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Local
History

As one of the biggest libraries in Bergen County, and by virtue of Hackensack’s status as the county seat of Bergen County, JPL has always made sure to maintain a strong collection of local history volumes for the research-inclined members. 

The quiet study room is located in the original part of the library which opened in 1901.  This lovely, quiet room has a portrait of Senator Johnson above the non-functioning fireplace.  We house historical books about the library, the city, the county and the state in this room.  Among the titles of interest:

  • City directories for Hackensack:1879, 1898-1902, 1906-1926, 1947-1956. Some of these directories were published by the railroad companies and include other towns north of Hackensack on the railroad line.

  • Bergen County Historic Site Surveys of each town in the county.  These were published in 1983.

  • City of Hackensack Master Plan 1958, 1975, 1990

  • The Night We Stopped the Trolley by Earl Schenck Miers

  • Holy Trinity Parish, 125 years

  • The Old Church on the Green

  • New Jersey State Industrial Directory 1901-1992 (with gaps)

  • Walker Atlas of Bergen County 1876

  • The Record Index 1959-1981

  • Catalog and Bulletin of the Johnson Public Library 1901-1906

  • Black Man in the White House; Forty Years a Guinea Pig; Way Down South Up North – all by E. Frederic Morrow

For local history questions, please visit the Reference Desk or call the Reference Desk directly at 201-343-4781 

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