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The Borough of Roseland was originally known as the
Centreville section of Livingston. In 1873, one of Centreville's
prominent residents, Judge Rufus Harrison, led an effort to get the community it's own
post office. Since a Centreville post office already existed in Hunterdon County, a
meeting was called in the schoolhouse to choose a new name for the section.
Roselyn was suggested by Sarah Condit Harrison. Whether through misspelling or
design, Roselyn became Roseland, and the post office became a reality on April 14, 1874.
By the early 1900's, Roseland, still part of Livingston Township,
was growing in population. At a school district meeting in Livingston Township
in 1907, a large delegation from Roseland was outvoted when they requested that a new
school be built for their area. Following this meeting, a resident named Bill Teed
led a drive to petition for the establishment of a new borough. The petition was
circulated and presented to the State Legislature, and on April 10, 1908, the
Borough of Roseland came into existence.
On April 29, 1908, the first election of the newly incorporated borough
was held in Willard "Gus" Osborne's general store, located at the south
side of Eagle Rock Avenue facing Roseland Avenue. The election resulted in George F.
DeCamp as mayor and Henry C. Becker, Willard A. Osborn, Joseph C. Conover, Charles
Braunworth, Ezra A. Williams, and Clarence Harrison as councilmen.
You can't really talk about the development of
Roseland without talking about the Becker Farm, which operated from 1880 -1964 and whose
legacy still has a major impact on the borough. At it's peak, the Becker Farm
encompassed 1,000 to 1,200 acres, almost half the town. Today, most of the land upon
which the Becker Farm rested is now the center of several large corporate office
complexes.
Until the late 1950's Roseland remained a small
rural town. Presently, the town has a resident population of approximately 5,000. It boasts an
elementary school, a public works building, a library, the
latest firefighting equipment, and a popular recreation center with 3 baseball fields,
tennis, volley ball, and basketball courts and an ice skating rink.
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