Maywood:: The Borough, the Railroad, and the Station

By Edward S. Kaminski

Originally settled by Dutch farmers in the 1600s, the borough of Maywood experienced population and industrial growth in the late 1800s with the coming of the railroad. New Jersey Midland Railway, predecessor to the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, arrived in 1872, a time when Maywood consisted mainly of farmland. Maywood was incorporated in 1894, when the railroad expanded into the Pennsylvania coalfields. The railroad provided the means for transportation of people, goods, and services, and Maywood grew measurably with it into the 20th century. Today the borough has developed into a suburb of such iconic cities as New York City, Paterson, Passaic, and Hackensack, while still retaining its character and charm.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Sep 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781439638460

Edward S. Kaminski

Noted author and historian Edward S. Kaminski has assembled a wealth of images revealing Maywood's earlier years; the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad in Maywood; and the national landmark Maywood Station, highlighting its importance in the development of Maywood and its recent metamorphosis into an acclaimed museum. Illustrated through more than 200 quality images and detailed captions, Maywood: The Borough, the Railroad, and the Station provides the reader with a visual journey into Maywood's past.

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INTRODUCTION

The borough of Maywood in Bergen County encompasses approximately 858 acres or 1.2 square miles. Today it is essentially a suburban bedroom community of 9,500 residents with a frequented business district comprised of merchants, eateries, specialty shops, and a national historic landmark railroad station and museum.

Dutch families from Long Island and New York City, beginning as early as 1600, originally settled the area. They built settlements resembling farming communities along the Hackensack River, gradually spreading out into what became known as Midland Township. Through the 1700s, most of what became Maywood remained undeveloped; however, in the early 1700s, Maywood did have at least two known residences, the Van Giesen-Lydecker house on what was 57 East Second Street (today’s Howcroft Road), which dates to 1690, and the Brinkerhoff house located at 279 Maywood Lane (today’s Maywood Avenue), which dates to 1700. Both homes exist today, albeit in slightly altered and expanded configurations.

The Revolutionary War period between 1776 and 1783 saw Continental army troop movements through the area and skirmishes with British troops in nearby Hackensack, New Bridge (Teaneck), and Paramus. The area bisecting Maywood in an east to west manner, which is largely today’s Passaic Street, was used once as a retreat route for the Continental army.

Until about 1876, Maywood grew very little and was basically farmland. The Atlas of Bergen County, 1776–1876 shows that a total of only 13 houses were found within the limits of the present borough, which included about 90 inhabitants. All but three were located along Maywood Lane (present Maywood Avenue) between Passaic Street on the north and Essex Street on the south, with houses built of local red sandstone in the Dutch Colonial style.

In 1885, Midland Township, in the area of today’s Maywood, which was also known as West Hackensack, became part of Hackensack. Shortly thereafter, several German businessmen began to transform the rural area into suburban development. Gustav L. Jaeger, who made his money in paper manufacturing in New York, developed a large tract of farmland with fellow German Henry Lindermeyer. Jaeger paved the streets with macadam and persuaded the Hackensack Water Company and the electric light company to supply his new development with utilities. He also helped finance local industries such as Maywood Art Tile Company, which was built just southwest of Maywood Station along the tracks of the New York, Susquehanna, and Western Railroad.

The successful development of the new town was made possible by the presence of the New York, Susquehanna, and Western Railroad, built in 1872 to connect the Hudson River to the Pennsylvania coalfields. The part of the town near the railroad station began to develop with two-story suburban wood-frame houses on lots lining the streets, providing homes for workers commuting to New York City but wanting to live in a rural area.

On June 30, 1894, Gustav Jaeger and others were instrumental in forming a new town separate from Hackensack with 350 inhabitants, which was named the borough of Maywood. Charles E. Breckinridge was elected Maywood’s first mayor, and John R. Cumberland, Jaeger, Charles E. Lydecker, David H. Price, Philipp Thoma, and John H. Vorhis were elected the to the first council seats.

Maywood’s original business district sprang up on Elm Street primarily between West Passaic Avenue and Park Avenue. In 1902, the New Jersey and Hudson River Railway and Ferry Company extended its trolley line from Hackensack through Maywood to East Paterson (Elmwood Park). The trolley ran down the center of Pleasant Avenue on two tracks and was later taken over by the Public Service Company of New Jersey, which continued its operation until August 5, 1938. Soon after the trolley arrived, the business district slowly began to relocate to Pleasant Avenue, which today serves as the center of the community. Bus transportation began on April 5, 1921, and the Inter-City Transportation Company operated a bus terminal on the corners of East Passaic Street and the Esplanade, which was torn down in the 1980s and replaced with a senior citizen housing complex named Lydecker Manor.

Although primarily a residential community for people working in surrounding cities, like New York City, Paterson, and Passaic, Maywood attracted industry in the early years of the 20th century due to its access to rail transportation. Manufacturing plants were established by German chemical manufacturers who had moved from New York City to Maywood to both live and conduct businesses. Ernst Bilhuber, manager of the Maywood Tile Works, enticed Dr. Louis Schaefer to settle in Maywood, where he built the Schaefer Alkaloid Works in 1896 in close proximity to the railroad line and the station. Other German chemical manufacturers soon followed, and by 1909, three chemical companies operated in Maywood—the Thorien Chemical Company, the Herman de Lair-Schaefer Company, and the Standard Essence Company. These three companies merged in 1910 to become the Maywood Chemical Works, which was a strategic supplier to the U.S. war efforts in World Wars I and II. The Citro Chemical Company, a manufacturer of Bromo-Seltzer, was established shortly thereafter adjacent to the Maywood Chemical Works. Stepan Company and Myron Manufacturing Company are indicative of industries today in Maywood that are located near the railroad station on land formerly occupied by the aforementioned chemical companies.

As Maywood grew, so did its need for services. A volunteer fire department was first organized in 1893 and expanded to include three companies, Protection Hook and Ladder, Undine Hose, and Peerless Engine. In 1915, a sewer system was installed, and in 1925, a police department was established. In 1923, a new public school was built on Maywood Avenue, replacing a smaller one on Grove Avenue, which had previously replaced a smaller one on