Upper Montclair, New Jersey Explained

Official Name:Upper Montclair, New Jersey
Settlement Type:Census-designated place
Mapsize:260px
Pushpin Map:USA New Jersey Essex County#USA New Jersey#USA
Pushpin Label:Upper Montclair
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Essex County##Location in New Jersey##Location in the United States
Pushpin Relief:yes
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Essex
Subdivision Type3:Township
Subdivision Name3:Montclair
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Footnotes:[1]
Area Total Km2:6.17
Area Land Km2:6.16
Area Water Km2:0.00
Area Total Sq Mi:2.38
Area Land Sq Mi:2.38
Area Water Sq Mi:0.00
Area Water Percent:0.04
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:13146
Population Density Km2:2132.43
Population Density Sq Mi:5523.53
Timezone:Eastern (EST)
Utc Offset:−05:00
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:−04:00
Elevation Footnotes:[2]
Elevation M:98
Elevation Ft:322
Coordinates:40.8426°N -74.2013°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP Codes
Postal Code:07043[3]
Area Code:862/973
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:[4] [5] [6]
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:2584034[7]

Upper Montclair is a census-designated place (CDP), unincorporated community and neighborhood within Montclair in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[8] [9] As of the 2010 United States Census, the population for the CDP was 11,565.[10] The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07043.[3] 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.[11]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, 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%).[4] [12]

Upper Montclair is north of Watchung Avenue, covering 40.2% of Montclair township's area.[13]

Demographics

The 2010 United States census counted 11,565 people, 4,178 households, and 3,146 families in the CDP. The population density was . There were 4,310 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 83.99% (9,713) White, 6.46% (747) Black or African American, 0.10% (12) Native American, 4.18% (483) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 1.31% (151) from other races, and 3.97% (459) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.61% (649) of the population.[10]

Of the 4,178 households, 44.2% had children under the age of 18; 64.8% were married couples living together; 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present and 24.7% were non-families. Of all households, 20.3% were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.23.[10]

29.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 20.8% from 25 to 44, 33.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 90.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 85.7 males.[10]

Education

Upper Montclair is in the township of Montclair and is served by the Montclair Public Schools. 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's campus is in Upper Montclair.

Upper Montclair is also home to several private schools. They include Lacordaire Academy, Lacordaire Academy Elementary Division and St. Cassian School.

Transportation

Upper Montclair is well connected to the rest of New Jersey 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, although commuter bus service to Manhattan was also provided until April 2023 by DeCamp Bus Lines.

Rail

New Jersey Transit's Montclair-Boonton Line runs through the neighborhood of Upper Montclair. 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 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 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 routes took commuters to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York until April 2023. Some Number 33 buses went along Grove Street, on the Eastern edge of the neighborhood, while number 66 went along Valley Road, in the West, then the central Park Street.[14]

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 and New Jersey Route 3.

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, and parts of Mills Reservation 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:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ArcGIS REST Services Directory. United States Census Bureau. October 11, 2022.
  2. June 12, 2012.
  3. http://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupResultsAction!input.action?resultMode=0&city=upper%20montclair&state=NJ Look Up a ZIP Code for Upper Montclair, NJ
  4. http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2010_place_list_34.txt Gazetteer of New Jersey Places
  5. https://www.census.gov U.S. Census website
  6. https://mcdc.missouri.edu/applications/geocodes/?state=34 Geographic codes for New Jersey
  7. http://geonames.usgs.gov US Board on Geographic Names
  8. https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-32.pdf#page=19 New Jersey: 2010 – Population and Housing Unit Counts – 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32)
  9. http://www.state.nj.us/infobank/localnames.txt Locality Search
  10. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/1600000US3475020 DP-1 – Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 for Upper Montclair CDP, New Jersey
  11. http://www.montclairnjusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=342:history-of-montclair&catid=211:about-us&Itemid=507 History of Montclair
  12. https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990
  13. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY10/0500000US34013 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
  14. Martin, Julia. "DeCamp ending commuter buses to and from New York City for North Jersey routes", The Record, March 20, 2023. Accessed April 19, 2023. "After 153 years of ferrying commuters from Montclair to Manhattan, DeCamp bus lines will cease all commuter service effective April 7, said Jonathan DeCamp, the company's chief operating officer."
  15. Smaridge, Norah. "Tombstones, Manhole Covers and The Ancient Art of Rubbing; The Ancient Art of Rubbing", The New York Times, July 27, 1975. Accessed June 27, 2012. "In Upper Montclair, N.J., for instance, on a small stone outside his boyhood home, an inscription commemorates astronaut Buzz Aldrin."
  16. Web site: Yael Averbuch - U.S. Soccer . November 3, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130127023913/http://www.ussoccer.com/Teams/WNT/A/Yael-Averbuch.aspx . January 27, 2013 . dead .
  17. [Joseph Berger (author)|Berger, Joseph]
  18. [Alvin Klein|Klein, Alvin]
  19. https://art.famsf.org/john-langley-howard John Langley Howard
  20. http://oig.state.gov/about/c12822.htm Howard J. Krongard, Inspector General
  21. Staff. "Weddings/Celebrations; Mara Krongard, Benjamin Shreck", The New York Times, June 22, 2003. Accessed June 27, 2012. "Mara Lynn Krongard, the daughter of Paula S. Krongard and Howard J. Krongard, both of Upper Montclair, N.J., was married last evening to Benjamin Robert Shreck, a son of Cherie L. Shreck and Dr. Robert R. Shreck of Des Moines."
  22. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/515670564/ "Rosemary Rice, High School Senior In Play Cast Heading for Broadway"
  23. Pearce, Jeremy."Leo Sternbach, 97, Valium Creator, Dies", The New York Times, October 1, 2005. Accessed October 17, 2007. "The couple lived in Upper Montclair, N.J., until last year, when they moved to Chapel Hill."
  24. http://www.rocheusa.com/newsroom/current/2005/pr2005092901.html Inventor of Valium and National Inventors Hall of Fame
  25. Staff. "Ingrid Wells Named ECAC Division I Women's Soccer All-Star Third major award for Wells this season", Georgetown Hoyas, 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."