The Record

A community profile

"A town of charm, history, quietude:"

By Anne Moore, Business Writer,  1985

    Aside from the historic district, which covers about one-third of the borough, there are about 250 acres of undeveloped park land, owned by the borough or county. A 110-acre corporate park gives the residents the lowest tax rate in the county.

    Piermont Road bisects the town: to the east is the historic residential section, so well preserved as an example of 18th- and 19th-centurn rural life that it was declared a National Historic Area in 1976. Blue historic markers are so numerous that they nearly outnumber traffic signs.  Most of the borough's 67 houses are in this area, which constitutes the largest historic area in the county. Other historic homes, including the 1758 Abraham A. Hering house, are on the west side of Piermont Road.

    Also to the west is the office park, with such blue-chip tenents as Volvo Corporation of America, Pan Am, and United Airlines. Next to the office park is the county-operated Archie F. Hay Village School for special education. A county golf course, said to be one of the finest playing fields in the county, is also on the west side. A gas station, a private county club, and horse stables account for the rest of the town's commercial establishments.

   "It's a quiet, unique town," said Ernest April, a four-year resident and member of the town council. "There's a lot of community spirit, and volunteerism is high because of the small population."

    About 130 people live in Rockleigh, most of whom are white-collar professionals, including physicians, academics, lawyers, and business executives who commute to jobs in New York City or other parts of New Jersey. Children attend Northvale elementary school, which has 479 students this year. High school students attend Northern Valley Regional High School in Old Tappan. Rockleigh spends $4,735 per pupil, according to county records.

    Rockleigh is the only town in Bergen County without its own police force. It has a contract with the county for police protection; county police operate a substation our of the town's municipal building. The fire department is made up of volunteers. Residents enjoy a very low tax rate: this year they will pay 96 cents per $100 in assessed value. In a982, the latest year for which figures were available, residents paid an average $1,568.    Housing turnover in Rockleigh is barely perceptible, with only five houses being sold between 1980 and 1983, the latest year for which figures were available. The average sale price was $220,000 in 1983, when two houses were sold.

    As a way of providing low-income housing, the town plans to build several cottages around a village green. Rockleigh has received $130,000 toward the project from the Northern Valley Community Development Committee, and is waiting for state funds.

   Rockleigh became a borough in 1923, when it seceded from Northvale, which wanted to install a costly water line. But the history pf Rockleigh dates back to pre-Revolutionary times, when the area was tussled over by New York and New Jersey. The boundary dispute between the colonies was resolved in 1769.

    Rockleigh Road was built in New York and was used by troops during the Revolutionary War. The road provided a passage from the Hudson River port called Sneden's Landing, the western link for a ferry service once run by the Dobbs family, after which the Westchester town is named. Descendents of the Sneden family live in Rockleigh. Houses along Rockleigh Road, which had tiger lilies sprouting along the edge last week, date from the mind-18th century. One white-columned house resembles an antebellum Southern mansion. It had been the club house of a popular polo club, called the Pegasus Club, which boasted several fields, including one indoor field. The club was closed during World War II and the indoor field was converted into an ammunition factory. Knockeen Farms is the club's present day stables and riding fields.

    Residents have an "interest in preserving the quiet." said Councilman April. "One-third of the t own is a historic district, and we're motivated to keep it that way."