Mountain Lakes was officially incorporated into the Borough on March 3, 1924, but it had long been established as a beautiful wooded town tucked into the cove of Northern Jersey. In this seemingly paradisiacal place it is easier to gloss over the bumps of history and try and sanitize the marks of of the past. However, as Black History Month draws to an end, it is worth looking into Mountain Lakes’ own complex and unique relationship to racism, xenophobia, and its holistic view on social change.
One of the earliest encounters of racism and the plight against it comes from the inspiring story of a freedman named Hero Bull. Hero was born and enslaved under a doctor by the name of John Darby, who upon his death decided to free his slaves. Though not born in the deep South as many more slaves had been, he experienced the same dehumanization and brutalization as his proverbial brothers.
It is not known when Hero was born and the specific events that shaped him to become a proud, land-owning, black man in America—at a time when it was not even believed that people whose skin is darker had a soul—because there were no detailed records for slaves who were simply viewed as property. There was not given a shred of decency and humanity for him to cling to. Hero’s legacy lives on in the small patch of land at the train station where he once stood and defied the odds of hundreds of tear-stained and downtrodden generations to set a precedent of freedom.
Another area in which Mountain Lakes should be proud is the several houses in the Boonton/ML area that are known locations of the Underground Railroad. One of the most famous examples is the Grimes Household which was established as an anti-slavery hub in the early 1800s. Dr. Grimes, the patriarch of the household, was harassed several times for harboring slaves as he had the reputation as a staunch abolitionist.
Despite these examples of progressive ideals, Mountain Lakes has less savory relations with race. Boonton specifically had a very active Ku Klux Klan chapter. A history professor by the name of Dr. Edward Marlett of Adelphi University (a former Boontonite) gave a talk a few years ago on such subjects in Boonton.
At the tail end of his presentation he brought up his next project: the Klan in Boonton. A tense silence was immediately felt throughout the room. In broad strokes he discussed the rallies, and how they would march up main street, culminating with a cross burning on Sheep Hill where the town now lights a star at Christmas. Their hatred was directed principally at the Slovaks, who had begun moving to town to take factory jobs. He spoke of how the white nationalists then, as they do now, looked to foreigners to blame for all domestic issues, and their minority of choice were Catholics, Jews, and Slavs. When confronted with the notion that this was fake, he defiantly relayed that he had found his own father’s robes.
One of the reasons that the prejudice against religious and racial minorities continued was the unspoken Gentleman’s Agreement. Although there is not a physical document stating the terms of the agreement, it was widely known that Jews, Catholics, and African Americans were not welcome. Census records confirm this and it was found that until the 1970’s there were little to no minorities living in Mountain Lakes, and all African Americans until very recently were servants.
“Following the war and in the early [19]20s, the Ku Klux Klan became very active in Boonton. Roman Catholics rather than blacks were the targets, for what reason I have never known. There were a number of cross burnings for purposes of intimidation… By the mid [19]20s the Klan was no longer, but anti-Catholic prejudice remained and was seen by Mother in some of the Board of Education members when she served on that body.”
From The William Street Days , a diary by Jack Sillick
Considering the amount of minorities living in Mountain Lakes is still low, but rapidly growing, it begs the question if Mountain Lakes will honor the spirit of Hero Bull and be accepting to all, regardless of race, class, or creed. Or will we as a community recoil against the thought of difference and refer to our more recent, racist history as a guide? Only time will tell.
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