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Mountainside About the Town
The business district of Mountainside straddles busy Route 22. But down a series of wooded back roads in this Union County borough lies another world, a rustic preserve of homes terraced on the Watchung mountains. Almost half of the Watchung Reservation's 1,945 acres and most of the 147-acre Echo Lake Park, with its three large lakes, lie within the borough's borders - making nearly a
third of its four square miles parkland. In Mountainside, the pace is unhurried and customs are a bit old-fashioned, by choice.
Sidewalks and street lights are rare, the grocer makes home deliveries and people turn out in force for the annual Little League parade. And although many residents liken the
borough to an isolated country hamlet, they revel in the fact that from their perch they can see Manhattan just 24 miles away.
Mountainside is more than just a pretty place. It has the Children's specialized Hospital and some 300 light industrial and commercial businesses, most of them along Route 22. As
a result, the borough's tax rate is among the lowest in Union County. But strict zoning established three decades ago has kept the borough's 2.7 mile stretch of
Route 22 free of fast-food chains and car dealerships. Stability has been Mountainside's hallmark since it broke from neighboring Westfield to
become an independent borough in 1895. Until the 1950's its population hovered around 2,000 and development was slow.
But the decade that followed brought the community's greatest expansion, turning it from farmland to suburb. By the 1970's, Mountainside was almost fully developed, and in recent
years only a dozen or so houses a year have been built, all on scattered lots. Mountainside continues to attract new residents, and the most recent arrivals have been
young professional couples with children willing to pay the rising cost of admission. Longtime resident say the newcomers are welcome.
Families are also drawn to the community because of its attention to education. Many youngsters attend Deerfield School, the borough's only elementary school and continue
their studies at Jonathan Dayton High School in nearby Springfield, part of the Union County Regional High School District.
The Superintendent at Deerfield School, Leonard J. Baccaro, said its small classes, averaging 17 students, and a veteran teaching staff promote individualized study, focusing
on basic skills complemented by such courses as industrial arts and vocal music instruction, starting in kindergarten. The school also has a "transit program" to help children prepare for kindergarten. Jonathan Dayton High School, with 739 students, offers diverse academic and business courses, ranging from social study classes on the Holocaust and Russian and Japanese
cultures to instruction in Hebrew and a work-study program. The school also has graphic arts and cabinetmaking programs. About 80 percent of the graduating seniors go on to higher education.
Most of the Mountainside's social and civic organizations are associated with the school or the borough's three churches, the oldest of which, Mountainside Union Chapel, was built in
1801. There are also such annual holiday events at a Fourth of July picnic and a Memorial Day parade to promote community spirit.
The Watchung Reservation and its woodland nature trails are a major recreational resource for the borough. Echo Lake Park offers fishing and boating and free concerts on
summer evenings. Residents can also join the community swimming club at the pool near Borough Hall, where a season pass for a family costs $130. Next to the pool are softball
fields and tennis and basketball courts and a jogging trail. The borough also provides organized sports and other activities and its 50,000-volume public library sponsors story hours for children.
The community has a two-block shopping area along Mountain Avenue, where a dozen neighborhood stores offers most necessities. Otherwise shopping is available on Route 22,
where there are many restaurants. Among them are Dasti's Mountainside Inn, offering Italian and seafood specialties, and L'Affaire 22, serving French cuisine.
There is a lingering sense of the past in Mountainside, which was settled by Dutch and English farmers in the 17th century, and it is reflected in the vintage residences.
One of the oldest, the Deacon Andrew Hetfield House, built in 1755, was saved from demolition when the borough moved it at a cost of $60,000 from Route 22 next to the library on Constitution a half-mile away. Incorporated: October 22, 1895 |
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