Wyckoff, New Jersey

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Map highlighting Wyckoff's location within Bergen County. Inset: Bergen County's location within New Jersey.

Wyckoff is a township located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2000 census, the township had a total population of 16,508. The most commonly given origin for the name Wyckoff, which was the origin accepted by the town committee when the town was established, is that Wyckoff is Indian for "high ground". A less widely held theory is that the town was named for Brooklyn judge Pieter Claesen Wyckoff (1625-1694). The surname comes from the Dutch words "Wyk," meaning parish and "Hof," meaning court. Neither of these origins are supported with solid historical evidence. The town has 13 churches, 1 synagogue, 5 public schools, 3 volunteer fire stations, and 1 volunteer ambulance corps.

Contents

History

The first inhabitants of the area were Lenni Lenape Indians who lived north of the Raritan River and spoke a Munsee dialect of Algonquian. Sicomac, said to mean "resting place for the departed", is an area of Wyckoff that according to tradition was the burial place of many Indians including Chief Oratam of the Ackingshacys. Most Indians had left by the 19th century, although a small group lived near Clinton Ave until 1939.

What is today Wyckoff was part of Saddle River Township, which included all of Bergen County west of the Saddle River. Saddle River Township was split up in 1771 with the area containing Wyckoff becoming Franklin Township (named after Governor William Franklin, son of Dr. Benjamin Franklin). By 1755 about 100 families lived in Franklin Township area, of which, no more than 20 were in what is now Wyckoff. Franklin Township (1771) consisted of what is today Ho-Ho-Kus (seceded 1849), Ridgewood (seceded 1876), Midland Park (seceded 1894), Oakland (seceded 1902), Franklin Lakes (seceded 1922), and Wyckoff. The size of Franklin Township decreased as areas seceded and were incorporated into their own towns. After Franklins Lakes was established in 1922, Franklin Township consisted of only the area known locally as Wyckoff. On November 2, 1926 residents voted (243 positive votes out of 337) to change the name from Franklin Township to the Township of Wyckoff.

The first recorded permanent settlers were John and William Van Voor Haze (Voorhees), who purchased 550 acres (2.2 km²) of land in the area in 1720. Other early settlers (mostly Dutch) included the Van Horns, Terhunes, Ackermans, Quackenbushes, Pulises, and Vanderhoffs. In 1940 the population was just under 4,000 consisting of roughly 100 families with 30% of the land was devoted to farming. By 1969 the number of farms had dropped to 13 covering 3 acres (12,000 m²), 6% of the town. Today only three farms remain: Abma's Farm, Russel Orchard, and Goffle Road Poultry Farm. Train service by the New Jersey Midland Railroad began in 1870. Train service ended abruptly in 1966, and the Economy Shop (owned by the PTO) moved into the unused railroad station located at 399 Main St.

Timeline

1905 - telephone service is installed in 10 houses
1909 - electricity is made available by Rockland Electric
1922 - a volunteer police department is created
1929 - a Ku Klux Klan meeting at a field at Forest Rd. and Wyckoff Ave. attracts one thousand people
1936 - Township Committee purchases street signs
1940 - a 4-legged chicken is hatched at Spring Lake Farm
1940 - a project to number houses is initiated
1944 - the Wyckoff YMCA is established
1950 - a UFO sighting reported by several residents
1952 - pig farms are outlawed following complaints from residents about the stench
1953 - the first traffic light is installed at the intersection of Wyckoff and Franklin Ave.
1954 - Franklin Lakes, Oakland, and Wyckoff (FLOW district) approve a regional high school (1060 to 51)
1957 - Ramapo High School (in Franklin Lakes) opens
1960 - a second regional high school to be built in Oakland is approved (Indian Hills High School)
1965 - a giant mushroom (10.5" diameter, 8" high) found in local garden
1992 - two boys find a 1912 U.S. Navy 30-caliber machine gun in Zabriskie Pond
1994 - the Vander Platt funeral home prepares the body of Richard Nixon for burial

Geography

Wyckoff is located at 40°59'55" North, 74°10'2" West (40.998583, -74.167104)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 17.0 km² (6.6 mi²). 17.0 km² (6.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.30% water.

Demographics

As of the census Template:GR of 2000, there are 16,508 people, 5,541 households, and 4,632 families residing in the township. The population density is 973.1/km² (2,521.6/mi²). There are 5,638 housing units at an average density of 332.3/km² (861.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the township is 94.54% White, 0.47% African American, 0.15% Native American, 3.70% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. 2.28% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 5,541 households out of which 42.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.7% are married couples living together, 5.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 16.4% are non-families. 14.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.89 and the average family size is 3.22.

In the township the population is spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 41 years. For every 100 females there are 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.5 males.

The median income for a household in the township is $103,614, and the median income for a family is $117,864. Males have a median income of $87,850 versus $51,929 for females. The per capita income for the township is $49,375. 1.8% of the population and 1.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 1.3% of those under the age of 18 and 1.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Population

1920 population 1,071
1930 population 3,001
1940 population 3,847
1950 population 5,590
1960 population 11,205
1970 population 16,039
1980 population 15,500
1990 population 15,372
2000 population 16,508

Public schools

There are 5 public schools in Wyckoff: Coolidge, Eisenhower, Lincoln, Sicomac, and Washington. Calvin Coolidge School, located at 420 Grandview Ave., is an elementary school which opened in 1932 as a 6-room K-6 school and has been expanded several times over the years. Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School, located at 344 Calvin Ct., was approved in 1960 and dedicated 1963. Since 1996 Eisenhower has served grades 6, 7, and 8. Abraham Lincoln School, located at 325 Mason Ave., was dedicated in 1953 on land purchased in 1950. Sicomac School, located at 356 Sicomac Ave., was completed in 1967. George Washington School, located at 270 Woodland Ave., was constructed as an 11-room brick building on the site of where the previous school burned down in. High school students attend Ramapo High School, a regional high school located in Franklin Lakes which serves all of Wyckoff and part of Franklin Lakes. The other part of Franklin Lakes and all of Oakland attend Indian Hills High School located in Oakland.

The first school in the town was a 1-room school built on Wyckoff Ave. in 1869 and used until 1906; demolished in 1906. Prior to 1929 high school students attended Central High School in Paterson, before the Board of Education voted to send students to Ramsey High School in Ramsey instead.

Residents

Gertrude Ederle, first woman to swim the English Channel
J. Fred Muggs, chimpanzee star of the "Dave Garroway TV Show"
Tara Reid, actress
Danny Tamberelli, actor
Kristen Caldwell, actress
Steve Doocy, news anchor
Constantine Maroulis, American Idol contestant

Reference

On High Ground by The Friends of the Wyckoff Library ISBN 1578641217
Wyckoff (Images of America series) by David Brown & Bob Traitz ISBN 0738511412