Building a City

Jan 01, 2007 10:01:56

In 1850 August Hasbrouck had a house built at 23 Orchard Street. It still sits there today and is called the Octagon House. Some 29 years later it was sold including 273 Acres and the new "estate" was named "Belmont." As steam power grew in importance and the Industrial Revolution was in its infancy the society and landscape were changing. The Dundee Dam became the needed waterpower for Garfield to become home to the textile industry. The woolen mills such as Forstmann Woolen Co., Garfield Worsted Mills and Samuel Hird Co., built sprawling factories that were assured an ample water supply as well as a constant influx of immigrant workers from Eastern and Southern Europe. From a few farms and houses the need to house these immigrant families to supply the labor for these factories became a growing concern. This is how Garfield developed as a "family town." Developers built houses for families who would live here for generation after generation. Garfield has very few apartment complexes and most of the housing was single or two family dwellings.

On July 17, 1893 a group of citizens gathered at Hollingshead Hall on Washington Place and formed the first Fire Department. It is still called "Old Reliable" today. Fire Company No. 1 used the bell at the First Presbyterian Church as the companies’ fire alarm. In 1905 Fire Company No. 1 sold its building t the borough which became the town’s municipal building. On December 9, 1900, Fire Company No. 2 was born, Fire Company No. 3 on December 16, 1903, Fire Company No. 4 on April 24, 1906, and Fire Company No. 5 on march 26, 1906. The Police Department was formed in 1898 using Marshall’s appointed by the Mayor. From 1898 to date the Garfield Police Department has had only six Chiefs’ of Police.

One could always find work in Garfield and it was a great place to start a business and raise a family. From a farming community, East Passaic became the City of Garfield. The places that supported the families that lived within this city were started as the population expanded, Samuel Hird, 1898, Forstmann Woolen Mills, 1904, Garfield Worsted Mills, 1904 and New Jersey Spinning Company, 1905. The local churches due to the numerous faiths and heritages of those who came to Garfield to seek a new and better way of life numbered 15 during this time, showing the ethnic background of her residents, some of the churches (all still in existence) are First Presbyterian, Holy Trinity, Our Lady of Mt. Virgin, Three Saints Russian Orthodox, Jewish Center, St. Stanislaus and Our Lady of Sorrows. Today, Garfield is still a "family community" where people set down roots and continue to work and live among families and friends.

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author of text - tccweb.org