TOWN HISTORIAN
Mr. Bill Wassmann

A Brief (100 Year) History of Emerson on the Day of its 100th Birthday
By Muriel Wassmann

We celebrate...lives who carved out a community for themselves and their families in a 2.5 square mile area that we now call home. In a desire to have clean air, good water, and an escape from the poor living conditions of the city, they found an area we now call Emerson today. Much had to do with the railroad coming through what was to become "the center of town" or “downtown.”

At the time Etna, NJ was incorporated, there were two churches, one public school, a hotel, farmland, a few stores, two rather grand estates, and at least eight homes dating to Revolutionary times, but no paved roads and a great need for a fire department. By 1903, dredging was in progress to create a public water supply system. This left us with a lovely lake (reservoir) and woods on the eastern side of town.

[Emerson] is about pride, progress, volunteerism and self esteem. We are honoring all those who came before us, who worked, lived their lives and got us to where we are today. And we are the lucky ones - WE will be celebrating and eating the birthday cake!

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The Library's collection contains many interesting books about New Jersey History and the History of Emerson. We are also a member of the Pascack Historical Society. For additional on-line historical resources visit the Society's History Resource Page