Old Map of Ridgewood, New Jersey by USGS, 1940 – Hackensack, Paramus & Glen Rock

Published in 1940 by the United States Geological Survey, “Hackensack” presents Bergen County, New Jersey, at a revealing moment just before the great suburban expansion of the postwar era. Centered on Ridgewood and the surrounding towns, this 1:31,680 topographical map captures a landscape balanced between established rail-served communities, agricultural remnants, wooded hills, river valleys, and an increasingly intricate road network. Hackensack, Paramus, Glen Rock, Waldwick, Ramsey, Allendale, Oradell, River Edge, Westwood, Mahwah, Lyndhurst, and Edgewater all appear within a regional fabric still visibly shaped by waterways and rail lines. The result is a finely observed portrait of northern New Jersey before highways, shopping centers, and residential subdivisions transformed much of its terrain.

The USGS style gives the map its particular authority and elegance: disciplined contour lines describe the rise and fall of the land, while subtle coloring distinguishes built-up areas, open ground, water, and vegetation. The topography of Bergen County is not dramatic in the alpine sense, but here its low ridges, shallow basins, river corridors, and wooded elevations become legible and compelling. Ridgewood’s position along transportation routes and gentle uplands is especially clear, as are the valleys formed by the Saddle River and Pascack Brook. These natural features help explain the placement of settlements, roads, and rail lines, revealing how physical geography continued to guide development even in one of the most densely evolving regions of the New York metropolitan area.

Ridgewood is one of the map’s most interesting focal points, shown during a period when its identity as a desirable commuter suburb was already well established. Its historic architecture, civic core, and rail connection to New York helped shape its growth, while neighboring Glen Rock, Waldwick, Ramsey, and Allendale formed a chain of communities tied together by tracks, roads, and shared watershed landscapes. Paramus, today synonymous with retail and highway development, appears in a very different historical context, still closer to its semi-rural past. The map therefore offers a striking comparison between the Bergen County of 1940 and the region that would emerge after World War II, when population growth and automobile infrastructure accelerated dramatically.

Waterways and green spaces lend the map a broader environmental richness. The Passaic River marks a significant regional feature to the west and south, while the Saddle River and Pascack Brook thread through towns and lowlands, shaping parks, roads, and residential patterns. Bergen County Park and areas associated with Van Saun Park indicate the importance of open space within an increasingly urbanizing landscape. Farther southwest, Garret Mountain Reservation anchors the map’s more elevated terrain, its contours emphasizing the escarpments and ridges that contrast with the flatter Hackensack and Passaic lowlands. These parks and river corridors are not merely decorative details; they reveal the enduring structure of the landscape beneath the later metropolitan overlay.

As a historical document, “Hackensack” is especially valuable for tracing the evolution of transportation and land use in northern New Jersey. Rail lines and stations appear as vital organizing elements, reflecting an era when commuter rail still played a central role in suburban form. Local roads and early highway corridors foreshadow the dominance of automobile travel, including the later importance of Routes 17, 4, and the interstate connections that would reshape movement across Bergen County. The map captures towns before the full force of postwar subdivision, commercial strip development, and regional highway construction. For collectors drawn to the layered history of place, it offers a remarkably precise view of a familiar landscape at a pivotal threshold.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Ridgewood
• Hackensack
• Paramus
• Glen Rock
• Mahwah
• Waldwick
• Ramsey
• Oradell
• River Edge
• Allendale
• Westwood
• Lyndhurst
• Edgewater
• Passaic River
• Saddle River
• Pascack Brook
• Van Saun Park
• Garret Mountain Reservation
• Routes 17, 4, and 80
• Rail lines and stations
• Bergen County Park
• Various trails and local roads

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
• Dated 1940
• Historical topographical map at a scale of 1:31,680
• Shows sections of Bergen County, New Jersey, and the surrounding area
• Uses contour lines, shading, and a consistent color palette to show elevation changes and land cover
• Displays varied terrain, including hills, valleys, vegetation, and waterways
• Useful for understanding urban development patterns, suburban expansion, land-use changes, and infrastructure development since 1940
• Reflects the USGS tradition of detailed, accurate mapping for natural resource, environmental, and geographic assessment

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