Ridgefield Park was founded as Ridgefield Township on June 15, 1892. The village borders the communities of Bogota, Hackensack, Leonia, Little Ferry, Palisades Park, Ridgefield, and Teaneck. Ridgefield Park is a short drive from New York; five miles from the George Washington Bridge, and seven miles from Lincoln Tunnel. Ridgefield Park has an area of 1.911 square miles and an elevation of 56 feet.
By 2020, Ridgefield Park will be the 76th largest city in New Jersey and the 2,590th largest city in the United States with a population of 12,793 people. In the 2010 census in the United States, there were 12,729 people, 4,851 households and 3,274 families in the village. There were 5,164 residential units with an average density of 2,962 per square mile.
The city was developed because when the community of Ridgefield grew, the inhabitants wished to keep the town smaller. Residents and businessmen wanted to separate from the community and found their own district. Hendricks Brinkerhoff bought land on Hackensack from Epke Bante on 17 June 1685. The land he bought stretched from the river in the west to Overpeck Creek in the east. Parts of the village were reclaimed in 1921 and 1926, including Bogota and Teaneck.
The people who call the area home describe themselves as members of a variety of ethnic and racial groups. The most prevalent group in the village are the Hispanic or Latino origin, accounting for 43.99% of villagers’ race.
Scenes in the 1998 movie Rounders, starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, were filmed in the Elks Lodge in Ridgefield Park. Their Fourth of July Parade, first established in 1894, is said to be the longest and continuously celebrated holiday event in New Jersey and is one of the oldest parades in the country.
