PASCACK VALLEY—They came from as far as Peetzburg. No, that isn’t a misspelling of Pennsylvania’s Steel City. Peetzburg, 110 years ago, referred to what is now a section of New Milford—and some kids came from there to attend Westwood’s new high school in an era when only a handful of secondary schools could be found in Bergen County.
Indeed, Westwood, whose high school started in 1912, was rather progressive for the time.
A recent “Back in Time” article offered a history of Westwood’s Lincoln School, a frame building that opened in 1900 near the corner of Third Avenue and Mill Street (now townhouses). It was in this wooden schoolhouse that one of the region’s first high school programs had its genesis.
By the early 20th century, perspectives on education were evolving.
For years the lessons learned in grammar school were thought to be sufficient for most children in the rural Pascack Valley. Now more parents wanted their children to go on to high school and perhaps even college. This new world of automobiles, flying machines, moving pictures, and electric light was changing fast and full of opportunities. An education was the key to seizing them.
In 1911 there were six high schools in Bergen County. In addition to a newly opened school at Park Ridge, there were high schools in Hackensack, Rutherford, Englewood, Ridgewood, and Ridgefield Park. Students living outside those towns had their choice and paid tuition.
Park Ridge officials protested the creation of Westwood High School, taking the matter up with the State Board of Education. At stake was a portion of their student body, who would no doubt transfer to a more proximate Westwood campus, as well as the tuition those students provided toward the school budget.
There was also some status intrinsic in hosting the only high school in the Pascack Valley. Park Ridge officials argued that a high school at Westwood would be superfluous, but the state determined that both schools could thrive.
Westwood’s high school program began in 1912, first as a one-year course that was soon increased to three years. The Westwood Chronicle reported in October 1913 that in addition to Westwood kids, students from Peetzburg (New Milford), Midland Township (Paramus and Rochelle Park), Oradell, Emerson, Washington Township, and Hillsdale were all represented in the student body.
The high school offered three distinct courses of study: the “general” course prepared kids for college, the “academic” course prepared them specifically for teacher colleges, and the “commercial” course provided training for business.
All of this was overseen by a principal, Mr. Normandeau, and just five teachers who had to be rather diverse in their skillset. Mr. Finn taught the commercial subjects. Mr. Frendlich did double duty with science and history and Miss Bull did the same with Latin and mathematics. Miss Keim taught the only foreign language, German, plus English and drawing. Miss Sloat was music teacher.
On the afternoon of Oct. 4, 1913 there was a ceremony to place the cornerstone of a new brick building, to be constructed next to Lincoln School and serve as the borough’s first high school. The $28,000 building ($850,000 in 2023 adjusted for inflation) would contain a large study hall, seven recitation rooms, a library, general office, principal’s office, laboratory, and gymnasium.
The first graduating class in 1915 included 11 students, five girls and six boys. Seven of them planned to continue on to college, with two on a path to become teachers.
The brick building at Third and Mill, later expanded, served as a high school for over 50 years. When the new Westwood Regional High School was constructed on Ridgewood Road in the Township of Washington in the 1960s, the Westwood facility became a middle school. It closed in 1986 and sat vacant for years before being demolished in the mid-1990s.
A townhouse development stands on the site. Still, a trace of the past remains: a historical marker on the corner incorporates the school’s 1913 cornerstone.