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Upper Montclair, New Jersey
Census-designated place
Upper Montclair business district
Upper MontclairLocation in Essex CountyShow map of Essex County, New JerseyUpper MontclairLocation in New JerseyShow map of New JerseyUpper MontclairLocation in the United StatesShow map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°50′33″N 74°12′05″W / 40.842576°N 74.201302°W / 40.842576; -74.201302
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Essex
Township	Montclair
Area
• Total	2.38 sq mi (6.17 km)
• Land	2.38 sq mi (6.16 km)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km)  0.04%
Elevation	322 ft (98 m)
Population
• Total	13,146
• Density	5,523.53/sq mi (2,132.43/km)
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	07043
Area code(s)	862/973
FIPS code	34-75020
GNIS feature ID	2584034

Upper Montclair is a census-designated place (CDP), unincorporated community and neighborhood within Montclair in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population for the CDP was 11,565. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07043. It is often misperceived, even by Montclair residents, to be a separate municipality from Montclair, perhaps aided by this postal designation.

History

The area now known as Upper Montclair was first developed in the early 18th century as a rural community known as Speertown, named for John Speer, an early Dutch settler. The area remained a rural hamlet for much of that century. The modern township of Montclair, including Upper Montclair, was incorporated in 1868 from part of Bloomfield Township.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP had a total area of 2.536 square miles (6.569 km), including 2.535 square miles (6.567 km) of land and 0.001 square miles (0.002 km) of water (0.04%).

Upper Montclair is north of Watchung Avenue, covering 40.2% of Montclair township's area.

Demographics

The 2010 United States census counted 11,565 people, 4,178 households, and 3,146 families in the CDP. The population density was 4,561.4 per square mile (1,761.2/km). There were 4,310 housing units at an average density of 1,699.9 per square mile (656.3/km). The racial makeup was 83.99% (9,713) White, 6.46% (747) Black or African American, 0.10% (12) Native American, 4.18% (483) Asian, 0.00% (0) Pacific Islander, 1.31% (151) from other races, and 3.97% (459) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.61% (649) of the population.

Of the 4,178 households, 44.2% had children under the age of 18; 64.8% were married couples living together; 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present and 24.7% were non-families. Of all households, 20.3% were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.23.

29.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 20.8% from 25 to 44, 33.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.1 years. For every 100 females, the population had 90.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 85.7 males.

Education

Upper Montclair is in the township of Montclair and is served by the Montclair Public Schools. More than a quarter of the district's schools are found in Upper Montclair. These include Bradford Elementary and Northeast Elementary, which are two of seven elementary schools in Montclair, and Mt. Hebron Middle School, renamed Buzz Aldrin Middle School in September 2016 in honor of the astronaut, who grew up in Montclair, which is one of three Montclair middle schools. Part of Montclair State University's campus is in Upper Montclair.

Upper Montclair is also home to several private schools. They include Lacordaire Academy, Lacordaire Academy Elementary Division and St. Cassian School.

Transportation

Upper Montclair is well connected to the rest of New Jersey and New York City on account of its transportation infrastructure. Public transportation options in Upper Montclair are buses and trains, both provided by New Jersey Transit, although commuter bus service to Manhattan was also provided until April 2023 by DeCamp Bus Lines.

Rail

New Jersey Transit's Montclair-Boonton Line runs through the neighborhood of Upper Montclair. In Upper Montclair there are a total of three train stations of the overall Montclair total of seven. This is because the stations in Montclair are very close together, sometimes under a mile apart. New Jersey Transit train stations are Upper Montclair, Mountain Avenue, and Montclair Heights. From 1889 to 1928, Valley Road, a major road, had an electric trolley line.

Bus

The area is also on NJ Transit's bus route 28, which goes from Montclair State University or Willowbrook Mall along Valley Road through Montclair, Glen Ridge and Bloomfield, to Downtown Newark. This bus route goes along Valley road for the great majority of its path in Upper Montclair, in some places on the route of Decamp's Number 66. Also, two DeCamp Bus Lines routes took commuters to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York until April 2023. Some Number 33 buses went along Grove Street, on the Eastern edge of the neighborhood, while number 66 went along Valley Road, in the West, then the central Park Street.

Road

Upper Montclair has road connections to the rest of Montclair, Cedar Grove, Little Falls, Clifton, and Bloomfield. Just north of the neighborhood's border are U.S. Route 46 and New Jersey Route 3.

Commerce

The commercial zone at the center of Upper Montclair, Upper Montclair Business District is home to several restaurants and shops. Unlike many of Montclair's other commercial zones, it has outlets of several major chain stores. In 2009–2010, several new national and local merchants opened in the area. Montclair Station Restaurant & Bar was opened in the historic Upper Montclair train station. Upper Montclair also has both a park, Anderson Park, and a railway station, Upper Montclair, nearby. There is a post office here.

Parks

Upper Montclair is home to many parks and nature reserves. Within Upper Montclair there are Anderson Park, Yantacaw Brook Park, the Bonsal Nature Reserve, Mountainside Park, the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens, and parts of Mills Reservation and Brookdale Park. In addition, Upper Montclair has the Mountainside Public Pool, which is the largest of the three public pools in Montclair.

Upper Montclair also has Immaculate Conception Cemetery and Mount Hebron Cemetery.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Upper Montclair include:

• Buzz Aldrin (born 1930), astronaut who was the second man to walk on the Moon.
• Yael Averbuch (born 1986), soccer player.
• Raymond A. Brown (1915–2009), attorney whose clients included Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur, boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter and "Dr. X" physician Mario Jascalevich.
• Margaret Colin (born 1958), actress.
• Justin Deas (born 1948), actor.
• Jesse Grupper (born 1997), Olympic rock climber
• John Langley Howard (1902–1999), muralist, printmaker and illustrator, known for his social realism.
• Howard Krongard, head of the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State.
• Rosemary Rice (1925–2012), actress best known for her role as Katrin on CBS-TV series Mama.
• Dr. Leo Sternbach (1908–2005), chemist, invented precursor to Valium.
• Joe Walsh (born 1947), singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.
• Ingrid Wells (born 1989), soccer player.

Gallery

• Upper Montclair Gallery
• Business district in Upper Montclair, which is around the intersection of Valley Road and Bellevue Avenue
• Upper Montclair's library, which is called the Bellevue Branch
• A landmark in Upper Montclair, a clock owned by Chase bank that is situated in the center of town and was installed around 1910. About 2004, the clock was sent away for needed refurbishment.
• Anderson Park
• Presby Memorial Iris Gardens
• A movie being filmed in Upper Montclair
• the Montclair Women's Club
• Brookdale Park

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
2. "Upper Montclair Census Designated Place". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
3. ^ "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
4. ^ Look Up a ZIP Code for Upper Montclair, NJ, United States Postal Service. Accessed June 12, 2012.
5. ^ Gazetteer of New Jersey Places, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 21, 2016.
6. U.S. Census website, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.
7. Geographic codes for New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed June 9, 2023.
8. US Board on Geographic Names, United States Geological Survey. Accessed September 4, 2014.
9. New Jersey: 2010 – Population and Housing Unit Counts – 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2-32), United States Census Bureau, August 2012. Accessed November 6, 2012.
10. Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed April 19, 2015.
11. ^ DP-1 – Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 for Upper Montclair CDP, New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed June 11, 2012.
12. History of Montclair, Township of Montclair. Accessed June 14, 2015.
13. US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 4, 2014.
14. GCT-PH1: Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County -- County Subdivision and Place from 2010 Census Summary File 1 for Essex County, New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed July 22, 2016.
15. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
16. Martin, Julia. "DeCamp ending commuter buses to and from New York City for North Jersey routes", The Record, March 20, 2023. Accessed April 19, 2023. "After 153 years of ferrying commuters from Montclair to Manhattan, DeCamp bus lines will cease all commuter service effective April 7, said Jonathan DeCamp, the company's chief operating officer."
17. Smaridge, Norah. "Tombstones, Manhole Covers and The Ancient Art of Rubbing; The Ancient Art of Rubbing", The New York Times, July 27, 1975. Accessed June 27, 2012. "In Upper Montclair, N.J., for instance, on a small stone outside his boyhood home, an inscription commemorates astronaut Buzz Aldrin."
18. "Yael Averbuch - U.S. Soccer". Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
19. Berger, Joseph.. "Raymond A. Brown, Civil Rights Lawyer, Dies at 94", The New York Times, October 11, 2009. Accessed October 12, 2009.
20. ^ Klein, Alvin. "Baldwin Girl Finds Camelot (on Broadway)", The New York Times, February 22, 1998. Accessed October 10, 2012. "Ms. Colin's Hofstra years lasted from 1976 to 1979, with time out for soap opera stints like Edge of Night and As the World Turns. On World, she played opposite the man she later married, Justin Deas, who is now appearing in the recurring role of Buzz in Guiding Light. He was Tom; she was Margo. A year and a half ago the couple, married 10 years, and their sons, Sam, 8, and Joe, 4, moved from an apartment in Manhattan to 'a mansion for the money' in Upper Montclair, N.J."
21. John Langley Howard, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Accessed February 5, 2021. "Birth Place: Upper Montclair NJ"
22. Howard J. Krongard, Inspector General Archived September 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, United States Department of State. Accessed September 20, 2007.
23. Staff. "Weddings/Celebrations; Mara Krongard, Benjamin Shreck", The New York Times, June 22, 2003. Accessed June 27, 2012. "Mara Lynn Krongard, the daughter of Paula S. Krongard and Howard J. Krongard, both of Upper Montclair, N.J., was married last evening to Benjamin Robert Shreck, a son of Cherie L. Shreck and Dr. Robert R. Shreck of Des Moines."
24. "Rosemary Rice, High School Senior In Play Cast Heading for Broadway", The Montclair Times, September 24, 1942. Accessed February 5, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Miss Rosemary Rice, Montclair High School senior, and daughter of Lieutenant Commander and Mrs. Albert F. Rice of 119 Edgemont Road, Upper Montclair, has stepped into the footlight spotlight."
25. Pearce, Jeremy. "Leo Sternbach, 97, Valium Creator, Dies", The New York Times, October 1, 2005. Accessed October 17, 2007. "The couple lived in Upper Montclair, N.J., until last year, when they moved to Chapel Hill."
26. Inventor of Valium and National Inventors Hall of Fame Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Roche, September 30, 2005. Accessed October 17, 2007. "A devoted family man, Sternbach lived with his wife, Herta, in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, from 1943 to 2003..."
27. Staff. "Ingrid Wells Named ECAC Division I Women's Soccer All-Star Third major award for Wells this season", Georgetown Hoyas, December 2, 2009. Accessed June 27, 2012. "Georgetown University women's soccer player Ingrid Wells (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair) has been named a First Team All-Star Selection by the Eastern College Athletic Conference."

v t e Neighboring municipalities
Little Falls Clifton Clifton Cedar Grove Upper Montclair Bloomfield Verona Remainder of Montclair Glen Ridge

v t e Municipalities and communities of Essex County, New Jersey, United States
County seat: Newark
Cities	East Orange Newark
Boroughs	Caldwell Essex Fells Glen Ridge North Caldwell Roseland
Townships	Belleville Bloomfield Cedar Grove City of Orange Fairfield Irvington Livingston Maplewood Millburn Montclair Nutley South Orange Verona West Caldwell West Orange
CDPs	Ampere North Brookdale Llewellyn Park Montclair State University‡ Pleasantdale Short Hills Silver Lake Upper Montclair Watsessing
Other communities	Halcyon Park
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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• Upper Montclair, New Jersey
• Census-designated places in Essex County, New Jersey
• Census-designated places in New Jersey
• Montclair, New Jersey