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8:30am - 4:00pm

(201) 664-1849

Old Tappan is a borough in Bergen County United States. As of the 2010 US Census the borough's population was 5,750, reflecting an increase of 268 (+4.9%) from the 5,482 counted in the 2000 Census which had in turn increased by 1,228 (+28.9%) from the 4,254 counted in the 1990 Census

Old Tappan was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the NJ Legislature on October 18, 1894, from portions of Harington Township based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier.The borough was formed during the “Bouroughitis” phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County, in which 26 boroughs were formed in the county in 1894 alone. On April 23, 1896, additional territory was annexed from Harrington Township.

Library
Old Tappan Free Public Library
56 Russell Ave, Old Tappan, NJ 07675
201 664-3499

www.oldtappanlibrary.com


Summer Hours:

Mon, Wed, & Fri 9:00 am-4:00 pm
Tues & Thurs 9:00 am-8:30 pm
Saturday 9:00 am-1:00 pm
Sunday Closed
Park Bench Donation Program
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History of Old Tappan

From the Hudson River it was across the salt meadow and through the narrow valley of the Tappan Creek (present day Piermont, New York) that the first inland settlement to the west was made. Land was purchased from the Lenni Lenape Indians on March 17, 1682.

Five years later, in 1687, legal title to the land known as the Tappan patent, was granted by Governor Thomas Dongan of New York to thirteen Dutchmen and three free Negroes.  The Tappan patent is believed to be the only land grant of its kind in the country to include both blacks and whites on an equal basis.  They were all prosperous farmers from the settlement called the Bouweriewhich grew up around Peter Stuyvestant's farm in what had been New Amsterdam.  As their farms became crowded by the late 17th Century, they came together to purchase new unsettled lands in the wilderness. 

Please see these pictural videos of Old Tappan during the 1970s

Video of Old Tappan 1

Video of Old Tappan 2

Video of Old Tappan 3

Comprehensive Statistics on Old Tappan sponsored by the Census bureau

 

General Inquires please send your email to the borough mailbox at [email protected]