Rutherford Community School: History of Rutherford Course and Tour

By Jennifer Ersalesi

Front cover of the booklet for the bus tour

Rutherford Community School (formerly Rutherford Adult School) recently offered a course entitled, “The History of Rutherford”. The Instructor of the course was Rod Leith, Borough Historian. Some of the topics that were discussed during the course were Dutch and European settlement in Rutherford, the development of the social, cultural and educational institutions and the architecture in our Borough. The proceeds received from the registration fees for the class will be donated to the Meadowlands Museum. This course will also be offered again in the Spring.

Regina Buell, Assistant to the Director of the Rutherford Community School, told TIR, “When I was thinking of classes to incorporate into our program, I immediately thought of a history of Rutherford course. Our town is so rich in history. Our architecture and famous families make this the place to be, even a hundred years after it became a borough.”

At the conclusion of the course, the class participants took a bus tour of Rutherford and visited a number of historical homes, churches, and other buildings, such as Grace Episcopal Church, the Rutherford Post Office, First Presbyterian Church, the Williams Family Home on 9 Ridge Road, the Hoag House on 127 Donaldson Ave, the Rutherford Train Station, and many more.

Mark Giordano of Computype and Rod Leith created a tour guide booklet for each participant in the class to use along the tour. The booklet contained many photos of the buildings as they looked in the past and the way they appear in present day. A map of the area was also included.