THE CALDWELLS
CALDWELL: BIRTHPLACE OF A PRESIDENT
Among other things, Caldwell is known as the birthplace of Grover Cleveland, the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms in the office as the 22nd president from 1885 to 1889 and as the 24th president from 1893 to 1897. Today, his former home on Bloomfield Avenue is a museum run by the National Parks Service.
Caldwell boasts a bustling downtown along Bloomfield Avenue with many shops and restaurants. In the residential areas, you’ll find quite, winding tree-lined streets. The most expensive section of the borough is The Cedars, in the southwestern area, bordering Essex County's Grover Cleveland Park. Most of the lots are tree lined, the streets are winding, nearly all of the houses were custom-built in the 20's and 30's and there are no sidewalks. Many were summer dwellings for New York City businessmen, including George Morgan, brother of the banker J.P. Morgan. The closer to Bloomfield Avenue, the more tightly packed the houses are and the lower the values.
The most widely used recreational facility is the five-and-a-half-acre Kiwanis Oval behind the municipal building on Provost Square. It has a multipurpose lighted field, a basketball court, a playground and two platform-tennis courts. The largest park is the 18-acre Grover Cleveland Park, off Brookside Terrace. It has bicycle and jogging trails, a pond stocked for fishing in the spring and used for ice skating in winter, a softball diamond and four tennis courts.
The highly rated Caldwell-West Caldwell Public Schools system serves students from Caldwell and West Caldwell. Students are enrolled in an elementary school based on their home location, and students attend one middle school and one high school.
NORTH CALDWELL: “THE GREEN JEWEL”
North Caldwell, located northwest of Montclair along Bloomfield Avenue, just 17 miles from New York City, has been called the “green jewel” of Essex County, with its beautiful homes on its hilly, wooded roads. Other than modest commercial activity on the northern and southern ends of town and two townhouse locations, the Borough’s land use is dominated by single-family homes.
The top-tier North Caldwell Public Schools system serve students in pre-K through 6th grade and have a student teacher ratio of 16.8:1. North Caldwell is home to the West Essex Regional School District, which also serves public school students from the nearby towns of Fairfield, Essex Fells, and Roseland in 7th through 12th grades.
This primarily residential town of about 10,800 has few sidewalks. Most residents do their food shopping in the surrounding communities, their convenience shopping along Bloomfield Avenue in Caldwell and their mall shopping at the Willow Brook Mall, five miles to the north in Wayne, or the Livingston Mall, six miles to the south in Livingston.
New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked North Caldwell as its 16th best place to live in its 2015 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey, as well as the 3rd best place to live in its 2013 ranking.
WEST CALDWELL: AFFORDABLE & GREEN
West Caldwell, a town of 11,200 residents, is located in Western Essex County approximately 16 miles from Manhattan, and is know for its relatively affordable single-family homes along tree-lined streets. The town has an active recreation department, well-regarded public schools, and several parks.
West Caldwell offers four main shopping areas and a variety of outdoor or indoor recreational activities and entertainment. Residents who enjoy the outdoors spend time at Crane Park where the town puts on a variety of entertainment, including concerts, plays and sports games. With Crane Park, Francisco Park and Grover Cleveland Park, there is boating, fishing, bird-watching, walking trails readily available. In addition, the West Caldwell Recreation Department is highly-recognized for its comprehensive programming for residents of all ages.
West Caldwell also offers residents two municipal pools.
The highly rated Caldwell-West Caldwell Public Schools system serves students from Caldwell and West Caldwell. There are four elementary schools, one middle schools and one high school in West Caldwell. The town boasts its strong educational system. Students are enrolled in an elementary school based on their home location, and students attend one middle school and one high school.
The town center is located along Bloomfield Avenue and is home to many of the locally owned stores, restaurants and boutiques.
The commute to New York City is about 45 minutes by train or bus, with the Decamp Bus #33 traveling down Bloomfield Avenue directly into the City.
