Borough of Dumont, NJ history

Again, in 1799, some of the congregation decided to form their own church and build the Dutch Reformed Church in 1801.

Derick and his wife, Elizabeth sold the property to their neighbor Jacob Quackenbush in 1792 who owned it until the sale to Isaac Dixon in 1862.

A line running from Ridgefield Park to Tappan, New York, was the first running through the Schraalenburgh Valley in 1873.

On July 20, 1891, the area was incorporated as a borough called Schraalenburgh.

The railroad brought an influx of commuters and developers and the call for local improvements and autonomy resulted in the borough's incorporation in 1894.

Today's force has a staff of over 30 and a police reserve was formed in 1897, and that same year the borough purchased its first hook and ladder engine which pumped water from wells and brooks.

On July 20, 1891, the area was incorporated as a borough called Schraalenburgh. It wasn't until 1898 that the area would be renamed in honor of the first mayor of the borough, Dumont Clarke.

Grant School, on Grant Avenue in the northeast section of town, built in 1911, holds classes for students in grades K-5.

Lincoln School, built in 1912, is located in the southwest section of the borough and houses students in K-5.

The concept of a public library in Dumont began in 1917 when a group of young girls under the leadership of Miss Katherine MacDonald collected donated books which were used for entertainment of the troops stationed at Camp Merritt.

The Dumont Library Association was established in 1918 and received the girls’ collection which continued to grow.

The Dumont Police Department was formed in 1921, and officers were compensated $1 for each arrest.

A secondary sewage treatment plant on the land, which is now Twin-Boro Park, allowed for installation of sewers in 1926.

The fourth elementary school, Lovell J. Honiss School, circa 1955, is located on Depew Street in the southeast district, and is attended by students grades K-8.

Charles A. Selzer School, on Prospect Avenue, was erected in 1961 and is used by students K-8.

According to the census in 2010, the borough had 17,479 residents, 6,364 households, and 4,678 families within its borders.

At the borough’s newest apartment community, the 146-unit Washington Promenade, which opened in 2020 on a former agricultural property, rents range from $2,405 to $3,450.