BCHS Historic Marker Program

Just wanted to let everybody know that the historical blue marker program, designating homes and buildings of historic note in Bergen County, is being revived. It’s not exactly alive and kicking yet, but we’re working on it. BCHS President Deborah Powell has asked me to be the point person for the marker program, and I hope to start moving things along in the coming months. We’re going to be revising the application process, determining a list of criteria, and, given the rising cost of metals, figuring out how much to charge for the marker and the research that goes into producing one. We’ve recently had queries from at least three owners of historic buildings, so we know the interest is there, and we hope it won’t be too long before we can add to the existing—historic blue markers along the roads of Bergen County. By the way, we also hope to add pictures and information on existing markers to the BCHS website, so if someone “googles” something like the “Haring family,” they’ll find a marker which could be a gateway to our entire site. As for why President Powell picked me—I’ve been researching house histories in Bergen County and metropolitan New York for about a decade now, and I’ve just signed a contract with Acanthus Press to co-author a book on the great estate homes of Westchester County (1880-1930). I also live in an old 1891 house in Haworth, which, unfortunately, is not “blue marker” material. The first owner, a carpenter, went broke and his mill in Closter was sold off nail by nail—the second owner, the Haworth postmaster, skipped town in 1915 after it turned out the young woman he took to the Postmasters’ Convention in Atlantic City wasn’t his daughter after all. Colorful stories, but I don’t think I need to worry about the cost of metal anytime soon.
Beth Potter