Allendale, NJ

Allendale was formed on November 8, 1894, from portions of Franklin Township (remainder now Wyckoff), Hohokus Township (remainder now Mahwah) and Orvil Township (remainder now Waldwick). The borough was formed during the “Boroughitis” phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 1894 alone. The borough was named for Joseph Warner Allen, a surveyor for the Erie Railroad.

Babe Ruth would frequently vacation at the Allendale Hotel, which remains in use as a rooming house.

Allendale is home to the “Celery Farm,” a nature preserve that is home to hundreds of animals, including fox, deer, rabbits, frogs, turtles, rodents, and most notably exotic birds. Many rare birds have been observed by ornithologists including a bald eagle, a common raven, and a pileated woodpecker. A full list of birds and their frequency of appearance can be found online.

There is a variety of recreation opportunities throughout the borough, including Crestwood Park, which covers 71 acres (29 ha) and includes a man-made lake with three diving boards, three beaches, and six swim lanes. Included in the Park is a recreational barn, three baseball / softball fields, two soccer / football fields, a lacrosse field, and four tennis courts.

Several episodes of the television show Ed were filmed in Allendale, including a Thanksgiving Day Parade episode. Scenes from the movie Presumed Innocent, starring Harrison Ford and Bonnie Bedelia, were filmed in Allendale.

The Allendale School District serves public school students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. As of the 2017–2018 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 922 students and 75.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.3:1. Schools in the district (with 2017–2018 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics.) are Hillside School with 389 students in pre-kindergarten to 3rd grade and Brookside School with 524 students from 4th to 8th grades.

Public school students in Allendale for ninth through twelfth grades attend Northern Highlands Regional High School, which also serves students from Ho-Ho-Kus, Upper Saddle River and some of Saddle River’s students (who have the option of attending either Northern Highlands or Ramsey High School, as part of sending/receiving relationships with the two districts). As of the 2017–2018 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,352 students and 113.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.0:1. New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Northern Highlands Regional High School as the 22nd-best high school of the 328 ranked schools in New Jersey in its 2012 rankings of the “Top Public High Schools” after being ranked 6th of 322 schools in 2010.

Public school students from the borough, and all of Bergen County, are eligible to attend the secondary education programs offered by the Bergen County Technical Schools, which include the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, and the Bergen Tech campus in Teterboro or Paramus. The district offers programs on a shared-time or full-time basis, with admission based on a selective application process and tuition covered by the student’s home school district.

Roads and highways

As of May 2010, the borough had a total of 33.47 miles (53.86 km) of roadways, of which 24.99 miles (40.22 km) were maintained by the municipality, 8.10 miles (13.04 km) by Bergen County and 0.38 miles (0.61 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

A small section of Route 17 passes through the far eastern edge of Allendale. The main roads in Allendale are Franklin Turnpike, Allendale Avenue, Brookside Avenue, and Crescent Avenue.

Interstate 287 is accessible in Franklin Lakes and the neighboring town of Mahwah.

Public transportation

NJ Transit provides train service at the Allendale station located at Allendale Avenue, Myrtle Avenue and Park Avenue. There are two ticket vending machines and a shelter at the southbound platform, with an underpass to transfer between the northbound and southbound platforms. The station provides service on both Main Line and Bergen County Line trains. The lines offer service to Hoboken Terminal, with transfers available at Secaucus Junction to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan and to most of New Jersey Transit’s other train lines.

Coach USA / Short Line offers bus service between Allendale and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.

There is no NJ Transit bus service in Allendale.

Allendale is a sister city of Ōmachi, Saga in Japan.