This article was excerpted from Images of America: Allendale.
In the early days of Allendale, farmland was plentiful, roadways were unpaved, and streets and sidewalks were few. Landowners harvested strawberries, apples, and other items and trucked them down Franklin Turnpike to markets in Paterson. The new rail depot brought commuters who wanted modern services, including restaurants and taverns, dry goods stores, and coal deliveries. Stores and services began along West Allendale Avenue and Franklin Turnpike. Postal services began in 1869 with Smith Roswell, Allendale’s first postmaster, serving mail from the train depot. Allendale’s earliest roadways were Franklin Turnpike, Allendale Avenue, Crescent Avenue, and Hillside Avenue. They connected families to community resources and farmers to markets. Established in 1806, the first road that went through Allendale was Franklin Turnpike, named after Gov. William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin and last of the colonial governors. The area was known as “The Turnpike.” It became the first paved roadway in 1915 with sidewalks added the following year. It was along this road that the stagecoach from Albany to Jersey City ran. At the intersection of Crescent Avenue and The Turnpike, there was a little white tollhouse where a county toll was collected to raise money for the maintenance of the roads. All roads were dirt until the county made Franklin Turnpike a Tarvia road. The early roads were lighted by kerosene lamps, and J.M. Southwick oversaw all the lamps. Farmers were appointed to take care of the roads if they really wanted to work off their taxes. New roads and streets were constructed and named, then often renamed. East Allendale Avenue was earlier known as Saddle River Road. Cottage Place was originally called Chapel Place, as the Episcopal chapel was located there. After the chapel was moved to Franklin Turnpike, the new name Cottage Place evolved from O.H.P. Archer building cottage homes there for his workers. Builders, property owners, and the Village Improvement Association began naming streets, including Allendale Avenue (from the train depot to Saddle River), Park Avenue (formerly Allendale Avenue), West Orchard Street (formerly Garrison Street), Broadway (southern Franklin Turnpike), and Chapel Place (now Cottage Place). The section of Hillside Avenue approaching Ramsey was called Allendale Road. While it was never implemented, First Street was considered for connection to Hillside Avenue. Establishing and improving roads was essential to Allendale’s growth as a borough. Over several meetings beginning in September 1915, the Allendale Borough Council began passing ordinances to “lay out, open, widen, straighten, alter, vacate, and accept public streets,” including Park Avenue, West Allendale Avenue, West Orchard Street, Forest Road, Myrtle Avenue, Cottage Place, Chestnut Street, West Maple Street, and Lake Street. Typically, soon after the roads were established, residents would petition the council for street lighting. In December 1917, the council passed an ordinance that all houses in Allendale had to have numbers, and the digits were to be at least five inches in height. The houses on the right side of the road have even numerals, and the ones on the left have odd. House numbers were assigned beginning in 1925 and finally completed in 1954, when residential mail delivery began. In the 1920s, zoning of the entire borough was established with zones assigned for residential, business, and industrial purposes. In 1952, the Allendale Zoning Master Plan was adopted with an increased business zone, spurring construction of the shopping center on Memorial Drive. Before 1937, drivers would cross over the train track on West Allendale and Park Avenues to travel from the western residential district to the eastern shopping district. Gates would raise and lower to regulate traffic as the train passed by. In 1937, an underpass was built for pedestrians, and as a result, drivers were forced to use other roadways to move about Allendale. In June 1967, the council passed a resolution to move forward in providing sewers for the borough, agreeing to spend $25,300 for detailed plans. Early business owners included Richard Vanderbeek Ackerman and Vito Gaspirini, who opened a dry goods store and a shoe repair shop, respectively, on Park Avenue near Erie Plaza. Businesses developed on the east side of the tracks near the intersection of Myrtle, West Allendale, and Park Avenues, often called Allendale Square. Early businesses included the Allendale Meat Market, Borger Dry Goods, and Winter Brothers. Across from Archer Memorial Church on Franklin Turnpike, the Mallinsons made cider and Henry N. Thurston ran the Allendale Garage. A few multigenerational Allendale businesses are still going strong. Rohsler’s Nursery first came to Allendale in 1925, when Austrian immigrant Herman George Rohsler purchased 100 Franklin Turnpike. Herman Albert Rohsler and Marion “Lin” Linwood-Rohsler took over the nursery in 1955 and are responsible for transforming it into what it is today. Allendale Bar and Grill, now in its fourth generation, first began when Maude Connelly purchased 67 West Allendale Avenue in the late 1940s. A few commercial business buildings from the early 20th century remain, including the Braun Building (1911), Guatelli Building (1915), First National Bank of Allendale (1926), and the Pittis Building (1948). A few early homes along West Allendale Avenue have been converted to commercial use, including building numbers 2, 64, and 67. In November 1962, developer Beir-Higgins completed the first phase of its nine-acre shopping center, which included a drugstore, gift shop, dry cleaning business, beauty salon, and an A&P supermarket, the mall’s dominant store. The A&P later moved and expanded to a different location within the mall, but given its financial difficulties, it sold to ACME in 2015. Memorial Drive (later renamed DeMercurio Drive) was added to permit more shopping traffic. In 1987, the development of commercial businesses along Boroline Road began with Allendale and Saddle River agreeing to pave their respective halves of the roadway. In 1990, the council approved a makeover of the West Allendale Avenue shopping district to include paver sidewalks, additional parking, updated lighting, and removal of aboveground utility poles and wires. On June 16, 1992, the Allendale borough clock honoring Mayor Clarence “Curly” Shaw’s effort to revitalize the shopping district was installed in the traffic island that intersects Myrtle and West Allendale Avenues. During 2020–2021, aided by $662,000 in Department of Transportation streetscape grants, the business district was refreshed with new, richly colored pavers, trees, and traditional-style light posts, all chosen to create a classic and timeless look.
