History:

Woodland Park (formerly West Paterson) is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 10,987. Woodland Park was formed as a borough under the name West Paterson, by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 25, 1914, from portions of Little Falls Township, based on the results of a referendum held on May 1, 1914. On November 4, 2008, the citizens of Woodland Park voted to change the official name of the borough from West Paterson to Woodland Park. The new name retains the initials W.P. The original name of the Borough, of course, comes from its location near the City of Paterson, which was named for William Paterson, who had an illustrious record of service for the state and nation during its early years. Taxation without representation and services, a battle cry of the American Colonists in their struggle with Great Britain, was the battle cry of the residents of the West Park section of the Township of Little Falls. West Park residents felt were “assessed to the limit” and were receiving “no benefits,” while their township neighbors “received all the cream” and “West Park paid for it.” Added to the fact that they felt they were not receiving the improvements they needed, West Park residents were concerned with the fact that practically all the township officials were elected from Little Falls and few, if any, were from West Park. Agitation for the creation of a borough started about 1905, with bills being unsuccessfully introduced in the legislature in 1908 and 1909. A small group of West Park formed an organization to fight for the creation of a borough. On Jan. 7, 1913 the “Borough of West Paterson” was proposed. One of the standard bearers, Anthony Ferrary, later became the first Mayor of West Paterson.

General Information: