Lambiase Farms

12-acre Lambiase farm considered for part of new Nutley Junior High between Bloomfield Avenue and Ridge Road

Caption: On a hilltop in Ridge Road, will all Nutley rustling below and the skyscrapers of New York forming the Eastern horizon, lies the Lambiase 12-acre farm which, along with about 2 acres of town-owned land, the Board of Education seeks to acquire as a site for the proposed Junior high school. In the photo above the farmhouse, barn and barnyard are shown. At the right of the photo, the peach orchard of several acres covers the soft-rolling hillside. Peacocks now roam at liberty under the heavily-laded trees. It is the Board's desire to have the main building where this farmhouse stands and use the sloping terrain for a play area.

By Michael Lambiase and David Wilson

Now, there were many peach trees and some apple and pear and a persimmon tree, which if the fruit were picked untimely, would curl your lips inside out. There was a field of corn, some tomatoes, and other assorted veggies. A wooden, three-step, outdoor fruit and vegetable stand to sell produce alongside chicken eggs stood at the front of the house...

This is the story of the last farm in Nutley, six acres on the south-eastern side of Ridge Road, reaching to Bloomfield Avenue, 600 feet from Centre Street and to the water pipeline. The original farm house was removed to allow for Ridge Road expansion and replaced by the current house in 1933.