Brookdale, New Jersey

History

The original English name of Brookdale was Stone House Plains. "Stone House" referred to a rock formation known as the stone house or great rock, supposedly once suitable as a shelter, just north of the present-day intersection of Bellevue Avenue and Newell Drive. The rock was still present in 1802 but was removed not long afterward. "Plains" referred to the plains of the segment of the Yantecaw River which passes through the area.

Within a decade or so of the turn of the 18th century, settlers, possibly including Abraham Van Giesen, had begun to populate the area along Bellevue Avenue. Circa 1730, Alexander Cockefair, born about 1696 in Bushwick, purchased a "plantation" roughly bounded by the Yantacaw Brook, and modern-day Broad Street and Watchung Avenue. The Sigler and Coeyman families also had very early farms in Stone House Plains. Descendants of these families operated farms, mills, and other businesses in the area for over two centuries.

Dutch was the primary language for many residents through the 18th century. In 1795, the Dutch Reformed Church of Stone House Plains (now Brookdale Reformed Church) was formed, creating a spiritual and social focal point for the community. The original church edifice was built in 1802; it burned and was rebuilt about 1857. The Morris family, which operated mills just south of Brookdale, made a mill pond on the Yantacaw Brook. In the mid-1800s, residents established the first school. In 1873, on the eve of US mail delivery service, the community voted to change the name to Brookdale.

After World War I, much of the farmland was developed into residential housing. The Clark Thread Company bought the Morris Pond (now Clark's Pond) and built an adjoining thread-coloring factory, later occupied by the Scientific Glass Company. Portions of the Cockefair farm were converted into a golf course and a junior high school (now Bloomfield Middle School). Essex County acquired and built Brookdale Park. In 1968, the petrochemical engineering firm Lummus Company set up in northern Brookdale.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 1.607 square miles (4.163 km2), including 1.603 square miles (4.152 km2) of land and 0.004 square miles (0.011 km2) of water (0.26%).

Demographics

2010 2020

Brookdale first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census formed from part of the deleted whole-township Bloomfield CDP.

2020 census

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 9,239 people, 3,445 households, and 2,580 families in the CDP. The population density was 5763.0 /sqmi. There were 3,583 housing units at an average density of 2234.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup was 76.46% (7,064) White, 4.96% (458) Black or African American, 0.11% (10) Native American, 12.25% (1,132) Asian, 0.02% (2) Pacific Islander, 3.00% (277) from other races, and 3.20% (296) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.74% (1,085) of the population.

Of the 3,445 households, 32.3% had children under the age of 18; 62.1% were married couples living together; 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 25.1% were non-families. Of all households, 20.1% were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.13.

21.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 29.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.6 years. For every 100 females, the population had 89.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 87.0 males.

References

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau.
2. [https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/brookdalecdpnewjersey/ QuickFacts Brookdale CDP, New Jersey], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed June 17, 2023.
3. {{Gnis. 2583975. Brookdale Census Designated Place, [[Geographic Names Information System]]. Accessed November 6, 2012.
4. [http://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupResultsAction!input.action?resultMode=0&city=brookdale&state=NJ Look Up a ZIP Code for Brookdale, NJ], [[United States Postal Service]]. Accessed November 6, 2012.
5. [https://www.census.gov U.S. Census website], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed September 4, 2014.
6. [https://mcdc.missouri.edu/applications/geocodes/?state=34 Geographic Codes Lookup for New Jersey], Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed June 9, 2023.
7. [http://geonames.usgs.gov US Board on Geographic Names], [[United States Geological Survey]]. Accessed September 4, 2014.
8. [https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/tigerwebmain/Files/tab20/tigerweb_tab20_cdp_2020_nj.html State of New Jersey Census Designated Places - BVP20 - Data as of January 1, 2020], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed December 1, 2022.
9. [https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-32.pdf#page=19 New Jersey: 2010 - Population and Housing Unit Counts - 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32)], [[United States Census Bureau]], August 2012, p. III-3. Accessed November 6, 2012."
10. an increase of 615 (+6.7%) from the 9,239 counted in the [[2010 United States census. link. (2020-02-12 , [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed November 6, 2012.)
11. Lee, Francis Bazley. [https://books.google.com/books?id=FZE-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA175 ''Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey''], p. 175. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1910. Accessed June 14, 2016.
12. Folsom, Joseph F. [https://archive.org/stream/bloomfieldoldnew01fols#page/167 ''Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium''], pp. 167-168. Local resident Lewis Cockefair, born 1826, was used extensively as a source, and he evidently did not have first-hand knowledge of it.
13. [https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bloomfield,+NJ/@40.8244467,-74.179795,14z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c2556c1f09d441:0xc34400ebfb0706a1!8m2!3d40.8067546!4d-74.1854209!5m1!1e4 Google Maps, accessed Jun 13, 2016.]
14. By about 1750, two brothers, Garrabrant and Teunis Garrabrant, born in 1723 and 1726, respectively, to Cornelius and Jannetje (Pier) Gerbrandsen in Bergen (now [[Jersey City, New Jersey. Jersey City]]), owned sizeable tracts in the vicinity of [[Brookdale Park]], Bellevue Avenue, and Broad Street.[https://archive.org/stream/bloomfieldoldnew01fols#page/176 Folsom, Joseph F., Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, p 177-178.]
15. [https://archive.org/stream/bloomfieldoldnew01fols#page/171 Folsom, Joseph F., Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, p 171-174.]
16. [https://archive.org/stream/bloomfieldoldnew01fols#page/177 Folsom, Joseph F. Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, p. 177-179.]
17. [https://archive.org/stream/bloomfieldoldnew01fols#page/165 Folsom, Joseph F. Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, p. 165-166.]
18. [https://archive.org/stream/bloomfieldoldnew01fols#page/122 Folsom, Joseph F. Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, p. 122.]
19. Sidney, J. C. [https://www.loc.gov/item/2007627504 Map of Essex County, New Jersey: with the names of property holders (Newark N.J.: H.A. Belding, 1850)], [[Library of Congress]]. Accessed June 14, 2016.
20. [https://archive.org/stream/bloomfieldoldnew01fols#page/162 Folsom, Joseph F. Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, p. 162.]
21. [http://www.bloomfieldhistorical.org/towncrier/may2013.pdf "The New Town Crier" newsletter], Historical Society of Bloomfield, May 2013, p. 2.
22. [http://www.bloomfieldtwpnj.com/main/services/brief-history-bloomfield "A Brief History of Bloomfield"] {{Webarchive. link. (2018-04-05 , Township of Bloomfield, New Jersey, December 8, 2014. Accessed June 14, 2016.)
23. [http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2010_place_list_34.txt Gazetteer of New Jersey Places], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed July 21, 2016.
24. [https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990], [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed September 4, 2014.
25. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - New Jersey".
26. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Brookdale CDP, New Jersey".
27. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Brookdale CDP, New Jersey".