PARK RIDGE—If you’re unsure where your political sympathies lie, then you likely had a lot in common with the Pascack Valley residents who lived through the Revolutionary War.
For local farmers and landowners in the mid-18th century, the defining question was whether to support the British Crown or align with the Patriot cause — a decision that could carry real consequences in a county caught between armies.
Historian Tim Adriance will explore how that divide took shape in Bergen County — and what it meant for everyday life in the region — in an in-depth lecture, The Revolutionary War & Pascack Valley, on Sunday, March 22, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 131 Pascack Road.
Adriance, a historical consultant and historic restoration expert for towns in North Jersey, said his talk will place the Pascack Valley in broader context, tracing how communities arrived at sharply different conclusions about the conflict and how the war’s pressures reached into homes, churches, and neighborhoods.
One local site tied to the period is the Baylor Massacre Site at 486 Rivervale Road in River Vale, where remains of Continental soldiers killed in a British night raid on Sept. 28, 1778, are interred. The site includes interpretive panels about the event.
The lecture is part of the Pascack Historical Society’s 250th Anniversary series, which also includes April 26 (Jack Sherry as Benjamin Franklin), June 14 (Carol Simon Levin as Abigail Adams), and July 12 (Joel Farkas on the Declaration of Independence).
No reservations are required. Seating at the 130-capacity church is first come, first served. Admission is free for society members and $5 for non-members. Children and teens are admitted free.
The society museum currently features a new exhibit, Revolutionary War in New Jersey, open Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. and Wednesdays (Labor Day through Memorial Day) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is free.