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Demarest lies on Lenape homeland,

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where the Tenakill Brook runs
through the Northern Valley.

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1723. By local tradition,
a sandstone farmhouse rises here,

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later listed among Bergen County’s
early stone houses.

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1859. The Northern Railroad opens,

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and trains begin stopping at
a small country flag stop.

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1871. A post office opens as Demarest,

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named for the railroad director
who laid out the village.

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1872. A Romanesque Revival depot of
Palisades freestone rises by the tracks,

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designed by J. Cleveland Cady.

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1882. A county history
describes an artificial lake,

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fed by the Tenakill,
fronting the stone depot.

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1903. In April, Demarest
becomes a borough,

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formed from Harrington
and Palisades townships.

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1911. The Hardenburgh Avenue Bridge
over the Tenakill Brook is widened,

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beside the pond.

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1966. Passenger trains stop
running on the Northern Branch,

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and the depot closes as a station.

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1977. The borough grants
a forty-year lease on

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fifty-five acres for the
Demarest Nature Center.

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2004. With its slate roof newly restored,

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the stone depot joins the
National Register of Historic Places.

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From a flag stop to a borough,

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the story of Demarest still gathers
around the depot and the pond.