Hillsdale Local History
The Hillsdale Free Public Library houses a small but growing collection of local history materials.
Maps, books, pamphlets, newspapers, and scrapbooks are safely stored in the Local History Room, which is locked, on the library’s 3rd floor. Patrons seeking the use of the local history collection may do so by contacting the library director in advance. Users must sign the register. Photocopies may be limited at the discretion of library staff. Reproductions of original materials used in publication, in any media format, must include a credit line to the Hillsdale Free Public Library. Use the Local History Finding Aid (as of 2012) to help locate materials in the local history room.
The library seeks to add original photographs, postcards, school yearbooks, and ephemera that document the history of Hillsdale. Please contact the library director to arrange a donation.
Walking Tour
Access the Walking Tour of Historical Hillsdale, created by the library in partnership with the Historic Preservation Committee. (Download a printable copy of the tour with QR codes.)
Yearbooks
There are printed copies of the Pascack Valley High School yearbook for the following years:
| 1959 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | |
| 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 |
| 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1987 | 1988 | |
| 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1995 | 1997 | 1998 | |||
| 1999 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |||
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
There are printed copies of the George G. White Middle School yearbook for the following years:
| 2001 | 2007 | ||||||||
| 2014 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | ||||
| 2021 |
Digital Materials
So that the most delicate materials may be preserved, the library is converting many of our local history resources to digital format.
Newspapers
The library owns limited runs of local weekly newspapers. These have been converted to searchable PDF copies. Due to copyright protections, the entirety of this collection cannot be posted online. The collection is accessible from any of the public computers in the library.
Of note, the library possesses original copies of the Hillsdale Herald. The collection is fairly complete from 1929 to 1942 and from 1951 to 1956. Searchable PDF copies of these issues are available on the public computers at the library. A portion of the funding for the scanning project was provided by the Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs.
Example: Hillsdale Herald (December 19, 1929)
- Hillsdale Herald 1929-1931
- Hillsdale Herald 1933-1942
- Hillsdale Local 1956
- Pascack Valley Community Life 1973 (75th anniversary articles)
- The Hillsdale News 1979-1983
Maps
- 1876 A.H. Walker Atlas of Bergen County, Reading, PA: Reading Publishing House
- Map of Hillsdale Manor, Bonelli-Adams Co., NY (circa 1890) – undated map showing lots for sale in the “Manor” section of Hillsdale (22″x15″ encapsulated/.pdf)
- Pascack Valley 1963
Documents
- Tax Bills 1899 – 1915
- Hillsdale Telephone Directory (1964)
Hillsdale Newsletters
In the table below, links to newsletters published by the mayor and council of Hillsdale between 1988 and 1992 are provided by year.
| 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May/June | March | July | Spring | Spring |
| October | Summer | Summer | July | Summer |
| Autumn | Autumn | Summer | ||
| Autumn |
Books
The following books and publications were produced by the Borough of Hillsdale or the Hillsdale Library, or are no longer under copyright protection as far as we can determine. Where possible, the resulting PDF files were made searchable; however, due to the limited ability of OCR software, not all text may be identified.
- Picturesque Hillsdale: An illustrated brochure showing some of the principal residences, churches, school building, street scenes, and scenes along the Pascack River. C.H. Dunn, 1899. [unpaged].
- Fifty Years of Progress: 50th Anniversary Celebration/Souvenir Book Committee, 1948. [60 pages/unpaged] (54MB).
- Borough of Hillsdale: 75th Anniversary 1898-1973: The Committee, 1973. [127 pages] (23MB).
- Hillsdale Centennial Journal 1898-1998: Looking Back … Stepping Forward/The Centennial Committee, 1998. [105 pages, plus advertisements] (21MB).
- Hillsdale Scrapbook: A selection of newspaper articles about Hillsdale History published during the 50th and 75th anniversary years. Compiled by the Hillsdale Public Library Reference Department, 1985. (29MB) A transcribed version with better searching capabilities is also provided.
- Hillsdale Fire Association Fair (1902)
School Memorabilia
- 1939 Hillsdale School Graduation Program
- The Owl (1944): Literary magazine published by the Hillsdale Public School.
- The Owl (1945): Literary magazine published by the Hillsdale Public School.
- Pascack Valley High School Football Program (1957)
- George White Highlights 1978
- George White Odyssey 1984
- George White Reminiscence 1985
- George White Memories 1987
- Meadowbrook School 1979
- Meadowbrook School 1981
- Meadowbrook Memories 1982
- Meadowbrook Memories 1983
- Meadowbrook School 1984
- Meadowbrook School 1985
- Meadowbrook School 1986
- Meadowbrook Memories 1987
- Meadowbrook Memories 1988
- Meadowbrook School 1989
- Meadowbrook Memories 1990
- Meadowbrook School 1991
- Meadowbrook School 1992
Videos
A selection of videos documenting the history of Hillsdale are available on a separate page. Videos are encoded for viewing in Flash Player 8 or higher.
- “This is Hillsdale”: 1983 – 29 min 14 sec (115MB).
- “Looking Back“: 1989 – 18 min 15 sec (70MB).
- “An Evening with George Jepson“: 1998 – 29 min 35 sec (116MB). This video is also commonly referred to as “Hillsdale by George.”