Essex Fells, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Essex Fells, New Jersey
Borough
Essex Fells Post Office
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Location of Essex Fells in Essex County highlighted in red (right). Inset map: Location of Essex County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (left).
Census Bureau map of Essex Fells, New Jersey
Essex Fells, New Jersey Location in Essex County, New Jersey Show map of Essex County, New Jersey Essex Fells, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Essex Fells, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Essex
Incorporated	March 31, 1902
Government
• Type	Borough
• Body	Borough Council
Area
• Total	1.41 sq mi (3.66 km2)
• Land	1.41 sq mi (3.65 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2)  0.43%
Area rank	460th of 565 in state 20th of 22 in county
Elevation	505 ft (154 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,244
• Estimate  (2023)	2,138
• Rank	478th of 565 in state 22nd of 22 in county
• Density	1,593.4/sq mi (615.2/km2)
• Density rank	329th of 565 in state 21st of 22 in county
Economics
• Median income	$247,000 (± $27,417) (2020)
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07021
Area code(s)	973 exchanges: 226, 228, 264, 403, 618
FIPS code	3401321840
GNIS feature ID	2390558
Website

Essex Fells is a borough in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2,244, an increase of 131 (+6.2%) from the 2010 census count of 2,113, which in turn had reflected a decline of 49 (−2.3%) from the 2,162 counted in the 2000 census.

Essex Fells was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 31, 1902, from portions of Caldwell Township (now Fairfield Township). The community's name was derived by taking "Essex" from the name of the county and adding "Fells" from the name of John F. Fell which also means hill or down.

New Jersey Family magazine ranked Essex Fells as the best town for families in its 2016 rankings of "New Jersey's Best Towns for Families". New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Essex Fells as its 10th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey. Niche.com ranked Essex Fells as the seventh best place to live in its 2019 rankings of the "Best Places to Live" in New Jersey.

In 2010, Forbes.com listed Essex Fells as 182nd in its listing of "America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes", with a median home price of $1,140,885. The borough's median household income, as of the 2020 United States Census, was $247,000.

History

Essex Fells was part of the Horseneck Tract, which was an area that consisted of what are now the municipalities of Caldwell, West Caldwell, North Caldwell, Fairfield, Verona, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Roseland, and portions of Livingston and West Orange.

In 1702, settlers purchased the 14,000 acres (57 km²) Horseneck Tract—so-called because of its irregular shape that suggested a horse's neck and head—from the Lenni Lenape Native Americans for goods equal to $325. This purchase encompassed much of western Essex County, from the Orange, or First Mountain in the Watchung Mountain range to the Passaic River.

In the late 1800s, Philadelphia developer Anthony S. Drexel realized the impact of train travel on residential development and sent Charles W. Leavitt to the northern New Jersey area near the end of the Caldwell line. Leavitt, Drexel and Drexel's son-in-law John F. Fell formed the Suburban Land Company and purchased 1,000 acres of land from the estate of Revolutionary War General William J. Gould. In order to create their residential development the group commissioned noted architect Ernest W. Bowditch. The community's name was derived by taking "Essex" from the name of the county and adding "Fells" from the name of John F. Fell which also means hill or down.

Based on an ordinance passed in 1928, commercial activity in the borough is limited to a single three-story building constructed to look like a house and two small workshops on a dead end. As of 2000^[update], Essex Fells had 750 houses, most of which were custom built, with many occupying lots several acres in size. The borough has no apartment buildings, office buildings or traffic lights, and until recently, no condominiums. The only units available for rental are in carriage houses and other ancillary structures.

In 1981, the borough was one of seven Essex County municipalities to pass a referendum to become a township, joining four municipalities that had already made the change, of what would ultimately be more than a dozen Essex County municipalities to reclassify themselves as townships in order take advantage of federal revenue sharing policies that allocated townships a greater share of government aid to municipalities on a per capita basis. Effective January 1, 1992, it again became a borough.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.41 square miles (3.66 km²), including 1.41 square miles (3.65 km²) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.02 km²) of water (0.43%).

The borough borders the Essex County municipalities of Caldwell, North Caldwell, Roseland, Verona, West Caldwell and West Orange.

Climate

Demographics

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 2,113 people, 728 households, and 598 families in the borough. The population density was 1,496.3 per square mile (577.7/km²). There were 758 housing units at an average density of 536.8 per square mile (207.3/km²). The racial makeup was 94.56% (1,998) White, 1.09% (23) Black or African American, 0.00% (0) Native American, 2.18% (46) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 0.24% (5) from other races, and 1.94% (41) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.99% (42) of the population.

Of the 728 households, 42.6% had children under the age of 18; 73.4% were married couples living together; 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present and 17.9% were non-families. Of all households, 16.3% were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.26.

29.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 18.0% from 25 to 44, 31.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.8 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.6 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 95.6 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $182,031 (with a margin of error of +/− $16,894) and the median family income was $202,917 (+/− $46,038). Males had a median income of $120,417 (+/− $32,492) versus $72,500 (+/− $12,065) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $94,423 (+/− $11,353). About 0.9% of families and 0.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.9% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

Grover Cleveland Park, the seventh-largest park in the Essex County park system, is a heavily wooded park covering 41.48 acres (167,900 m²) in the western section of the county along the Caldwell-Essex Fells border.

Essex Fells Pond, or also known as "The Pond" by Essex Fells residents, is a popular destination in the winter. Located on Fells Road, "The Pond" attracts people of all ages, typically during the months of December through March. Popular activities include ice skating, pond hockey, and figure skating.

Education

The Essex Fells School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade at Essex Fells School. As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 247 students and 23.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.4:1. In 2016, the school was one of ten schools in New Jersey recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education, a recognition celebrating excellence in academics.

Students in public school for seventh through twelfth grades attend the West Essex Regional School District, a regional school district serving students from Essex Fells, Fairfield, North Caldwell and Roseland. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are West Essex Middle School with 564 students in grades 7-8 and West Essex High School with 1,123 students in grades 9-12. Seats on the nine-member board of education of the high school district are allocated based on population, with one seat assigned to Essex Fells.

Transportation

County Route 527 in Essex Fells

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the borough had a total of 16.99 miles (27.34 km) of roadways, of which 15.31 miles (24.64 km) were maintained by the municipality and 1.68 miles (2.70 km) by Essex County.

County Route 527 and County Route 506 are the main roads serving Essex Fells.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides service in the borough to and from Newark on the 29 and 71 routes.

Notable people

Justin Gimelstob

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Essex Fells include:

• Bob Bradley (born 1958), former coach of the United States men's national soccer team
• Jeremy Brodeur (born 1996), professional ice hockey goalie
• Willis Carrier (1876–1950), known as the "father of the modern day air conditioner"
• Don Criqui (born 1940), sportscaster for CBS Sports
• Ian Eagle (born 1969), sports announcer
• Noah Eagle (born 1997), sporscaster for Fox Sports and the Tennis Channel.
• Connie Francis (born 1937), singer
• Justin Gimelstob (born 1977), retired professional tennis player
• Anne Steele Marsh (1901–1995), painter and printmaker whose watercolors, oil paintings and wood engravings were widely exhibited
• James Randall Marsh (1896–1965), artist
• Henry G. Morse (1884–1934), architect
• Elizabeth Parr-Johnston (born 1939), Canadian business woman
• Brian Rafalski (born 1973), former NHL defenseman who played for the New Jersey Devils
• Scott Stevens (born 1964), former NHL defenseman who played for the New Jersey Devils during his career
• Bo Sullivan (1937–2000), chairman of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and a Republican Party politician who sought the nomination for Governor of New Jersey in the 1981 primary
• Johnny Sylvester (1915–1990), lived here when he was visited on October 11, 1926, by Babe Ruth, who promised that he would hit a home run on his behalf during the 1926 World Series
• John C. Whitehead (1922–2015), former chairman of Goldman Sachs who also served as the 9th United States Deputy Secretary of State

See also

In Spanish: Essex Fells para niños