A few years ago the Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society was contacted by several Glenwood students who needed answers to an assignment with an historical bent. Among the questions was one about how Glenwood Elementary School got its name. What none of us knew at that time was that before Glenwood got that name it was referred to as the West Millburn Elementary School.
A few years ago, township residents John and Barbara Murray gave the historical society a copy of a 1937 Property Aquisition Bulletin for Millburn Township Public Schools. The publication addressed needs of the growing student population and focused on the need for an elementary school in the “West Millburn site” off of Chatham Road to serve the students in the Glenwood-Oak Hills-Brantwood sections. The booklet states, “It is in the interest of intelligent, sober consideration of the Millburn Township public school problems that this little brochure is presented.”
That “intelligent, sober consideration” was deemed necessary because of the overcrowding at the Short Hills Elementary School, which used to be on Hobart Avenue opposite Great Oak Drive and which used to be the first high school. It was also deemed necessary to build more classrooms because of population projections.
According to the report, Millburn’s population grew from 2,837 residents in 1900 to an estimated 11,500 residents in 1937. Estimates for the number of Millburn residents in 1950 were projected to be about 22,500. As of the 2000 US census, Millburn Township’s population was 19,765.
In the search for a suitable property, the report states the recommended acreage for the size school they anticipated building was 10 acres. The map here shows the proposed site, where it states, “The elementary school plot must be large enough to allow for location of the building far enough back from the street and tracks to avoid noise and provide safety zones and yet still provide sufficient space for play areas” and “In conclusion it may be said that the proposal of ten acres is in no way a deviation from current practice, but is merely keeping abreast of the conservative requirements in the better school systems.”
With an eye to additional future needs for a growing student population, the report advised “Plan(ning) the present unit so that future units can be economically added later.”
Finally, the bulletin also addressed the name of the school: “Incidentally, this school, when duly authorized, will be given a name. The name used in this report is used solely for designatory purposes.” In this report and in a 1937 Item article about the property acquisition it states the school was intended to serve the Glenwood area, among others, so it is presumed that the school was named after that recently-developed Short Hills area.
An unrelated receipt from that era — and from another state — had references to Glenwood, Meadowbrook and other similar names to those found in Millburn, which led to speculation that the names were popular at the time the school was built because they evoked images of sylvan suburban areas. Without doubt “Glenwood School” has greater stylish elegance than “West Millburn School” and it is, indeed, nestled within a wooded glen in the Short Hills.