Hopatcong marks America’s 250th with recreation of borough’s first council meeting
Local leaders and residents came together at the borough hall for a reenactment of Hopatcong's first council meeting, using original records and minutes from May 9, 1898, when the municipality was first known under the name "Borough of Brooklyn" before later becoming Hopatcong.
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As communities across the country celebrate America's 250th anniversary, one New Jersey town celebrated the occasion by stepping back into its own history.
Local leaders and residents came together at the borough hall for a reenactment of Hopatcong's first council meeting, using original records and minutes from May 9, 1898, when the municipality was first known under the name "Borough of Brooklyn" before later becoming Hopatcong.
The event turned the council chambers into a window to the past, with the current elected officials assuming the roles of the borough's earliest leaders and reading from the documents that helped shape the community more than a century ago.
"What's amazing about it is to see all the different ideas that all these people have, because there was nothing here," said Mayor Marie Galate. "To be able to build roads and schools and churches and bridges, there was a lot of personal money that was put in to be able to make the town what it is today."
Flanked by photographs of generations of past mayors, the 'meeting' was more than a reenactment. Attendees were given an in-depth look and presentation on the borough's origins by former Mayor Cliff Lundin, including its earliest builders, buildings and official records.
"I love the history of Hopatcong, and I love living here," Lundin said. "I've been here my entire life, and so it was natural that I explored the history."
Lundin's family is a part of that history, as his father also served as mayor.
"I think a lot of people need to have that sense of community, their sense of history then and now," Lundin said. "And it's amazing how much from back then still exists today."
"People forget things," said Mayor Galate. "A lot of people are new to the area, and it's just nice to be able to remind everybody what the history was, where it came from, where people are going, and it helps us in the future, too."
