Editing Rutherford, New Jersey (section)

==History==
The ridge above the [[New Jersey Meadowlands]] upon which Rutherford sits was settled by [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans of the United States|Native Americans]] long before the arrival of [[Walling Van Winkle]] in 1687. Union Avenue, which runs from the Meadowlands to the [[Passaic River]], may have been an Indian trail, but was more likely a property boundary line; it was referenced in the 1668 grant of land by proprietary [[Governor of New Jersey|Governor]] [[Philip Carteret]] to [[John Berry (Royal Navy officer)|John Berry]].

[[Image:Rutherford 1904.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Bird's-eye view of Rutherford in 1904]]
During the early days of settlement, the land that is now Rutherford was part of [[New Barbadoes Township, New Jersey|New Barbadoes Township]], as Berry had lived in [[Barbados]], another English colony, before claiming his grant in New Jersey. New Barbadoes was part of [[Essex County, New Jersey|Essex County]] from 1693 to 1710, when Bergen County was formed. In 1826, the land became part of [[Lodi Township, New Jersey|Lodi Township]] (of which today's remaining portion is now [[South Hackensack, New Jersey|South Hackensack]]). When [[Hudson County, New Jersey|Hudson County]] was formed in 1840, the area that is today [[North Arlington, New Jersey|North Arlington]], [[Lyndhurst, New Jersey|Lyndhurst]], Rutherford and [[East Rutherford, New Jersey|East Rutherford]] became part of [[Harrison Township, Hudson County, New Jersey|Harrison Township]] (of which today's remaining portion is [[Harrison, New Jersey|Harrison]] town). However, the area reverted to Bergen County in 1852 and became known as [[Union Township, Bergen County, New Jersey|Union Township]].<ref name=Story/>

Part of the region was known as Boiling Springs for a powerful and ceaseless spring located in the vicinity. Despite its name, the spring actually consisted of cold groundwater seeps rather than hot springs.<ref>J. M. Van Valen. [https://books.google.com/books?id=9KwPofkJTHYC&pg=PA413 ''History of Bergen County, New Jersey''], New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Company, NY, 1900. See Page 413, Chapter XXVI - Union Township.</ref>

The [[Erie Railroad]] built its Main Line from [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]] across the Meadowlands in the 1840s. [[Daniel Van Winkle]], a descendant of Walling, donated land in 1866 for a train station at Boiling Springs. Several resorts were built along the Passaic, with guests disembarking at [[Rutherford station|Boiling Springs station]] and taking Union Avenue to the river. Later, the railroad opened a station closer to the river, at [[Carlton Hill (Erie Railroad station)|Carlton Hill]], and a horsecar line (briefly on rails) along Jackson Ave took travelers to the resort area.

At the time, much of the property in Rutherford was farmland owned by the estate of [[John Rutherfurd]], a former New Jersey legislator and [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]], whose homestead was along the Passaic River, near present-day Rutherford Avenue.<ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=28 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed November 14, 2015.</ref> Van Winkle opened a real estate office at Depot Square (now [[Station Square (Rutherford)|Station Square]]) to sell the land of the ''Rutherfurd Park Association'', and began to lay out the area's street grid. The main roads were Orient Way, a wide boulevard heading south-southwest from Station Square, and Park Avenue, which headed west-southwest from Station Square to bring traffic to the new Valley Brook Race Course in what is now Lyndhurst.

In the 1870s, the area began to be called "Rutherford". The definitive reason for the change in spelling of the final syllable from "furd" to "ford" is unknown, though the change may have been the result of name recognition of the [[Ohio]] politician [[Rutherford B. Hayes]], who was elected [[President of the United States|President]] in 1876, or could have been because of a clerical error by the [[United States Postal Service]].<ref>[http://www.rutherford-nj.com/PDF/MPFinalDraft62807.pdf#page=50 2007 Master Plan - Final Draft 6.28.07], Borough of Rutherford, p. 47. Accessed February 28, 2013. "In the 1870s, the area came to be known as Rutherford. The spelling change is either a clerical error by the U.S. Post Office or a result of name recognition of the Ohio politician Rutherford B. Hayes who was elected President in 1876."</ref> The Post Office opened a facility called "Rutherford" in 1876. On September 21, 1881, the Borough of Rutherford was formed by formal vote of secession from Union Township.<ref name=Story/> By then, the community had about 1,000 residents.

===Historic sites===
Rutherford is home to the following locations on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]:
* [[Iviswold]] – 223 Montross Avenue (added 2004). Located on the campus of Felician College, a $9 million renovation project of the Iviswold castle that took 14 years was completed in 2013. Originally constructed by Floyd W. Tomkins in 1869, the house was expanded to three levels, 25 rooms and {{convert|18000|sqft}} by textbook publisher David Brinkerhoff Iverson after he acquired the home in 1887, based on a design by architect William H. Miller.<ref>Malysa, Matthew. [http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/200295441_Days_of_grandeur_here_again_for_Rutherford_s_Iviswold_Castle.html "Days of grandeur here again for Rutherford's Iviswold Castle"], ''South Bergenite'', March 27, 2013. Accessed December 16, 2013. "The $9 million transformation of the historical Iviswold Castle on Felician College campus in Rutherford is finally complete-after nearly 14 years of careful, step-by-step restoration."</ref>
* [[Kip Homestead]] – 12 Meadow Road (added 1983).<ref>O'Keefe, Daniel. [http://www.northjersey.com/community-news/historic-sites-now-in-master-plan-1.316264 "Historic sites incorporated into Master Plan"], ''South Bergenite'', January 27, 2011. Accessed September 17, 2015. "Up until this resolution was adopted, Rutherford's Master Plan only recognized seven sites in the borough that were already on the state or national register of historic sites. They include Iviswold Castle at Felician College, the Kip Homestead at 12 Meadow Rd...."</ref>
* [[Rutherford station]] – Station Square (added 1984). New Jersey Transit initiated a $1 million project in 2009 to renovate the station, which had been constructed in 1898, to restore the interior of the structure.<ref>[http://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PressReleaseTo&PRESS_RELEASE_ID=2513 "NJ Transit Approves Interior Work On Rutherford Station; Project will continue restoration of historic station building"], [[NJ Transit]], press release dated May 13, 2009. Accessed December 16, 2013.</ref>
* [[William Carlos Williams House]] – 9 Ridge Road (added 1973).<ref>Leith, Rod. [http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/tough-to-search-for-childhood-home-of-william-carlos-williams-1.1150245 "History Chest: Breakthrough in search for birth place of William Carlos Williams"], ''South Bergenite'', December 11, 2014. Accessed September 19, 2015. "Dr. Williams gave an address for his office and residence as 9 Ridge Road, a house he purchased in 1913 and where he died March 4, 1963."</ref>
* [[Yereance-Berry House]] – 91 Crane Avenue (added 1983).<ref>Hickey, James P. [http://www.northjersey.com/community-news/meadowlands-museum-maps-out-history-of-rutherford-1.601826?page=all "Meadowlands Museum maps out history of Rutherford"], ''South Bergenite'', June 27, 2013. Accessed September 19, 2015. "The map exhibit highlights the museum's Yereance Berry House's location from the 1680s to the present."</ref>