Community Corner
Forest Hill Community Featured in New Book
Authors to have hold book release and signing Wednesday night at Newark library's Centennial Hall.
North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos Jr. presented a resolution from the City Council to the authors of a new book on the history of the Forest Hill community.
Catharine Longendyck, a retired corporate executive and lifelong resident of Forest Hills, and Kathleen P. Galop is an attorney and principal of a historic preservation consulting firm, coauthored “Forest Hill” published by Arcadia Publishing.
The Newark Public library is hosting a book release and signing Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. in Centennial Hall. Call 973-733-7793 for more information.
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The 128-page book provides a history of the neighborhood in Newark’s North Ward that is filled with large homes representing a variety of architectural styles, from Richardsonian Romanesque to Craftsman. A 52-block area of Forest Hill has been designated a National Historic District and is listed in the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.
The two previously co-authored Arcadia Publishing’s “Branch Brook Park.”
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“I commend Catharine and Kathleen for investing so much time and working so diligently to research and record the history of one of Newark’s historic neighborhoods,” Ramos said. “Their two books will serve future generations of Newarkers who want to learn more about the history of Forest Hill and Branch Brook Park.”
The co-authors previously coauthored Arcadia Publishing’s Branch Brook Park.
The authors said the book was a group effort.
“We received a great deal of input, encouragement and assistance from present and former residents of Forest Hill, as well as the Forest Hill Community Association,” Longendyck said. “We also acquired many important images for our book from the Newark Public Library and the Newark City Archives.”The authors said it was a challenge to find vintage photos of Forest Hill because most of the structures are residential.
“It is much easier to find vintage photos of public buildings,” Logendyck said. “But in the end, the hardest part was deciding what we had to leave out due to space considerations.”
Galop said the history of how this part of Newark developed, particularly since 1850, is rich and fascinating, mirroring the changes in most large American cities in the second half of the 19th century, as they grew from farming communities to industrialized cities.
“Our hope is that this book will inspire the City of Newark, an in particular the residents of Forest Hill, to take pride in preserving Forest Hill along with the city’s other historic neighborhoods, and that all Newark residents will be motivated to take every opportunity to promote these positive features of New Jersey’s largest city,” Galop said.
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