The area now known as Upper Montclair was first developed in the early 18th century as a rural community known as Speertown, named for John Speer, an early Dutch settler. The area remained a rural hamlet for much of that century. The modern township of Montclair, including Upper Montclair, was incorporated in 1868 from part of Bloomfield Township.[12]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 2.536 square miles (6.569 km2), including 2.535 square miles (6.567 km2) of land and 0.001 square miles (0.002 km2) of water (0.04%).[5][13]
Upper Montclair is north of Watchung Avenue, covering 40.2% of Montclair township's area.[14]
Of the 4,178 households, 44.2% had children under the age of 18; 64.8% were married couples living together; 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present and 24.7% were non-families. Of all households, 20.3% were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.23.[11]
29.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 20.8% from 25 to 44, 33.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 90.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 85.7 males.[11]
Education
Mt. Hebron Middle School
Upper Montclair is in the township of Montclair and is served by the Montclair Public Schools. More than a quarter of the district's schools are found in Upper Montclair. These include Bradford Elementary and Northeast Elementary, which are two of seven elementary schools in Montclair, and Mt. Hebron Middle School, renamed Buzz Aldrin Middle School in September 2016 in honor of the astronaut, who grew up in Montclair, which is one of three Montclair middle schools. Part of Montclair State University's campus is in Upper Montclair.
Upper Montclair is well connected to the rest of New Jersey and New York City on account of its transportation infrastructure. Public transportation options in Upper Montclair are buses and trains, both provided by New Jersey Transit, although commuter bus service to Manhattan was also provided until April 2023 by DeCamp Bus Lines.
New Jersey Transit's Montclair-Boonton Line runs through the neighborhood of Upper Montclair. In Upper Montclair there are a total of three train stations of the overall Montclair total of seven. This is because the stations in Montclair are very close together, sometimes under a mile apart. New Jersey Transit train stations are Upper Montclair, Mountain Avenue, and Montclair Heights. From 1889 to 1928, Valley Road, a major road, had an electric trolley line.
Bus
DeCamp Bus Lines #66, stopping in Upper Montclair
The area is also on NJ Transit's bus route 28, which goes from Montclair State University or Willowbrook Mall along Valley Road through Montclair, Glen Ridge and Bloomfield, to Downtown Newark. This bus route goes along Valley road for the great majority of its path in Upper Montclair, in some places on the route of Decamp's Number 66. Also, two DeCamp Bus Lines routes took commuters to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York until April 2023. Some Number 33 buses went along Grove Street, on the Eastern edge of the neighborhood, while number 66 went along Valley Road, in the West, then the central Park Street.[16]
Road
Upper Montclair has road connections to the rest of Montclair, Cedar Grove, Little Falls, Clifton, and Bloomfield. Just north of the neighborhood's border are U.S. Route 46 and New Jersey Route 3.
Commerce
The commercial zone at the center of Upper Montclair, Upper Montclair Business District is home to several restaurants and shops. Unlike many of Montclair's other commercial zones, it has outlets of several major chain stores. In 2009–2010, several new national and local merchants opened in the area. Montclair Station Restaurant & Bar was opened in the historic Upper Montclair train station. Upper Montclair also has both a park, Anderson Park, and a railway station, Upper Montclair, nearby. There is a post office here.
Parks
Upper Montclair is home to many parks and nature reserves. Within Upper Montclair there are Anderson Park, Yantacaw Brook Park, the Bonsal Nature Reserve, Mountainside Park, the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, and parts of Mills Reservation and Brookdale Park. In addition, Upper Montclair has the Mountainside Public Pool, which is the largest of the three public pools in Montclair.
Business district in Upper Montclair, which is around the intersection of Valley Road and Bellevue Avenue
Upper Montclair's library, which is called the Bellevue Branch
A landmark in Upper Montclair, a clock owned by Chase bank that is situated in the center of town and was installed around 1910. About 2004, the clock was sent away for needed refurbishment.
^ abKlein, Alvin. "Baldwin Girl Finds Camelot (on Broadway)", The New York Times, February 22, 1998. Accessed October 10, 2012. "Ms. Colin's Hofstra years lasted from 1976 to 1979, with time out for soap opera stints like Edge of Night and As the World Turns. On World, she played opposite the man she later married, Justin Deas, who is now appearing in the recurring role of Buzz in Guiding Light. He was Tom; she was Margo. A year and a half ago the couple, married 10 years, and their sons, Sam, 8, and Joe, 4, moved from an apartment in Manhattan to 'a mansion for the money' in Upper Montclair, N.J."
^Staff. "Weddings/Celebrations; Mara Krongard, Benjamin Shreck", The New York Times, June 22, 2003. Accessed June 27, 2012. "Mara Lynn Krongard, the daughter of Paula S. Krongard and Howard J. Krongard, both of Upper Montclair, N.J., was married last evening to Benjamin Robert Shreck, a son of Cherie L. Shreck and Dr. Robert R. Shreck of Des Moines."
^"Rosemary Rice, High School Senior In Play Cast Heading for Broadway", The Montclair Times, September 24, 1942. Accessed February 5, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Miss Rosemary Rice, Montclair High School senior, and daughter of Lieutenant Commander and Mrs. Albert F. Rice of 119 Edgemont Road, Upper Montclair, has stepped into the footlight spotlight."
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