In celebration of National Preservation Month 2016, Bergen County Executive James J. Tedesco III invites the public to the 2016 Bergen County Historic Preservation Awards, to be held Thursday, May 5, at 7:00 p.m. in the historic 1791 “Church on the Green,” the First Reformed Church of Hackensack, 42 Court Street, Hackensack, New Jersey, opposite the Bergen County Court House.
The public is invited to the program, the reception that follows, and to tour the church’s historic cemetery (weather permitting) before the ceremony. Dating to the seventeeth century, the cemetery contains the graves of the area’s earliest families, Revolutionary War soldiers, and that of Gen. Enoch Poor, one of Gen. Washington’s Revolutionary War generals, and Richard Varick, private secretary and aide-de-camp to Washington, who was also mayor of New York City from 1789 to 1801.
Twelve preservation awards will be given in the following categories:
Restoration or Preservation Project
- Restoration of the Waldwick Train Station and the Waldwick Community Alliance
For the restoration of the 1886 Queen Anne-style Waldwick Train Station, a preservation project supervised by the Waldwick Community Alliance.
- Waldwick Erie Railroad Signal Tower Restoration and the Waldwick Historical Society
For the restoration of the 1890 Waldwick Erie Railroad Signal Tower, a preservation project supervised by the Waldwick Historical Society.
Continuing Preservation and Use
- The Historic “Church on the Green” Cemetery, Hackensack
For over three hundred years the Dutch Reformed Church has continued to care for and preserve this nationally significant historic site. Located in the historic heart of Bergen County, the church, built in 1791, is the third on this site. The earliest burials date to the first church building erected here in 1696.
Preservation of a Structure or Site
- The John A. Haring House Dutch Kitchen Preservation and owner Douglas Johnsen Sr., Rockleigh
This eighteenth-century John Haring House stone house and farmstead is located in Rockleigh’s National Register Historic District. Douglas Johnsen Sr., homeowner and Rockleigh’s municipal historian, is being recognized for his outstanding restoration of the c. 1763 Dutch kitchen and his stewardship of this farmstead, which includes the sandstone house, New World Dutch barn, and other buildings.
- The Arnault-Bianchi House, 111 First Street, Wood-Ridge
For the preservation and restoration of the late-nineteenth-century Italianate Arnault-Bianchi House and site owned by the borough of Wood-Ridge.
Preservation Education
- Fort Lee’s Annual “Retreat to Victory”
Held every November in Fort Lee and Fort Lee Historic Park (Palisades Interstate Park), this event is a living history program that recreates the November 20, 1776, critical retreat of three thousand troops of Gen. Washington from the attacking British forces. The event is sponsored by the Borough of Fort Lee, the Fort Lee Historic Preservation Commission, and Fort Lee Historic Park.
- Historic Map Preservation Project and Brochure, New Milford
This 1867 map was discovered hidden in New Milford’s historic Demarest House – one of Bergen County’s early sandstone houses. Donated to New Milford’s Historic Preservation Commission and now displayed in the borough’s public library, the story of the map’s discovery, research into its history, its restoration, and the educational brochure that tells this story, was an educational preservation project that involved the whole community.
- Amanda Klein, History Teacher, Saddle Brook MS/HS
Amanda Klein is cited for her work with the Saddle Brook High School students and for her teaching and their efforts in the preservation of school artifacts, which involved the students in historic preservation.
Preservation Leadership
- Patricia Finn, Allendale
Pat Finn is the founder of the “Save the Fell House Committee” and first president of the “Concerned Citizens of Allendale,” the nonprofit that purchased the endangered home of John Fell, Revolutionary War patriot and Continental Congressman. Under her leadership, the CCA/Fell House applied and received grants for the preservation and restoration of the historic homestead.
- Sophie Heymann: Leader in Historic Preservation, Closter
Sophie Heymann is the former mayor of Closter who has shown exceptional leadership in historic preservation throughout her seventeen years in office as councilwoman and then mayor.
- Rod Leith, Rutherford Municipal Historian
Rod Leith, the Rutherford Municipal Historian, writes the award-winning “History Chest” columns for the South Bergenite weekly newspaper. These columns focus on local historic architecture as well as on sites with significant connections to historic persons or events. He also serves on the board of the Meadowlands Museum, is a member of the Rutherford Historic Preservation Committee, and has been a leader in preserving threatened historic sites.
Claire Tholl Award for Lifetime Achievement in Historic Preservation
- Tim Adriance, Bergenfield
Tim Adriance has been a leader in historic preservation in New Jersey for over thirty years. He is a craftsman, builder, historian, reenactor, writer, lecturer, and a leading authority on early architecture and history in Bergen County and the surrounding area. He is being cited for his outstanding contributions to the preservation and restoration of our most historic buildings, his support of local historic preservation commissions, his educational programs that reach all segments of our community, and his extensive research, knowledge, and preservation of Bergen County’s history.
The 2016 Preservation Awards are hosted by the Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs and Historic Preservation Advisory Board (HPAB). Awards will be presented by the Bergen County Executive, members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, and the HPAB. For more information and to RSVP for the reception, contact the Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs at jstrom@co.bergen.nj.us or 201-336-7267.
From: H-New Jersey