Ridgefield Township was 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...

 that existed in Bergen County

Bergen County, New Jersey

Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...

, 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...

. The township was created in 1871, when Hackensack Township

Hackensack Township, Bergen County, New Jersey (Historical)

Hackensack Township was a township that was formed in 1693 within Bergen County, New Jersey. The township was created by the New Jersey Legislature as one of the first group of townships in New Jersey...

 was trisected to form Palisades Township

Palisades Township, Bergen County, New Jersey (Historical)

Palisades Township was a township that existed in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The township was in existence from 1871 to 1922.On March 22, 1871, Hackensack Township was divided into three parts that were incorporated as townships by the New Jersey Legislature, each stretching from the...

 in the northernmost third, Englewood Township in the central strip and Ridgefield Township encompassing the southernmost portion, stretching from the Hudson River

Hudson River

The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

 on the east to the Hackensack River

Hackensack River

The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River,...

, with Hudson County

Hudson County, New Jersey

Hudson County is the smallest county in New Jersey and one of the most densely populated in United States. It takes its name from the Hudson River, which creates part of its eastern border. Part of the New York metropolitan area, its county seat and largest city is Jersey City.- Municipalities...

 to the south. Much of the area had been during the colonial area known as the English Neighborhood

English Neighborhood

The English Neighborhood was the colonial-era name for the towns in eastern Bergen County, New Jersey, along the Hudson Palisades between the North River and the Hackensack River, particularly around its main tributary, Overpeck Creek. The region had been part of the Dutch New Netherland colony of...

. As described in the 1882 book, History of Bergen and Passaic counties, New Jersey,

In 1878, the New Jersey Legislature

New Jersey Legislature

The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...

 provided for the formation of a borough within a township not exceeding four square miles. Three years later, Rutherford

Rutherford, New Jersey

Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 18,061. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....

 became the first borough to be formed under that Act when it separated from Union Township to the southwest of Ridgefield. Ridgefield Borough

Ridgefield, New Jersey

There were 4,020 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.7% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone...

 was set off from Ridgefield Township in 1892, and Ridgefield Park Village

Ridgefield Park, New Jersey

Ridgefield Park is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The population was 12,729 at the 2010 United States Census. Of 566 municipalities statewide, Ridgefield Park is only one of three with a village type of government in New Jersey, along with Loch Arbour and Ridgewood.The...

 was formed within the township that same year.

The passage of a revised Borough Act

Borough (New Jersey)

A borough in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government....

 resulted in a flurry of subdivision of new boroughs. Municipalities created from Ridgefield Township (or portions thereof) were Bogota

Bogota, New Jersey

As of the 2010 Census, Bogota had a population of 8,187. The median age was 38.6. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 61.0% White, 9.4% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 9.8% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, 14.8% some other race and 4.1% reporting...

 (1894), Leonia

Leonia, New Jersey

Leonia is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,937. It is located near the western approach to the George Washington Bridge....

 (1894), Undercliff

Edgewater, New Jersey

Edgewater is a borough located along the Hudson River in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 census, the borough had a population of 11,513...

 (1894; renamed to "Edgewater" in 1899), Fairview

Fairview, Bergen County, New Jersey

Fairview is a borough located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a total population of 13,835....

 (1894), Teaneck (part)

Teaneck, New Jersey

Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....

 (1895), Cliffside Park

Cliffside Park, New Jersey

Cliffside Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 23,594....

 (1895), Englewood (part)

Englewood, New Jersey

Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...

 (1895), Palisades Park

Palisades Park, New Jersey

Palisades Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 19,622....

 (1899). The creation of Fort Lee, New Jersey

Fort Lee, New Jersey

Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...

on April 18, 1904 put an end to Ridgefield Township.

External links

• Bergen County Townships and Municipalities