Edgewater

History

Algonquian people, primarily Lenape, lived in the area prior to Dutch colonisation in the 17th century. David Pietersz Devries (also transliterated as David Pietersen de Vries), the first European settler, bought of land from the Tappan tribe and established the settlement of Vriessendael in what is now Edgewater. A historical plaque placed in Veteran's Field by the Bergen County Historical Society names Vriessendael as the first known colony in Bergen County with a founding date of 1640. Parts of Vriessendael were destroyed in 1643 during Kieft's War in reprisal for the massacres of Lenape people taking refuge at Pavonia and Corlears Hook. In pioneer days, River Road was known as the Hackensack Turnpike, and Ox [sic] Hill Road was an important route to the top of the Palisades Cliff. In the 1980s there were still about 100 commercial fishermen in New Jersey harvesting shad from their annual spring run from the Atlantic Ocean up the Hudson River to spawn. Now there are none. Etienne Burdett began ferry service between north Edgewater and the island of Manhattan in 1758. His gambrel-roofed house in what is now the Edgewater Colony stood until 1899. The ferry service at Burdett's Landing, which was located at the southern base of the bluff of Fort Lee, proved valuable to the American cause during the Revolutionary War. The ferry functioned as the link for supplies, information and transportation between Fort Lee on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River and Fort Washington on the New York side. In the century following the Revolutionary war, north Edgewater developed into a resort area with large hotels built in the mid- and late 19th century. It was in the 19th century that Burdett's Landing became known as "Old Stone Dock", as cobblestones quarried from the…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 2.46 square miles (6.36 km2), including 0.97 square miles (2.52 km2) of land and 1.48 square miles (3.84 km2) of water (60.33%). The Palisades Cliff rises dramatically and forms a natural border on its western side, running roughly parallel to the Hudson, with Fort Lee and Cliffside Park atop the cliff, north and south, respectively. Edgewater abuts Fort Lee Historic Park in the borough of Fort Lee on the north. River Road, which overlooks the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline, runs into and out of the town from the north and south, lying just above the level of the Hudson. Three roads lead up the Palisades Cliff: Route 5, with one switchback, ascends to Palisades Avenue, which leads north into Fort Lee and south into Cliffside Park. Gorge Road and Edgewater Road, the latter still referred to by many local residents by its Colonial-era name as Oxen Hill Road, lead up the Palisades to Cliffside Park.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  180,083
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  165,246
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  148,934
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  138,851
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  136,292
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  132,440
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  126,545
• White-throated Sparrow

  Zonotrichia albicollis (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  116,854

Largest nearby schools

• Hackensack High School
  High · HACKENSACK · 1,745 students · 12.7:1 ratio
• Hackensack Middle School
  Middle · Hackensack · 1,363 students · 10.8:1 ratio
• Teaneck High School
  High · TEANECK · 1,271 students · 11.8:1 ratio
• Bergen Arts and Sciences Charter School
  Other · GARFIELD · 1,253 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• Cliffside Park High School
  High · CLIFFSIDE PARK · 1,240 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• Bergenfield High School
  High · BERGENFIELD · 1,224 students · 11.5:1 ratio
• Tenafly High School
  High · TENAFLY · 1,200 students · 11.7:1 ratio
• Garfield High School
  High · GARFIELD · 1,199 students · 11.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2025-08-05
  1 km N of Hillsdale, New Jersey
• M 3 — 2025-08-03
  0 km W of Little Ferry, New Jersey
• M 2.9 — 2024-05-24
  6 km E of Califon, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2024-05-01
  1 km NW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 2.9 — 2024-04-27
  7 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2024-04-10
  5 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey