HILLSDALE, N.J.—Can you imagine this Piermont Avenue sledding scene taking place in Hillsdale today? Likely not, but more than 113 years ago the borough was a much different place—and not just because a horse was an integral element of winter fun.
Fewer than a thousand people called Hillsdale home at that time—about one-tenth of today’s population. The first telephone had come to town only a few years earlier. Most roads were not yet paved, and while there were some early cars sputtering about, they were few and far between. Automobiles were still thought of as a novelty rather than the norm, and they shared the road with much more common horse-drawn wagons. Hillsdale had large swaths of undeveloped land perfect for winter adventures. It was still very much “the country,” and New Yorkers visited in the summertime.
The image at here appeared on a postcard that was postmarked in February 1907 in Hillsdale. It comes to this page courtesy of the Hillsdale Public Library.
The children’s names are written on the back of the postcard, but some are difficult to decipher. It appears to say: “front row, l-r. – Howard Vanderclute, Bill Simon, (?) Kinmonth, Cyrus Mead, — , Eddie Saul” and “rear, l-r. – Annie and Marion Demarest, Jennie Mead, Chrissie Hasenflough (Westphal), Edith Herbert.”
What sleighing or sledding locations do you remember from years past? Write to us at pascackpress@thepressgroup.net to share your memories.
Did you know? In 1907 Hillsdale was not yet a borough but rather a township. The community’s form of government was changed in 1923. In February of 1907 you could buy a 15-acre property in Hillsdale, with an eight-room house, barn, stream, small lake, and fruit trees for $6,000. For those who didn’t have the cash, one could rent a seven-room cottage near the train station for $18 per month.