Maplewood, New Jersey
Encyclopedia
Maplewood is a township
Township (New Jersey)
A township, in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. As a political entity, a township is a full-fledged municipality, on par with any town, city, borough, or village, collecting property taxes and providing...

 in Essex County
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...

, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 23,867.

History

When surveying the area now known as Maplewood, Robert Treat
Robert Treat
Robert Treat was an American colonial leader, militia officer and governor of Connecticut between 1683 and 1698....

 found several trails used by Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...

 tribes of Algonquian
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...

 Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

, though there was only sparse pre-European settlement. These paths form the basis for what are the town's main thoroughfares today.

The first European settlers arrived around 1675, primarily English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

, Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

, and French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...

s who had earlier settled Hempstead
Town of Hempstead, New York
Hempstead is one of the three towns in Nassau County, New York, United States, occupying the southwest part of the county. There are twenty-two incorporated villages completely or partially in the town. Hempstead's combined population was 759,757 at the 2010 Census, the majority of the population...

, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

, and Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...

, via Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

 and Elizabeth
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...

. They had acquired most of today’s Essex County from the Native Americans and followed three trails that roughly correspond to South Orange Avenue, Springfield Avenue, and Ridgewood Road. These three routes resulted in three separate communities that merged into Maplewood and South Orange.

Those who came from Newark on the trail that now corresponds to South Orange Avenue settled the area that became South Orange
South Orange, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 16,964 people, 5,522 households, and 3,766 families residing in the township. The population density was 5,945.3 people per square mile . There were 5,671 housing units at an average density of 1,987.5 per square mile...

 Village.

Six families (with last names of Smith, Brown, Pierson, Freeman, Ball, and Gildersleeve) came up today’s Ridgewood Road and established scattered farms around a center that became Jefferson Village, named after Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

. This village, which roughly corresponds to downtown Maplewood today, developed several mills and orchards. John Durand, the son of Hudson River school
Hudson River school
The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by romanticism...

 painter Asher Brown Durand
Asher Brown Durand
Asher Brown Durand was an American painter of the Hudson River School.-Early life:Durand was born in and eventually died in Maplewood, New Jersey , the eighth of eleven children; his father was a watchmaker and a silversmith.Durand was apprenticed to an engraver from 1812 to 1817, later entering...

 (who was born in Maplewood in 1796), describes the place as a picturesque but slightly backwards community with close ties to Springfield
Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey
Township of Springfield is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population increased to a record high of 15,817....

. The apple harvest was apparently quite impressive and included “Harrison” and “Canfield” varieties. By 1815, there were approximately 30 families in the village. Although the residents of the area were predominantly Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...

, the first house of worship was a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 chapel in 1812. This was in use until 1846 and fell into disrepair until 1858, when it was taken into use as a Methodist Episcopal
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...

 church.

Those who came up today’s Springfield Avenue settled on a hill crest near today’s intersection between Tuscan and Springfield Avenue and established a hamlet known as North Farms. Over time, this community became known as the Hilton section. It became a stagecoach stop between Newark, Jersey City
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...

 (then Paulus Hook
Paulus Hook, Jersey City
Paulus Hook is a community on the Hudson River waterfront in Jersey City, New Jersey, located one mile across the river from Manhattan. The name Hook comes from the Dutch word "hoeck" which translates into "point of land." This "point of land" has been described as an elevated area, the location...

), and Morristown
Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 18,411. It is the county seat of Morris County. Morristown became characterized as "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the...

 and thereby a center for trade and light manufacturing. The village changed its name from North Farms to Middleville in 1830, and then to Hilton in 1880 when it was granted a post office. In 1855, Seth Boyden
Seth Boyden
Seth Boyden was an American inventor. He was the brother of Uriah A. Boyden.A New England native , he was a watchmaker who moved to Newark, New Jersey. Boyden perfected the process for making patent leather, created malleable iron, invented a nail-making machine, and built his own steamboat...

 settled in what was then Middleville to retire but innovated a number of agricultural products, especially berries. Boyden also built and put into operation the first steam engines to service the railroad through Maplewood.
The area became known for its orchards and related industries, including cider mills and distilleries of rum, but also honey and some livestock.

In 1802, Jefferson Village and North Farms were named as districts under the Township of Newark.

The three communities operated independently, each establishing their own school associations: South Orange established the Columbian school in 1814, which would form the basis for today’s Columbia High School
Columbia High School (New Jersey)
Columbia High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school located at 17 Parker Avenue in Maplewood, New Jersey, which serves students in grades nine through twelve within the South Orange-Maplewood School District, which includes Maplewood and South Orange Townships...

; North Farms established the North Farms Association in 1817; and Jefferson Village the Jefferson Association in 1818. In 1867, when the State of New Jersey established public education through the School Law, the newly appointed County Superintendent merged the three associations into one school district, which was formalized in 1894 as the South Orange-Maplewood School District
South Orange-Maplewood School District
The South Orange-Maplewood School District is a regional public school district, serving students from two communities in Essex County, New Jersey, United States...

. James Ricalton
James Ricalton
James Ricalton was a school teacher, traveler, inventor, and photographer. Ricalton travelled extensively and he circumnavigated the world seven times. -Maplewood:...

, a teacher born in Waddington, New York
Waddington (town), New York
Waddington is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 2,212 at the 2000 census. The town was named after its principal village.The Town of Waddington has a village, also called Waddington...

 of Scottish parents, set the high standard of education that persists in the school district to this day.

Maplewood was originally formed as South Orange Township, which was created on April 1, 1861, from portions of Clinton Township and what was then the Town of Orange
Orange, New Jersey
The City of Orange is a city and township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 30,134...

. The name of the township was changed to Maplewood on November 7, 1922.

When the Morris and Essex Railroad
Morris and Essex Railroad
The Morris and Essex Railroad was a railroad across northern New Jersey, later part of the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.-History:...

 from Newark was extended to the area in 1838, a land speculator by the name of John Shedden built a railroad station in Jefferson Village and named it Maplewood. This name came to comprise areas known as Hilton, Jefferson Village, and areas previously part of Springfield. In 1868, farms were divided into parcels for residential housing. The 1920s saw significant growth in new residents and structures, foreshadowing a complete suburb.

Geography

Maplewood is located at 40.728901°N 74.268213°W (40.728901, −74.268213).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the township has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²).A pond is in Memorial Park, the Rahway River
Rahway River
The Rahway River is a river, approximately 24 mi long, in northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The river drains part of the suburban and urbanized area of New Jersey west of New York City. Part of the extended area of New York Harbor, the river empties into the Arthur Kill. In its...

 runs through the town, and there is a municipal pool club with four man-made pools of water; the remainder of the area is land.

Maplewood shares a border with the following municipalities: West Orange and South Orange to the north, Newark and Irvington to the east, Union to the south, and Millburn to the west.

Climate

Maplewood has a humid subtropical climate
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...

 (Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

 Cfa).

Architecture and landscape

Many of the more recognizable buildings and spaces were the work of famous architects and landscape designers. Most of the schools and the Municipal Building were the work of Guilbert & Betelle. The center of town is dominated by Memorial Park, a design of the Olmsted Brothers
Olmsted Brothers
The Olmsted Brothers company was an influential landscape design firm in the United States, formed in 1898 by stepbrothers John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. .-History:...

. The Olmsted firm was also responsible for the landscaping at Ward Homestead
Ward Homestead
Ward Homestead is a notable landmark because it is the combined work of three great 20th century figures, architect John Russell Pope and landscape designers, the Olmsted Brothers. -Marcus L. Ward Home:...

, designed by John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope was an architect most known for his designs of the National Archives and Records Administration building , the Jefferson Memorial and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.-Biography:Pope was born in New York in 1874, the son of a successful...

, and now known as Winchester Gardens, located on Elmwood Avenue. On the opposite side of town is another Olmsted work, South Mountain Reservation
South Mountain Reservation
South Mountain Reservation covers 2,047.14 acres in central Essex County, New Jersey, in portions of Maplewood, and Millburn and West Orange, bordering South Orange, between the first and second ridges of the Watchung Mountains....

. The Maplewood Theater, where Cheryl Crawford
Cheryl Crawford
Cheryl Crawford was an American theatre producer and director.Born in Akron, Ohio, Crawford majored in drama at Smith College. Following graduation, she moved to New York City and enrolled at the Theatre Guild's school...

 first revived Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...

, was designed by William E. Lehman.

There are approximately 226 streets covering 60 miles (96.6 km) within Maplewood. One thoroughfare, Springfield Avenue, is a state highway (Route 124
Route 124 (New Jersey)
Route 124 is a state highway in the northern part of New Jersey in the United States that is long. It is the eastern section of what used to be Route 24 before that road was realigned to its current freeway alignment. The western end is at an intersection with U.S...

, from Irvington
Irvington, New Jersey
Irvington is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a total population of 53,926, a decline of 11.2% from the 60,695 residents enumerated in the 2000 Census.-Geography:...

 to Morristown
Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 18,411. It is the county seat of Morris County. Morristown became characterized as "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the...

), and four thoroughfares (Valley Street, Millburn Avenue, Irvington Avenue and Wyoming Avenue), are Essex County roads.

Development controversy

The Maplewood Township Committee is in negotiations to sell the former Police Station site at 125 Dunnell Road, which is across the street from, and overlooks, Memorial Park. Some residents are concerned that redeveloping the Police Station property with a residential use will significantly alter the Memorial Park area. The Township Committee has approved a plan that will allow a building with a maximum height of 50 feet (15.2 m) on the site. There have been some discussions about bringing greater density to the area around the park and Maplewood Village, and some residents are concerned by the possibility of additional density as well.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 23,868 people, 8,452 households, and 6,381 families residing in the township. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 6,207.1 people per square mile (2,393.6/km2). There were 8,615 housing units at an average density of 2,240.4 per square mile (864.0/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 58.78% White, 32.63% African American, 0.13% Native American, 2.86% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.56% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 4.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.23% of the population.

Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $399,700 (it was $222,700 in 2000).

There were 8,452 households out of which 40.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the township the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the township was $94,253, and the median income for a family was $111,725. Males had a median income of $57,572 versus $41,899 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the township was $36,794. 4.4% of the population and 3.4% of families were below the poverty line. 4.9% of those under the and 6.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Local government

Maplewood is governed under the Township
Township (New Jersey)
A township, in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. As a political entity, a township is a full-fledged municipality, on par with any town, city, borough, or village, collecting property taxes and providing...

 form of government with a five-member Township Committee. The Township Committee is elected directly by the voters in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with one or two seats coming up for election each year. At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor for a one year term, and another to serve as Vice Mayor. The Mayor has the responsibility of Chair for the Township Committee meetings with voice and vote. The Mayor is considered the head of the municipal government.

The Township Committee is the legislative body of the municipality. It is under these powers that the Township Committee has the responsibility for passing laws that effect the Township. The Township Committee is also an executive body.
Under this form of government, the elected Township Committee sets policy and overall direction for the Township. The Township staff, under the direction of the Township Administrator, carries out Committee policy and provides day to day services. The Township Administrator serves as the chief administrative officer and is accountable to the Township Committee.

, members of the Maplewood Township Committee are Mayor Victor DeLuca, Vice Mayor Kathleen M. Leventhal, Deputy Mayor for the Environment Fred R. Profeta Jr., Marlon K. Brownlee and Gerard W. Ryan.

Federal, state and county representation

Maplewood is in the 10th Congressional district.

Maplewood is in the

Politics

On the national level, Maplewood leans strongly toward the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

 received 76% of the vote, defeating Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

, who received around 23%.

In 2008
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...

, Democrat Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 received 82% (9,130 ballots) of the vote and Republican John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....

 17% (1,927).

Community

Maplewood prides itself on being a diverse and family-friendly community. In a number of surveys it is ranked among the most desirable places to live in the United States. The township has a downtown area alternatively known as "the village" or "Maplewood Center" with its own movie theater, several upscale and mid-scale restaurants, a small supermarket, independent café, two liquor stores, a toy store and a small bookstore. Maplewood is served by a New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...

 rail station
Maplewood (NJT station)
Maplewood Station is a New Jersey Transit station in Maplewood, New Jersey along the Morris and Essex rail line. It is the sole railroad station in Maplewood and is located at the heart of its shopping and business district....

 which is named after it. The structure of the village is largely unchanged since the 1950s.

Education

Maplewood schools are part of the unified South Orange-Maplewood School District
South Orange-Maplewood School District
The South Orange-Maplewood School District is a regional public school district, serving students from two communities in Essex County, New Jersey, United States...

, together with the neighboring community of South Orange
South Orange, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 16,964 people, 5,522 households, and 3,766 families residing in the township. The population density was 5,945.3 people per square mile . There were 5,671 housing units at an average density of 1,987.5 per square mile...

. Schools in the district (with 2008–09 school enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...

) are six elementary schools serving grades K-5 —
Seth Boyden Elementary School (grades K-5, 482 students),
Clinton Elementary School (K-5, 453),
Jefferson Elementary School (3–5, 418),
Marshall Elementary School (K-2, 443),
South Mountain Elementary School and Annex (K-5, 578) and
Tuscan Elementary School (K-5, 591) —
Maplewood Middle School (707) and
South Orange Middle School (650) for grades 6–8 and
Columbia High School
Columbia High School (New Jersey)
Columbia High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school located at 17 Parker Avenue in Maplewood, New Jersey, which serves students in grades nine through twelve within the South Orange-Maplewood School District, which includes Maplewood and South Orange Townships...

 (1,866 students) for grades 9–12.

Performance venues

The township owns and operates the Burgdorff Center for the Performing Arts at 10 Durand Road. The Center, a former Christian Science Church, was donated to the town by Jean Burgdorff, a local real estate entrepreneur. The building was transferred to the town on October 15, 1988. The township recently committed to a $130,000 plan to improve the building.

Maplewoodstock

Every year, during the weekend following the weekend closest to July 4, there is a concert in town called Maplewoodstock. The free concert consists of local and national bands performing alongside various stalls showcasing local businesses.

Popular culture

  • Ultimate
    Ultimate (sport)
    Ultimate is a sport played with a 175 gram flying disc. The object of the game is to score points by passing the disc to a player in the opposing end zone, similar to an end zone in American football or rugby...

     Frisbee
    Frisbee
    A flying disc is a disc-shaped glider that is generally plastic and roughly in diameter, with a lip. The shape of the disc, an airfoil in cross-section, allows it to fly by generating lift as it moves through the air while rotating....

     (now called simply "Ultimate") was invented in Maplewood in 1968 by students at Columbia High School. A plaque commemorating the birthplace of Ultimate Frisbee is located in the student parking lot.
  • Maplewood is the birthplace of the wooden golf tee, invented by William Lowell at the Maplewood Golf Club in 1921.
  • Maplewood has been the site for several films, including I Wanna Hold Your Hand
    I Wanna Hold Your Hand (film)
    I Wanna Hold Your Hand is a comedy film directed and co-written by Robert Zemeckis, which takes its name from the 1963 song "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles. It was produced and co-written by Bob Gale. The film is about "Beatlemania" and is a fictionalized account of the day of the...

    , Garden State
    Garden State (film)
    Garden State is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by, directed by, and starring Zach Braff, with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman , a 26-year-old actor/waiter who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies...

    , Gracie
    Gracie (film)
    Gracie is a 2007 American historical sports drama film directed by Davis Guggenheim. It stars Carly Schroeder as Gracie Bowen, Dermot Mulroney as Bryan Bowen, Elisabeth Shue as Lindsay Bowen, Jesse Lee Soffer as Johnny Bowen, and Andrew Shue as Coach Owen Clark.Gracie takes place in New Jersey,...

    , One True Thing
    One True Thing
    One True Thing is a 1998 American drama film directed by Carl Franklin. It tells the story of a woman who is forced to put her life on hold in order to care for her mother who is dying of cancer. It was adapted by Karen Croner from the novel by Anna Quindlen. The movie stars Meryl Streep, Renée...

    , and Stepmom
    Stepmom (film)
    Stepmom is a 1998 comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus and starring Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, and Ed Harris.The film was a commercial success, but a moderate critical success.-Plot:...

    .
  • In the 2004 film
    Film
    A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

     The Polar Express
    The Polar Express (film)
    The Polar Express is a 2004 motion capture computer-animated film based on the children's book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg. Written, produced, and directed by Robert Zemeckis, the human characters in the film were animated using live action performance capture technique, with the...

    , Maplewood is mentioned as the place where "Steven" lives.
  • Zach Braff
    Zach Braff
    Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...

    , a Columbia High School
    Columbia High School (New Jersey)
    Columbia High School is a four-year comprehensive regional public high school located at 17 Parker Avenue in Maplewood, New Jersey, which serves students in grades nine through twelve within the South Orange-Maplewood School District, which includes Maplewood and South Orange Townships...

     alumnus
    Alumnus
    An alumnus , according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a graduate of a school, college, or university." An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor or inmate as well as a former student. In addition, an alumna is "a female graduate or former student of a school, college,...

    , filmed a scene in his 2004 film, Garden State
    Garden State (film)
    Garden State is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by, directed by, and starring Zach Braff, with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman , a 26-year-old actor/waiter who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies...

    , where he and Natalie Portman
    Natalie Portman
    Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...

     drive by the front of Columbia High School.
  • In the second episode of the television series House
    House (TV series)
    House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...

    , "Paternity", a patient from Maplewood drives all the way to the city of Plainsboro in New Jersey for medical treatment because, as House puts it, he "sued half the doctors in Maplewood, and the rest are now refusing to treat [him]". http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:y8Is1PNjJ6kJ:www.house-online.org/transcripts/transcripts_episode1x02.htm+House+I+sued+all+the+doctors+in+Maplewood&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us
  • In the 2007 film Gracie
    Gracie (film)
    Gracie is a 2007 American historical sports drama film directed by Davis Guggenheim. It stars Carly Schroeder as Gracie Bowen, Dermot Mulroney as Bryan Bowen, Elisabeth Shue as Lindsay Bowen, Jesse Lee Soffer as Johnny Bowen, and Andrew Shue as Coach Owen Clark.Gracie takes place in New Jersey,...

    , the plot is set in and partially filmed in Maplewood and Columbia High School. Producer Andrew Shue
    Andrew Shue
    Andrew Eppley Shue is an American actor, known for his role as Billy Campbell on the television series Melrose Place . He is currently on the Board of Directors for Do Something and is the co-founder of the social networking website CafeMom.-Early life:Shue was born in Wilmington, Delaware...

     and actress Elisabeth Shue
    Elisabeth Shue
    Elisabeth Judson Shue is an American actress and producer, most famous for her roles in the films The Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future Parts II and III and Leaving Las Vegas, for which she won five acting awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden...

     both attended Columbia, and the plot is loosely based on their lives during high school.
  • Bullet For My Valentine
    Bullet for My Valentine
    Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matt Tuck , Michael Paget , Jason James , and Michael Thomas . They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana...

     filmed their music video for "Waking the Demon
    Waking the Demon
    "Waking the Demon" is a song by Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine. The song is released as the third and final single from their second album Scream Aim Fire. The video for the song was written and directed by Max Nichols...

    " in Maplewood.
  • The main character of the Robert Sheckley
    Robert Sheckley
    Robert Sheckley was a Hugo- and Nebula-nominated American author. First published in the science fiction magazines of the 1950s, his numerous quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist and broadly comical.Sheckley was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and...

     novel Dimension of Miracles
    Dimension of Miracles
    Dimension of Miracles is a 1968 satirical science-fiction novel by Robert Sheckley.The novel concerns the odyssey of Tom Carmody, a New Yorker who wins a prize in the Intergalactic Sweepstakes.-Plot summary:...

    , Thomas Carmody, is from Maplewood. He revisits the town, albeit one belonging in an alternate universe, late in the book.
  • Novelist Philip Roth
    Philip Roth
    Philip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award...

    , who grew up in neighboring Newark
    Newark, New Jersey
    Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

     refers to Maplewood in several of his novels, including Goodbye, Columbus.
  • StarFish
    StarFish (children's band)
    StarFish is an American rock band for children from Maplewood, New Jersey. The band's five members are StingRay ; Grateful Dave , Moose , Dr...

    , is a rock band for children.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Maplewood include:
  • Harriet Adams
    Harriet Adams
    Harriet Stratemeyer Adams was an American juvenile mystery novelist and publisher who authored some 200 books over her literary career. She wrote many books in the Nancy Drew series and a few in the Hardy Boys series...

     (1893–1982), author of some 200 books, including nearly 50 in the Nancy Drew
    Nancy Drew
    Nancy Drew is a fictional young amateur detective in various mystery series for all ages. She was created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm. The character first appeared in 1930. The books have been ghostwritten by a number of authors and are published...

    series.
  • Jason Alexander
    Jason Alexander
    Jay Scott Greenspan , better known by his professional name of Jason Alexander, is an American actor, writer, comedian, television director, producer, and singer. He is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, appearing in the sitcom from 1989 to 1998...

     (born 1959), actor, best known for his role as "George Costanza" in Seinfeld
    Seinfeld
    Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...

    .
  • William Armstrong (American artist)
    William Armstrong (American artist)
    William Armstrong is an American artist who works primarily in painting and sculpting...

     (born 1938), painter, sculptor, scenic artist.
  • Ahmed Best
    Ahmed Best
    Ahmed Best is an American voice actor and musician. He has won the Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production. He rose to prominence in the 2000s for providing the voice of Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars franchise. He later turned to television, where he played Jar Jar...

     (born 1973), voice actor who portrayed Jar Jar Binks
    Jar Jar Binks
    Jar Jar Binks is a fictional character from the Star Wars Saga , and the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. His primary role was to provide comic relief, but many reacted negatively to his character...

     in the Star Wars
    Star Wars
    Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

    film series.
  • Jeremiah Birnbaum
    Jeremiah Birnbaum
    Jeremiah Birnbaum is a singer/songwriter falling mostly in the Americana vein; in press his music has also been described as a combination of folk, blues, country, and compared to such artists as Sheryl Crow, Mark Kozelek, John Mayer, Johnny Cash, Jim Croce and Van Morrison...

     (born 1978), singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
  • Seth Boyden
    Seth Boyden
    Seth Boyden was an American inventor. He was the brother of Uriah A. Boyden.A New England native , he was a watchmaker who moved to Newark, New Jersey. Boyden perfected the process for making patent leather, created malleable iron, invented a nail-making machine, and built his own steamboat...

     (1788–1870), inventor.
  • Zach Braff
    Zach Braff
    Zachary Israel "Zach" Braff is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, comedian, and director. Braff first became known in 2001 for his role as Dr. John Dorian on the television series Scrubs, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.In 2004, Braff made his...

     (born 1975), actor, Scrubs
    Scrubs (TV series)
    Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...

    , Garden State
    Garden State (film)
    Garden State is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by, directed by, and starring Zach Braff, with Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sir Ian Holm. The film centers on Andrew Largeman , a 26-year-old actor/waiter who returns to his hometown in New Jersey after his mother dies...

    .
  • Norbert Leo Butz
    Norbert Leo Butz
    Norbert Leo Butz is an American actor best known for his work in Broadway theatre.-Personal life:Butz was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elaine and Norbert Butz...

     (born 1967), actor, and his wife Michelle Federer
    Michelle Federer
    Michelle Federer is an American film and theatre actress.-Early life and education:Federer is the daughter of John and Claudia Federer...

     (born 1973), an actress.
  • Archie Campbell
    Archie Campbell (baseball)
    Archibald Stewart Campbell was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees in the 1928 season. He also played with the Washington Senators in 1929 and the Cincinnati Reds in 1930. Campbell pitched in 40 games in parts of three seasons, chiefly as a reliever, with two wins, six losses...

     (1903–1989), Major League Baseball player Archie Campbell stats, accessed July 25, 2011.
  • Alta Cohen
    Alta Cohen
    Albert Cohen, nicknamed "Alta," , was a former professional baseball player.In the minor leagues, he was an All Star with the Triple A Toledo Mud Hens....

     (1908–2003), former professional baseball player who played outfield
    Outfield
    The outfield is a sporting term used in cricket and baseball to refer to the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield...

     from 1931–1933 with the Brooklyn Robins/Dodgers
    Los Angeles Dodgers
    The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

     and Cincinnati Reds
    Cincinnati Reds
    The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....

    .
  • Asher Brown Durand
    Asher Brown Durand
    Asher Brown Durand was an American painter of the Hudson River School.-Early life:Durand was born in and eventually died in Maplewood, New Jersey , the eighth of eleven children; his father was a watchmaker and a silversmith.Durand was apprenticed to an engraver from 1812 to 1817, later entering...

     (1796–1886), painter.
  • Christine Ebersole
    Christine Ebersole
    Christine Ebersole is an American actress and singer.-Early life:Ebersole was born in Winnetka, Illinois, where she attended New Trier High School...

     (born 1953), actress and Tony Award winner is a current resident.
  • Bruce Feirstein
    Bruce Feirstein
    Bruce Feirstein is an American screenwriter and humorist, best known for his contributions to the James Bond series and his best-selling humor books, including Real Men Don't Eat Quiche and Nice Guys Sleep Alone. Real Men Don't Eat Quiche was on the New York Times best seller list for 53...

     (born 1956), screenwriter
    Screenwriter
    Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...

     and humorist best known for his contributions to the James Bond
    James Bond
    James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...

     series, and his best selling humor books, including Real Men Don't Eat Quiche
    Real Men Don't Eat Quiche
    Real Men Don't Eat Quiche, by American Bruce Feirstein, is a bestselling tongue-in-cheek book satirizing stereotypes of masculinity, published in 1982...

    .
  • David Javerbaum
    David Javerbaum
    David Javerbaum is an American comedy writer and former executive producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He was hired as a staff writer there in 1999, promoted to head writer in 2002 and attained EP status at the end of 2006. He has won 11 Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, two Peabody Awards...

    , executive producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
  • Benjamin Franklin Jones
    Benjamin Franklin Jones (New Jersey politician)
    Benjamin Franklin Jones was an American jurist and Republican Party politician who served as the Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly in 1900....

     (1869–1935), Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly
    New Jersey General Assembly
    The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.Since the election of 1967 , the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for a term of two years, each representing districts with average...

     in 1900.
  • William G. McLoughlin
    William G. McLoughlin
    William Gerald McLoughlin was an historian and prominent member of the history department at Brown University from 1954 to 1992. His subject areas were the history of religion in the United States, revivalism, the Cherokee, missionaries to Native Americans, abolitionism, and Rhode Island.Born in...

     (1922–1992), historian and prominent member of the history department at Brown University
    Brown University
    Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...

     from 1954 to 1992.
  • Richard Meier
    Richard Meier
    Richard Meier is an American architect, whose rationalist buildings make prominent use of the color white.- Biography :Meier is Jewish and was born in Newark, New Jersey...

     (born 1934), architect whose work includes his design of the Getty Center
    Getty Center
    The Getty Center, in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, is a campus for cultural institutions founded by oilman J. Paul Getty. The $1.3 billion center, which opened on December 16, 1997, is also well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overlooking Los Angeles...

    .
  • Anisa Mehdi
    Anisa Mehdi
    Anisa Marie Mehdi is an Emmy Award winning film director and journalist. She is of half Iraqi and half Canadian descent.Her main focus when producing documentaries or programmes lie within religion, as her most notable documentary was Inside Mecca, which was produced by National Geographic. Many of...

    , film director and journalist.
  • Paul J. Moore
    Paul J. Moore
    Paul John Moore was an American Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey's 8th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1927-1929....

     (1868–1938), represented New Jersey's 8th congressional district
    New Jersey's 8th congressional district
    New Jersey's Eighth Congressional District is currently represented by Democrat Bill Pascrell.-Counties and municipalities in the district:For the 108th and successive Congresses , the district contains all, or portions of 2 counties and 21 municipalities.Essex County:Passaic County:2010...

     from 1927–1929.
  • James Ricalton
    James Ricalton
    James Ricalton was a school teacher, traveler, inventor, and photographer. Ricalton travelled extensively and he circumnavigated the world seven times. -Maplewood:...

     (1844–1929), teacher, photographer, inventor.
  • Theodore Roosevelt
    Theodore Roosevelt
    Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

     (1858–1919), spent several summers in Maplewood visiting his uncle Cornelius V.S. Roosevelt’s home and property, known as The Hickories, covering 100 acre (0.404686 km²), an area now partly covered by Roosevelt Road and Kermit Place.
  • Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr.
    Norman Schwarzkopf, Sr.
    Major General Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf was the first superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. He is best known for his involvement in the Lindbergh kidnapping case. He was the father of General H...

     (1895–1958), first superintendent of the New Jersey State Police
    New Jersey State Police
    The New Jersey State Police is the state police force for the state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with state wide jurisdiction when requested by the Governor, designated by Troop Sectors.-History:...

     and father of U.S. Army general Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.
    Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.
    General Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf KCB , also known as "Stormin' Norman" and "The Bear", is a retired United States Army General who, while he served as Commander of U.S. Central Command, was commander of the Coalition Forces in the Gulf War of 1991.-Early life:Schwarzkopf was born in Trenton, New...

  • Robert Sheckley
    Robert Sheckley
    Robert Sheckley was a Hugo- and Nebula-nominated American author. First published in the science fiction magazines of the 1950s, his numerous quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist and broadly comical.Sheckley was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and...

     (1928–2005), science fiction writer.
  • Agnes Sligh Turnbull
    Agnes Sligh Turnbull
    Agnes Sligh Turnbull was a bestselling American writer, most noted for her works of historical fiction based in her native Western Pennsylvania.-Biography:...

     (1888–1982), who wrote a series of novels in the middle 20th century.
  • George M. Wallhauser
    George M. Wallhauser
    George Marvin Wallhauser was an American Republican Party politician. He served as U.S. Representative from New Jersey's 12th Congressional District from 1959-1965....

     (1900–93), represented from 1959–1965.
  • George W. Webber
    George W. Webber (minister)
    Rev. George William "Bill" Webber was an American Protestant minister and social activist who served as president of the New York Theological Seminary from 1969 to 1983...

     (1920–2010), President of the New York Theological Seminary
    New York Theological Seminary
    The New York Theological Seminary was established as a non-denominational institution in 1900 with the founding of the Bible Teachers’ College in Montclair, New Jersey by Wilbert Webster White. President White moved the school to New York City in 1902, when it was renamed the Bible Teachers’...

    .
  • Kiely Williams
    Kiely Williams
    Kiely Alexis Williams is an American singer, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is best known for being a member of former girl groups 3LW and The Cheetah Girls.-1999-2006: 3LW:...

     (born 1986), singer / actress from The Cheetah Girls.
  • Richard Wolin
    Richard Wolin
    Richard Wolin is an intellectual historian.He is Distinguished Professor of History at the CUNY Graduate Center, where he has worked since 2000...

     (born 1952), historian.
  • Teresa Wright
    Teresa Wright
    Teresa Wright was an American actress. She received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1942 for her performance in Mrs. Miniver. That same year, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination for her performance in Pride of the Yankees opposite Gary Cooper...

     (1918–2005), actress.

External links

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