Finding aids are tools to help you find information on a collection.

• David F. Bolger & the Bolger Foundation

• Guide for the Records of the Cipora Schwartz Collection

• Varian Fry Collection

• Los Kamp Family

• Frank Kasschau

• Adam Badeau

Research assistance on-site and remote

Databases available at the Ridgewood Public Library

Newspapers.com (Ridgewood News only)

Newspaper Archives

Ancestry Library Edition

American Ancestors

Proquest Historical New York Times (1851-2010)

Historical New York Times also available from home for Ridgewood Library cardholders

House History Research

The Heritage Center has many resources for researching Ridgewood's neighborhoods, homes and buildings.  For help in your research, see the following resources:

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Bergen County Historic Sites Survey - Village of Ridgewood, HERITAGE REF 974.922 BER

Ridgewood Herald Illustrated Supplement, 1919. Indexed in the Heritage CATalog

Insurance and Tax Maps

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For examples of house histories, click here.  

BHC collection

We have Ridgewood and Bergen County newspapers on microfilm (2nd floor): 

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Bergen Record 1970-2013 microfilm

Ridgewood newspapers 1891-2012 microfilm

Early Bergen County newspapers 1858-1938 microfilm

Digital Access to Ridgewood News and Bergen Record (IN LIBRARY USE ONLY)

Newsapers.com (Ridgewood News from 1891-present day)

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Click here if you have an obituary request.

BHC collection

• The collection of CD ROMs is divided into reference, immigration, and geographic areas.  Some of this information is now online, but treasures may await you.

Other resources

Ridgewood: 

• Ridgewood Men and Women Lost in Service of US and Allies

• Ridgewood Historical Society--Schoolhouse Museum

• Ridgewood, NJ, and Why, 1910

• Ridgewood: Past and Present, 1916

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Bergen County: 

• Bergen County History and Genealogy Links

• New Jersey History Links

• ​Favorite Genealogy Websites

Ridgewood collection.

​The Archives has over 100 cataloged photographs and 150 postcards. These are indexed and can be viewed, printed, and downloaded using the Heritage CATalog. They are mostly pictures of downtown Ridgewood but include some houses, streetscapes, and other scenes.

How to locate records

The HERITAGE REF collection includes cemetery, church, and vital records for many towns in Bergen County. For complete listings see:
 

Bergen County Vital Records

Other New Jersey Counties Vital Records

New York Vital Records.

In the BHC you can find the records in section HERITAGE REF 929.374921: 

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Paramus Reformed Church records, 1740-1850 and 1799-1900

Valleau Cemetery records, to ca. 1940

True Dutch Reformed Church of Paramus records, 1823-1903

Paramus Plains Cemetery, Records of Burials & Removals

The BHC also maintains a copy of the Budke Collection - Tombstone Inscriptions Volume 5.  

Budke Collection - Tombstone Inscriptions Volume 5

Ridgewood Research

• Hopkins-Corey Map of Bergen and Passaic Counties, 1861. ON DISPLAY

• New York-Palisades Map, 1867. CALL AHEAD

• Walker's Atlas of Bergen County, 1876. Reprint: HERITAGE REF 917.4921 WAL Original: CALL AHEAD

• Millar's Directory Street Map, 1897.   HERITAGE REF 974.922 MIL

• Ridgewood Assessment Map, 1908. CALL AHEAD

• Ridgewood Assessment Map, 1913. CALL AHEAD

• Bromley Atlas , 1913: Index in Heritage Catalog.  To view atlas CALL AHEAD

• Ridgewood Assessment Map, 1925. CALL AHEAD

• Ridgewood Sanborn Insurance Map, 1916, 1925, 1928, & 1930 CALL AHEAD

• Ridgewood Assessment Map, 1969, Sheets 13-50. CALL AHEAD

• Ridgewood Assessment Maps. On Village Website​

• To view any of the maps please make an appointment with the Local History Librarian:  email or call 201-670-5600 x135​

• To view Rutgers University digital collection of NJ maps, click here.

• To view online Bergen County Maps, click here.

BHC research assistance

• Getting Started with Genealogy

• Genealogical Resources

• Bergen County History: Resources for Teachers

• Bergen County Research

• Researching a Ridgewood House

BHC collection

• Millar's Directory for the Village of Ridgewood, 1897, photocopy and microfilm

• Breed Directory of the Erie Railroad, 1898

• Breed Directory of the Erie Railroad, 1904-1915 (towns from Hawthorne, NJ to Suffern, NY and beyond), microfilm

• Price & Lee Directories for Ridgewood and vicinity

• Ridgewood, 1926-1973; Glen Rock, 1926-1973; Midland Park, 1926-1973; Fair Lawn, 1931-1973; Ho-Ho-Kus, 1950-1973

Newspapers, programs, manuscripts, etc.

The Local History Archives has a collection of newspaper clippings, programs, manuscripts, town publications, etc.  Use the Heritage Catalog as an index and make an appointment to view the item in our collection or on microfilm. 

BHC collection

Books that we own can be identified by using the BCCLS online library catalog and by using the HERITAGE CATALOG.   Ridgewood books are found in HERITAGE REF 974.922.   See especially:

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Picturesque Ridgewood , 1898.

Ridgewood Past and Present. 1916

The History of a Village . 1964

Celebrating a Centennial: A History of Ridgewood , New Jersey. 1994

Ridgewood: Images of America .1999

For more titles, see catalogs or browse shelf.

BHC collection

Magazines, quarterlies, and newsletters provide information on genealogy as well as genealogical records and family genealogies. 

BHC collection

For Federal Census use  Ancestry Library Edition (in library) or familysearch.org.

For New Jersey State Census, see microfilm in the Library.

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NJ State Census, 1870:  US Agricultural Census for Atlantic and Gloucester Counties available as well on microfilm.

BHC collection

Chamber of Commerce Proposal, 1945

Report of the Special Advisory Committtee on Parking, 1967

​Ridgewood Parking and Traffic Study, 1971

Village of Ridgewood Parking Study, 2002