TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON, N.J.—Depending on how long you’ve lived in the area, your memories of the corner of Pascack and Ridgewood roads in the Township of Washington will vary widely.
Maybe you’ve always known it as Bacari Grill, or maybe you remember eating there when it was Pine Lake Inn—or maybe even Chaucer’s. If you’ve been around long enough, driving past the spot might conjure memories of summers swimming at Pine Lake. But here’s something that NOBODY around today is old enough to remember.
At the turn of the 20th century, the spot was the Wolgast family’s farmhouse, shown above. The farm owned by Charles Wolgast and wife Margaret had orchards, a hay barn, a stable, sheds for cattle, chicken coops, a corn crib, and even tenant homes.
Census records tell us that Charles and Margaret Wolgast had been married in 1857 and came to America from Germany that year. At the time of the 1900 census they had been married 42 years, and had 12 children, 11 of whom were still living.
Early in the century the farmhouse was destroyed by a fire. In 1913, a Ridgewood dentist, Dr. Edmund F. Hanks, who had a practice in New York City, bought the land. The house he built for himself still stands over 100 years later, now housing Bacari Grill restaurant.