OPEN HOUSES FOR SUNDAY May 20, 2012

        
  LISTINGS IN GREEN ARE LESS THAN 2 WEEKS ON MARKET!

No:	Hours	Address	List Price	Style	RM	BR	TBT	Gar	BSMT
1	1-4	295-B ELMWOOD AVE*	$149,000	Townhouse	6	2	1	0	Yes
2	1-5	152 Franklin Ave*	$224,900	Colonial	8	4	1	2	Yes
3	1-4	215 Lexington Ave*	$319,000	Colonial	8	4	2	1	Yes
4	1-4	87 Boyden Ave*	$319,000	Cape Cod	6	3	1.1	1	Yes
5	1-4	78 PARK AVE*	$320,000	Colonial	8	3	1.1	1	Yes
6	1-5	457 Baldwin Rd*	$375,000	Colonial	7	3	2	1	Yes
7	1-4	106 Oakland Rd*	$384,900	Colonial	9	4	2	2	Yes
8	1-4	24 HIGHLAND PL*	$429,000	Victorian	7	3	1.1	1	Yes
9	2-4	104 Parker Ave*	$448,900	Colonial	8	3	1.1	2	Yes
10	2-4	15 BURR RD*	$449,000	Tudor	9	4	1.1	2	Yes
11	1-4	91 JEFFERSON AVE*	$470,000	Colonial	9	3	1.1	0	Yes
12	1-4	147 Oakview Ave*	$499,000	Colonial	10	4	2	2	Yes
13	1-5	4 Girard Pl*	$539,000	Colonial	7	3	2	1	Yes
14	1-4	3 Sunset Ter*	$569,000	Colonial	11	4	2.1	1	Yes
15	1-4	50 Midland Blvd*	$599,000	Tudor	7	4	2.1	2	Yes
16	1-5	20 Maple Ter*	$599,000	Bungalow	7	4	3	1	Yes
17	1-4	34 KENDAL AVE	$599,000	Colonial	9	4	3	2	Yes
18	1-4	22-24 Plymouth Pl*	$600,000	Custom Home	14	6	4.2	2	Yes
19	1-4	42 CLINTON AVE*	$740,000	Colonial	11	6	3.2	2	Yes
20	1-4	50 CURTIS PL*	$795,000	Colonial	11	4	3.1	2	Yes
21	1-4	77 Collinwood Rd*	$1,199,000	Contemporary	10	5	4.1	2	No

We are so excited with your responses and comments so far.  Please keep them coming as we will be looking to add, tweak, modify or change anything we can to make Maplewood NJ Open Houses even more useful for you as you search for your new home.  We will be looking to add pictures of each Open House and are now adding the estimated taxes as supplied by the GSMLS; we hope this will round out your information needs on top of having room count, bedroom count, bath count--we consciously have listed bathroom count as # of Full Baths/# of Half Baths so that there is no confusion. 

Pam and I are happy to answer any of your questions which could range anywhere from what are mortgage rates, how much would my monthly payment be, which school would I be looking at with "this home," how long has this home been on the market, what do you think about the price for this home, etc.

Simply call Mark at 917.797.5059 or Pam at 201.618.2977.  Pam and I are passionate realtors that believe in 24/7 accessibility and responsiveness when it comes to our clients. 
For more on Maplewood, New Jersey, feel free to look up the Love to Live in Maplewood fan page on Facebook--http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/#!/pages/Maplewood-NJ/Love-to-live-in-Maplewood/125963444120835, http://www.lovetoliveinmaplewood.com/, http://maplewood.patch.com/ or http://www.maplewoodonline.com.  

 
Maplewood has been written up quite frequently in the NY TImes as one a featured places to live.  The town is all of 22 miles due west of New York City, has 30-40 minute commutes (just like commuting from Park Slope, Brooklyn, NJ)  to New York Penn Statoin via NJ Transit Mid-town Direct train service, offers a very eclectic mix and match of peoples with an incredible variety of interests; Maplewood is often compared to Park Slope, Brooklyn and Hoboken, NJ--both well-known feeder communities into Maplewood--for their vibrancy and lifestyle as all three offer thriving downtowns where people love to meet and congregate.

Click for NJTRANSIT info  

Click for lists of clubs and groups to join, i.e. mommy and me, etc

Click for info on MAPLEWOOD/SOUTHORANGE-the two towns

Click for LOCAL GOVERNMENT info 

Click for SCHOOL INFO

Columbia High School Accomplishments (2009-2010)

·         4 students named National Merit Scholar Semifinalists ·         22 students received Merit Letters of Commendation ·         5 students commended as National Achievement Scholars ·         109 students received Advance Placement (AP) Scholar Awards ·         6 students received the top National AP Scholar awards ·         34 students selected as NJ Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholars ·         The Columbian (student newspaper) received national Gold Medal award ·         Guildscript, (literary magazine) received two top national awards for excellence ·         2 students published in The Concord Review, an international history journal

·         4 students win top awards in National French Exam ·         District named a national 2009 Best Communities for Music Education ·         The bands, orchestras and choruses and individual members won top honors in state and regional competitions ·         Students picked for State Governors Awards in Drama  ·         Students win top awards in state and regional film and animation competitions ·         Students win regional Emmy Awards for television videos ·         Girls’ and Boys’ Fencing Teams continue to rank in the top 3 in the state; 2010 Boys Team wins State Title ·         2 students named county Scholar-Athletes ·         5 students win state Shakespeare awards

History

When surveying the area now known as Maplewood, Robert Treat found several trails used by Lenape tribes of Algonquin Native Americans, though there was only sparse pre-European settlement. These paths form the basis for what are the town's main thoroughfares today.

The first European settlers arrived around 1675, primarily English, Dutch, and French Puritans who had earlier settled Hempstead, Long Island, and Stamford, Connecticut, via Newark and Elizabeth. They had acquired most of today’s Essex County from the Native Americans and followed three trails that roughly correspond to South Orange Avenue, Springfield Avenue, and Ridgewood Road. These three routes resulted in three separate communities that merged into Maplewood and South Orange.

Those who came from Newark on the trail that now corresponds to South Orange Avenue settled the area that became South Orange Village.  1234567Six families (with last names of Smith, Brown, Pierson, Freeman, Ball, and Gildersleeve) came up today’s Ridgewood Road and established scattered farms around a center that became Jefferson Village, named after Thomas Jefferson. This village, which roughly corresponds to downtown Maplewood today, developed several mills and orchards. John Durand, the son of Hudson River school painter Asher Brown Durand (who was born in Maplewood in 1796), describes the place as a picturesque but slightly backwards community with close ties to Springfield. The apple harvest was apparently quite impressive and included “Harrison” and “Canfield” varieties. By 1815, there were approximately 30 families in the village. Although the residents of the area were predominantly Presbyterian, the first house of worship was a Baptist chapel in 1812. This was in use until 1846 and fell into disrepair until 1858, when it was taken into use as a Methodist Episcopal church.

Those who came up today’s Springfield Avenue settled on a hillcrest near today’s intersection between Tuscan and Springfield Avenue and established a hamlet known as North Farms. Over time, this community became known as the Hilton section. It became a stagecoach stop between Newark, Jersey City (then Paulus Hook), and Morristown and thereby a center for trade and light manufacturing. The village changed its name from North Farms to Middleville in 1830, and then to Hilton in 1880 when it was granted a post office. In 1855, Seth Boyden settled in what was then Middleville to retire but innovated a number of agricultural products, especially berries. Boyden also built and put into operation the first steam engines to service the railroad through Maplewood. The area became known for its orchards and related industries, including cider mills and distilleries of rum, but also honey and some livestock.

In 1802, Jefferson Village and North Farms were named as districts under the Township of Newark.

The three communities operated independently, each establishing their own school associations: South Orange established the Columbian school in 1814, which would form the basis for today’s Columbia High School; North Farms established the North Farms Association in 1817; and Jefferson Village the Jefferson Association in 1818. In 1867, when the State of New Jersey established public education through the School Law, the newly appointed County Superintendent merged the three associations into one school district, which was formalized in 1894 as the South Orange-Maplewood School District. James Ricalton, a teacher born in Waddington, New York of Scottish parents, set the high standard of education that persists in the school district to this day.

Maplewood was originally formed as South Orange Township, which was created on April 1, 1861, from portions of Clinton Township and what was then the Town of Orange. The name of the township was changed to Maplewood on November 7, 1922.^[7]

When the Morris and Essex Railroad from Newark was extended to the area in 1838, a land speculator by the name of John Shedden built a railroad station in Jefferson Village and named it Maplewood. This name came to comprise areas known as Hilton, Jefferson Village, and areas previously part of Springfield. In 1868, farms were divided into parcels for residential housing. The 1920s saw significant growth in new residents and structures, foreshadowing a complete suburb.

Geography

Maplewood is located at 40°43'44?N 74°16'06?W? / ?40.728901°N 74.268213°W? / 40.728901; -74.268213 (40.728901, -74.268213).^[8]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 3.8 square miles (10.0 km²).A pond is in Memorial Park, the Rahway River runs through the town, and there is a municipal pool club with four manmade pools of water; the remainder of the area is land.

Maplewood shares a border with the following municipalities: West Orange and South Orange to the north, Newark and Irvington to the east, Union to the south, and Millburn to the west.