Editing Cedar Grove, New Jersey (section)

==History==
Cedar Grove was part of the [[Horseneck Tract]], which was an area that consisted of what are now the municipalities of [[Caldwell, New Jersey|Caldwell]], [[West Caldwell, New Jersey|West Caldwell]], [[North Caldwell, New Jersey|North Caldwell]], [[Fairfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey|Fairfield]], [[Verona, New Jersey|Verona]], Cedar Grove, [[Essex Fells, New Jersey|Essex Fells]], [[Roseland, New Jersey|Roseland]], and portions of [[Livingston, New Jersey|Livingston]] and [[West Orange, New Jersey|West Orange]].

In 1702, settlers purchased the {{convert|14,000|acre|km2}} Horseneck Tract—so-called because of its irregular shape that suggested a horse's neck and head from the [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans of the United States|Native Americans]] for goods equal to $325. This purchase encompassed much of western Essex County, from the [[Watchung Mountains|First Mountain]] to the [[Passaic River]].

Cedar Grove was originally a small farming community. In 1896, Essex County built the county mental institution in Cedar Grove known as [[Essex County Hospital Center|Overbrook]]. In 1908, Cedar Grove was incorporated as a township. In the 1950s and 1960s, Cedar Grove became one of the destination suburbs in [[Essex County, New Jersey|Essex County]] among those looking to escape urban living from [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] and [[New York City]].{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

Cedar Grove was once home to Frank Dailey's Meadowbrook Ballroom, located on Route 23, which regularly hosted well-known bands and vocalists, including [[Buddy Rich]], [[Glenn Miller]], [[Jimmy Dorsey|Jimmy]] and [[Tommy Dorsey]], [[Frank Sinatra]], and [[Jo Stafford]]. The ballroom, located on the old Pompton Turnpike, still stands, and is used by Sts. Kiril & Methodij Macedonian Orthodox Church.<ref>Model, Eric. [http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/style/recalling-new-years-eves-past-in-cedar-grove "Recalling New Year's Eves past in Cedar Grove"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415011835/http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/style/recalling-new-years-eves-past-in-cedar-grove |date=April 15, 2011 }}, NewJerseyNewsroom.com, December 31, 2010. Accessed July 6, 2011. "Cedar Grove was once home to the Frank Dailey's Meadowbrook Ballroom. In its day, along with the Glen Island Casino along Long Island Sound, it was the place for big band music. Some of the great bands and vocalists of the time to play there included the likes Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Gene Krupa, Sammy Kaye, and Glen Gray."</ref> The first dinner theater was opened at the Meadowbrook in the fall of 1959 by Gary and Helga McHugh. It closed in 1973.<ref>[http://www.meadowbrookproject.com/about%20the%20meadowbrook.htm About the Meadowbrook], The Meadowbrook Project. Accessed March 23, 2020.</ref>