator.
Biography
John Langley Howard was born in Upper Montclair, New Jersey on February 5, 1902, the son of architect Jo ...
(1902–1999), muralist, printmaker and illustrator, known for his social realism
Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...
.
* Howard Krongard, head of the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State
The Office of Inspector General for the Department of State (OIG) is an independent office within the U.S. Department of State with a primary responsibility to prevent and detect waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. OIG inspects more tha ...
.
* Rosemary Rice
Rosemary Rice (May 3, 1925 – August 14, 2012) was an American actress, singer, and voice-over artist. Rice was best known for her role as Katrin Hansen, the oldest daughter in the television series, ''Mama'', which aired on CBS from 1949 to 1957 ...
(1925–2012), actress best known for her role as Katrin on CBS-TV series ''Mama
Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to:
Roles
*Mother, a female parent
* Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority
*Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels
Places
*Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement ...
''.
* Dr. Leo Sternbach (1908–2005), chemist, invented precursor to Valium
Diazepam, first marketed as Valium, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is commonly used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, insomnia, a ...
.
* Joe Walsh
Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...
(born 1947), singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.
* Ingrid Wells (born 1989), soccer player.[Staff]
"Ingrid Wells Named ECAC Division I Women's Soccer All-Star Third major award for Wells this season"
Georgetown Hoyas
The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C. Georgetown's athletics department fields 23 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the National ...
, December 2, 2009. Accessed June 27, 2012. "Georgetown University women's soccer player Ingrid Wells (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair) has been named a First Team All-Star Selection by the Eastern College Athletic Conference."
Gallery
Image:Valley Road and Bellevue Avenue - Upper Montclair, NJ.jpg, Business district in Upper Montclair, which is around the intersection of Valley Road and Bellevue Avenue
File:Bellevue Branch of the Upper Montclair Library (2006).jpg, Upper Montclair's library, which is called the Bellevue Branch
File:Upper Montclair Downtown Clock.jpg, A landmark in Upper Montclair, a clock owned by Chase bank that is situated in the center of town and was installed around 1910. About 2004, the clock was sent away for needed refurbishment.
Image:AndersonParkMontclair NJ.JPG, Anderson Park
File:PresbyIrisMG1.jpg, Presby Memorial Iris Gardens
Presby Memorial Iris Gardens is a nonprofit, living museum specializing in iris flowers, located at 474 Upper Mountain Avenue, Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States. The gardens are situated on 6.5 acres. Adjacent t ...
File:Film set, Upper Montclair NJ (2006).jpg, A movie being filmed in Upper Montclair
File:Montclair Woman's Club.jpg, the Montclair Women's Club
File:Brookdale Park, Montclair NJ (2006).jpg, Brookdale Park
References
{{Authority control
Census-designated places in Essex County, New Jersey
Montclair, New Jersey