Our Town of Berkeley Heights,NJ 07922 in Union County!

A Little History

The township is a total area of 6.3 square miles.Berkeley Heights is located partially on the crest of the Second Watchung Mountain and in the Passaic River Valley, aptly named as the Passaic River forms the township's northern border.

Berkeley Heights is located in northwestern Union County, at the confluence of Union, Morris, and Somerset Counties. Berkeley Heights is bordered by New Providence and Summit to the east, Chatham to the north, Watchung to the south, and Warren Township and Long Hill Township to the west.

The first European settler was Peter Willcox, who received a 424 acre land grant in 1720 from the Elizabethtown Associates. This group bought much of northern New Jersey from the Lenni Lenape Indians in the late 17th century. He built a grist and lumber mill across Green Brook.

In 1793, a regional government was formed. It encompassed the area from present-day New Providence, Summit, Springfield, and Berkeley Heights, and was called Springfield Township. Growth continued in the area, and by the early 180o's, Springfield Township divided into Springfield Township and New Providence Township. New Providence Township included present day Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights.

In 1845, Peter Willcox's heirs sold the mill to David Felt, a paper manufacturer from New York. Mr. Felt built a small village around the mill aptly named Feltville. It included homes for workers and their families, dormitories, orchards, a post office and a general store with a second floor church.

In 1860, Feltville was sold to sarsaparilla makers. Other manufacturing operations continued until Feltville went into bankruptcy in 1882. When residents moved away, the area became known as the Deserted Village.

Deserted Village is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is undergoing restoration by the Union County Parks Department. Deserted Village, in the Watchung Reservation, is open daily for unguided walking tours during daylight hours.

In 1869, Summit Township (now the City of Summit) seceded from New Providence Township. In 1899, the Borough of New Providence seceded from New Providence Township. Present day Berkeley Heights remained as New Providence Township.

Due to confusion between the adjacent municipalities of the Borough of New Providence and the Township of New Providence, the township voted 1952 change the name to Berkeley Heights Township. The origin of the township's name has not fully established, it is believed to have been taken from an area of town that was referred to Berkeley, which is believed that it was derived from Lord John Berkeley, who was co-proprietor of New Jersey from 1664 to 1674.

Early life in Berkeley Heights is documented in the Littell-Lord Farmhouse Museum & Farmstead located at 31 Horseshoe Road in Berkeley Heights, an 18-acre museum surrounding two houses, one of which was built in the 1750s and the other near the turn of the century. The museum is open 2-4 p.m. on the third Sunday of each month from April through December, or by appointment. Call (908) 464-0961 for more information.

Among the exhibits are a Victorian master bedroom and a Victorian children's room, furnished with period antiques. The children's room also has reproductions of antique toys, which visitors can play with. The museum, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, also includes an outbuilding that was used as a summer kitchen, a corn-crib dating to the 19th century and a spring house built around a spring and used for refrigeration.

Public Schools

The Mary Kay McMillin Early Childhood Center houses pre-Kindergarten through first grade . This school opened in 1997. T

There are three elementary schools in the district, each of which houses students of grades two through five. These schools are Mountain Park Elementary School, Thomas P. Hughes Elementary School, and William Woodruff Elementary School.

Columbia Middle School is the single middle school in the district. It houses grades six through eight. It also houses the School Administration Offices in the town in the old school building.

Governor Livingston High School is the single high school in the district. It houses approximately 1,000 students in grades nine through twelve. It also educates high school students from the neighboring Borough of Mountainside.Governor Livingston also provides programs for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Cognitively Impaired.

New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Governor Livingston High School as the 18th best high school in New Jersey in its 2009 rankings of the "Top Public High Schools" in New Jersey.

If your looking for a town that will offer you "quality of life" Berkeley Heights is one the town that should be on your list. Convenient to all major shopping, to Rts I78, Rt 287, Rt 22. In-town train station (permit parking) that will get you to New York City, and 20 minutes to Newark Airport.

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