HACKENSACK — Historic organizations, a town council and a municipal historian will be among this year’s recipients of the Bergen County Preservation Commendation Awards.
The honors by the Historic Preservation Advisory Board and the Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs recognize preservation achievements by individuals, students, organizations and businesses.
More than 240 awards have been distributed since 1982 to encourage preservation, restoration and use of Bergen County’s historic buildings and places. This year, awards will be given in four categories: “Restoration or Preservation Project,” “Preservation of a structure, object or site,” “Preservation Education,” and “Preservation Leadership.”
The 12 projects to be honored are:
The Bergen County Historic Preservation Awards and reception will be held on May 27 at the First Dutch Reformed Church in Hackensack. The public is invited. For more information and to RSVP for the reception, contact the Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs, One Bergen County Plaza, Hackensack. Call 201-336-7267.
May is recognized as National Preservation Month. This year’s theme is “Celebrating America’s Treasures.”
* The porch restoration of the Capt. Rumson House, a circa-1865 Gothic Revival structure in Englewood.
* The restoration and addition to Daniel Topping Atwood’s Design One house in Tenafly. The Gothic Revival stone house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
* The continuing preservation of the Bogert Spring House in Demarest. The 19th-century spring or well house is owned by Jeffrey and Rubina Dermksian.
* The preservation and restoration of The Old Burying Ground, also known as the Blauvelt Cemetery, by the Harrington Park Historical Society.
* The Mahwah Museum Society’s restoration of the township’s 1871 Old Station Museum and 1929 Erie Railroad caboose.
* The Maywood Station Historical Committee’s restoration of the New York, Susquehanna Western ALCO Locomotive 206. The diesel-electric locomotive is on the national register.
* “300 Years of Closter History,” a monthlong celebration of the borough’s history, which included 33 events, such as walking tours of historic districts and houses, exhibitions, and children’s programs in the library.
* “The Schoolhouse Years: Childhood in the 19th Century,” an exhibit and educational program by the Ridgewood Historical Society in celebration of its 90th anniversary.
* “Tenafly’s Unidentified Photographer,” a book containing glass plate negatives of never-before-seen photographs of local buildings, sites and people by an unknown Tenafly photographer from the turn of the last century. The book was a project by Alice Renner Rigney, Tenafly’s municipal historian.
* “The Older Home” a weekly column written by Eileen Watkins, the editor of North Jersey Home, a weekly advertorial section of The Record and Herald News, which focuses on owning and maintaining older residences.
* The Edgewater mayor and council for its efforts to preserve the 1904 Borough Hall.
* The Fair Lawn Preservation Advisory Board for several actions, including its efforts to educate the public about the Radburn Historic District, its participation in local planning, zoning, open space, environmental and council meetings, and for its work in preserving the historic Naugle House.
E-mail: alvarado@northjersey.com