2 minute read
Spotlight on Little Falls
By: ERIN MCFEETERS
With a history dating back to 1711, Little Falls is a small community with rich ties to Passaic County’s industrial roots. The town was even named after the waterfall that once streamed down from the dam in front of the Beattie Carpet Mill and powered the town’s industries.
Before the Industrial Revolution, farming and brownstone quarrying were prevalent industries in Little Falls. One of the oldest homes in New Jersey, the Speer Homestead, was built in 1680 and still stands, according to the Little Falls Historical Society, and New York City’s famous Trinity Church utilized Little Falls’ brownstone. Much has changed since then, but buildings from the Beattie era remain and have since been converted into apartments and condos overlooking the Passaic River, according to the Little Falls Historical Society. Complete with a four-acre woodland preserve, walking paths, and more for residents to enjoy.
The second-largest state university, Montclair State University, is also in Little Falls. While the majority of the campus is in downtown Montclair, the 252-acre campus also extends to Little Falls, Clifton, and Bloomfield. Currently, there are 23,546 students enrolled at the university, covering over 300 majors, minors, concentrations, and certificate programs.
On the Little Falls portion of campus are the Yogi Berra Museum and Yogi Berra Stadium, named after Yankees baseball catcher Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra. The museum has exhibits about the Hall of Fame inductee’s baseball career, the history of Negro Leagues baseball, a display of vintage catcher’s mitts, and more.
For commuters and travel lovers, Little Falls is just 15 miles away from New York City and 12 miles from the Newark Liberty International Airport. Single family median sales prices are higher than the state average at $634,000, a 20.8% increase year-to-date and demand remains high with the average percent of list price received coming in at 108.9% year-to-date.
