POINTS OF INTEREST
Octagon House - Augustus Hasbrouck built the “Octagon House” at 23 Orchard Street, one of only two today remaining in all of Bergen County. When he sold his house and 275 acres produce farm to Daniel Van Winkle, prior to 1876, the new owner named it “Belmont” because it resembled a bell and he thus gave its name to a section of the City.
Post Ford Monument – The Post Ford Monument, standing on River Drive near Columbus Avenue, marks the site where British and Hessian soldiers crossed the Passaic River from Garfield on November 26, 1776 in pursuit of Washington’s army. In 1935, Francis L. Fuscaldo was principal of Public School No. 4 and spearheaded a drive to create a permanent marker at the site. Pupils at the school collected pennies to pay for construction materials as volunteers gathered stones from the riverbank and labored to construct the nine-foot-high monument. The iron plaque affixed to the monument reads “Post Ford – Frequently used by both armies during the Revolutionary War.”
Dundee Dam - The 450-foot long Dundee Dam extends across the Passaic River from Division Avenue, Garfield, to Randolph and East Clifton Avenues in Clifton. A natural falls; originally seven feet high, the commercial addition to the dam brought it to a level of 20 feet, plus a one-foot high cap or crown of locally mined sandstone. Constructed over a red shale rock foundation of the original dam, the base is 16 feet wide. The dam tapers to a four-foot width at the top. The river waters tumble down the incline almost ceaselessly. The Dundee Dam is the terminus of the ocean tide. It was here that the Passaik Indian tribe, after whom the river was named, found their fertile fishing grounds.
Veteran’s Monument – The Veteran’s Monument (originally named the Soldier’s and Sailor’s Monument), which stands at the intersection of Marsellus Place and Midland and Harrison Avenues, was erected shortly after World War 1 as a tribute to city residents who sacrificed their lives for their country. The 35-foot obelisk masonry structure was dedicated on July 4, 1920. Several disputes erupted at the end of the ceremony over the context and design of the main tablet. Residents and former servicemen were outraged that the names of city officials were placed not only on the same tablet but that they appeared above the names of those killed in the war. A second dispute began when Councilman Max Klemm realized that his name was not on the tablet. Arguments went on for months until finally, on January 7, 1921, the council yielded to petitioning by the former servicemen and removed their names to a small plaque at the base of the monument. |