Garfield

History

Long the home of the Lenape, Native Americans, European settlement in the area that would become Garfield dates back to 1679, when Jacques Cortelyou acquired more than of land surrounding the Passaic River known as "Acqueyquinonke", that ran from the Saddle River to present day Glen Rock. In 1881, the community's name was changed to Garfield in honor of President of the United States James Garfield. There are two explanations given for the circumstances behind the renaming. According to one, shortly after Garfield was elected to the presidency the founder of East Passaic said, "tell everyone...don't speak of East Passaic anymore; call it 'Garfield' after the man who will lead this great country to prosperity." Seven months later, President Garfield was assassinated but his name remained with the community. The second theory holds that after Garfield's death in 1881, a new train station was named in his honor, which in turn led to the surrounding area becoming associated with his name as well. Garfield was originally incorporated as a borough on March 15, 1898, from portions of Saddle River Township and Wallington. At the time, the New Jersey Legislature set Garfield's boundaries as they exist today. On April 19, 1917, the borough became the City of Garfield, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 2.19 square miles (5.67 km2), including 2.11 square miles (5.47 km2) of land and 0.08 square miles (0.21 km2) of water (3.65%). The city has land borders with adjacent Elmwood Park, Lodi, Saddle Brook and South Hackensack. The Saddle River is a shared border with Wallington. There are three bridges over the Passaic River crossing the municipal and county line to Passaic and Clifton in Passaic County. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has identified Garfield as the site of groundwater contaminated hexavalent chromium from a spill in 1983 at the E.C. Electroplating Corporation site. In 2016, the EPA announced a $37 million project to cleanup contamination at the site using Superfund money, as the company responsible for the spill of of chromic acid is no longer in business.

Race & ethnicity