Early Farms in Fardale
By Charles Anderson, The Old Station Timetable, May 1978
At the turn of the century in the area bounded by Chapel Road, Fardale Ave., Pulis Ave. and Campgaw Road, there were several large truck farms. The produce was taken by way of Godwin Ave. and Goffle Road to Hamburg Ave., now called west Broadway in Paterson. The market was located at first on lower Main St., but was later moved to an island In the Passaic River to relieve traffic congestion.
On the west side of Campgaw Road, John Vermeulen owned a farm that ran back to the Ramapos. He willed it to a foster son, Harry Carlough, who took George Orthman as a partner.
“Spurge” Bogert owned a large parcel of property running along the east side of Chapel Road almost to the end of present day Morris Ave. and extending along Pulls Ave. to and including the Bogert Trailer Park area.
The property owned by Jenny Blauvelt was located on the south side of Pulls Ave. as far as the Ackerman Brook. It was later bought by Harry Carlough to increase his farm acreage.
The Myers farm was also on Campgaw Road opposite Youngs Road extending up into the mountains. When it became a tenant farming operation, there Is a local tale that one of the men was stopped by a policeman for drunken driving — riding a horse!
When “Spurge” Bogert died leaving heavy mortgages that threatened the loss of the property, Luther Bogert bought it up and later sold a large part to Peter Bartholf who only recently sold out. His barn is still standing.
Perhaps the biggest acreage was that of Gilbert Bartholf. His nephews were Peter, already mentioned, and Walter, who still occupies the old family home on Fardale Ave. from Wyckoff Ave. to Morris Ave., the Bartholf, owned the south side of Fardale Ave. and most of the north side. The north side was later sold to James Winters who sold to Raymond Knichel and Carl Hyland. The property also extended along Wyckoff Ave. almost to Pulls Ave. west on Pulis for a good distance.
There is still a decrepit wooden stand on Wyckoff Ave. once used to sell produce. The field In back of it was the scene for many years of an annual plant sale, bazaar and field day run by the local firemen and the Fardale Community Association. It included pony rides and tents in which various businesses displayed their wares.