Editing Closter, New Jersey (section)

==History==
The [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] tilled the soil, hunted in the woods, and fished in the rivers and streams before the Dutch arrived in the early 18th Century. The Dutch settlers, though, left an indelible mark on the area. Early records show that after the English takeover of [[New Netherland]], English Governor [[Philip Carteret (Governor)|Philip Carteret]] in 1669 granted a real estate speculator named Balthaser De Hart a strip of property which extended east and west from the Hudson River to the Tiena Kill, and north and south from today's Cresskill into Palisades, New York.<ref name="Budke, George H. 1975 pp. 165-167">Budke, George H., Abstracts of early deeds, patents, mortgages and other instruments affecting the land titles of Rockland County, NY. (New City, New York : Library Association of Rockland County, 1975), pp. 165-167.</ref> It is within these geographical boundaries that lies what is now known as Closter. The first land grant deed for the area today known as Closter was not written until April 13, 1671.<ref>Isaac Bedlow & Balthasar De Hart deed recorded March 15, 1744, Liber No.1, page 115, of East Jersey Patents, Office of the Secretary of State, Trenton, N.J.</ref> The northern half of this tract of land consisting of {{convert|1030|acre}} (extending from what is Closter Dock Road northward) was purchased by Barent and Resolvert Nagel on April 25, 1710,<ref name=Deed>April 25, 1710 Deed between Lancaster Symes and Barent and Resolvert Nagel (Early Orange County Deeds, Orange County Court House, Goshen, New York), p. 68</ref><ref>[http://closterhistory.com/website/history/history.html Closter History], Borough of Closter Historic Preservation Commission, Accessed July 26, 2017.</ref> who along with the Vervalen family first settled what is now Closter.
    
The name Closter is of Dutch origin and first appears in a November 18, 1721, deed between the surviving Tappan Patentees and Peter Haring (who owned land in Harrington Park/Norwood east of Tappan Road and between Harrington and Blanche Avenues)—the meets and bounds of the deed begin “Beginning at the bridge which comes out of the Clooster by the Dwars Kill..."<ref>Orange County Deeds Book C, Page 75</ref> At that time, Closter was in an area [[New York – New Jersey Line War|under dispute]] between the colonial provinces of New Jersey and [[New York (state)|New York]]. In the [[Dutch language]], ''Klooster'' or "clooster" means "a quiet place, a monastery or cloister."<ref>[http://www.interglot.com/dictionary/nl/en/translate/klooster Translate klooster from Dutch to English], Interglot. Accessed August 29, 2015.</ref> The name was originally pronounced with an "ow" sound, phonetically, "Klowster."{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} Later, just before the American Revolution, these isolated settlers began to feel the impact of the British Crown in their lives—not only in governmental affairs but also by the influx of English culture on their own language and practices. As a result, the "K" in Klooster was dropped and was replaced with a "C" so the now growing village became known as Clooster. By 1795, with the emerging new American culture, the second "o" in Clooster was dropped, and the American English "long o" sound was adopted which led to today's pronunciation of Closter.<ref name=Westergaard/>

The topography gave a sense of isolation and protection, tucked behind the highest point of the Palisades and protected by limited access. Alternatively, sources indicate that the name derives from an early settler named Frederick Closter who is said to have been granted the land in the area in the 1600s.<ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=10 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed August 28, 2015.</ref><ref>Pinto, Jennifer. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160310101134/http://www.northjersey.com/real-estate/at-home-in-closter-1.391566?page=all "At Home In: Closter"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', May 31, 2012, backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of March 10, 2016. Accessed September 11, 2017. "According to the borough's website, 'It is believed that Closter was named after Frederick Closter, who received a grant of several thousand acres as a military reward from King Charles I of England.'"</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117583435/frederick-closter-and-the-borough-of/ "A Curious Land Claim. An Old Title to Property In Bergen County"], ''Passaic Daily News'', March 29, 1894. Accessed January 30, 2023, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "More than two hundred and fifty years ago, as the story goes, one Frederick Closter, a Scandinavian by birth was a soldier in the army of King Charles I. of England. For heroism on the field of battle the King granted to his brave vassal, by patent under the great seal of the kingdom, a tract of several thousand acres of wild land on the West bank of the Hudson river, including within it the sites of the present villages of Closter and Alpine and much of the country round about. Frederick Closter, the patentee, abandoned the life of a soldier, came to America, settled on the tract in question and built a dock on the river front, which he called Closter dock. In order to further perpetuate his surname, he bestowed it on the whole tract. This was in 1639 or 1640. In 1643 Frederick Closter and his adventurous companions were all murdered by Indians, but, although the immigrant was completely wiped out, his plantation and his dock have ever since retained his name."</ref>

Reminders of Closter's early Dutch history abound - with local streets named after some of the early families (Bogert, Demarest, Durie, Naugle, Parsells, Vervalen, Auryansen, Haring, and Westervelt), and a rich collection of unique Jersey Dutch houses.<ref>[http://closterhistory.com/website/sites/sites.html Historic Sites], Borough of Closter. Accessed June 3, 2014.</ref>

The arrival of the [[Northern Branch]] in 1859,<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/item/gm70005020 Map of the Northern Rail Road of New Jersey], [[Library of Congress]]. Accessed June 3, 2014.</ref> followed by additional train service from what became the [[West Shore Railroad]], brought residents to the community who could commute to Manhattan via the ferry across the Hudson River at the railroad's [[Weehawken, New Jersey|Weehawken]] depot.<ref name=NYTCloster/> Closter's central location earned it the nickname "Hub of the Northern Valley".<ref name=History>[http://www.closterboro.com/closter/Boards%20%26%20Commissions/Environmental%20Commission/Sustainable%20Closter%20Initative%20-%20Update.pdf Sustainable Closter Initiative], Borough of Closter, April 2008. Accessed September 11, 2017.</ref>

Closter was formed as an incorporated municipality by an act of the [[New Jersey Legislature]] on January 1, 1904, from portions of [[Harrington Township, New Jersey|Harrington Township]]. On March 29, 1904, [[Harrington Park, New Jersey|Harrington Park]] was created from portions of Closter, Harrington Township and [[Washington Township, Bergen County, New Jersey (Historical)|Washington Township]].<ref name=Story>Snyder, John P. [https://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf ''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''], Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 76. Accessed May 17, 2012.</ref><ref>"History of Bergen County" p. 343 has the date as April 13, 1903 for the formation of Closter.</ref>

After the turn of the 20th century, Closter changed from being sprawling estates and farms into an upper middle class suburban town.<ref name=NYTCloster>[[Anthony DePalma (author)|DePalma, Anthony]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/27/realestate/closter.html "Closter"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 27, 1983. Accessed July 22, 2011.</ref>