Englewood Makes History

Browse Items (26 total)

  • Charles Lindbergh Jr. Trial.jpg

    German immigrant Bruno Richard Hauptmann was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree extortion to which he pleaded not guilty on September 26th and October 8th, 1934. He was suspected of using a $10 gold certificate at a gas station that matched one of the bills given with the 50,000-dollar ransom. The trial for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr. began on January 3rd, 1935.  Charles and Anne Lindbergh testified. John F. Condon also identified Hauptmann while on the stand. During the trial, evidence was produced claiming that Hauptmann had tools matching marks at the crime scene, Condon's telephone number and address were found inside Hauptmann's house, and Hauptmann's writing matched that of the ransom notes. 

    Hauptmann was found guilty on February 13th, 1935, and was executed via electric chair on April 3, 1936. Later U.S. Congress passed the Lindbergh Law which made crossing state lines while committing a kidnapping a federal felony. The trial was extremely public and covered extensively by the media.

    Decades later the case and the verdict were questioned. Numerous people who have studied the case claim that Hauptmann was innocent and that evidence was planted by the police.  In 1985 documents from the garage of Governor Harold Giles Hoffman were discovered however none of the papers have been revealed to the public. For decades, Hauptmann's wife, Anna fought to clear her husband's name.
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  • Lindbergh Kidnapping.jpg

    Twenty-month-old Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. was kidnapped from his second-floor nursery room around 9:00 pm on March 1, 1932. He was discovered missing around an hour later and a police report was given. A ransom note was found demanding 50,000 dollars. On March 6th, his father Charles Lindbergh Sr. received another ransom note demanding 70,000 dollars and the Lindberghs hired Private Investigators.

    A third note was sent on March 8th requesting different intermediaries and the cash. Dr. John F. Condon, a retired educator offered to act as the intermediary, and a fourth note sent on March 9th by the kidnapper agreed to Condon acting as the intermediary. On March 10th Condon received the money and began trying to set up a meeting through newspaper columns. On March 12th an in-person meeting was set up to further discuss the ransom and proof of the child's identity. Condon received baby clothes as proof of identity on March 16th.

    An eighth note was sent on March 21st demanding fulfillment of the demands. The ninth note was sent on the 30th threatening to increase the ransom to $100,000. The tenth note was received on April 1st and told Condon to ready the money by the next night. The eleventh note was given to Condon by a taxi-man which led him to the twelfth note. $50,000 was given to a stranger and Condon was given the thirteenth note giving instructions on how to find the child. The search was unsuccessful until the body of Charles Lindbergh Jr. was found accidentally on May 12th four miles away from the Lindbergh estate. He was killed by blunt force trauma to the skull and likely died the night he was kidnapped. 

    Two years later Bruno Richard Hauptmann was charged for the crime. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was executed on April 3, 1936. Later the Lindberg Law was passed, making kidnapping while crossing state lines a federal felony.
  • George Coe Shooting.jpg

    While on a walk home, George S. Coe, his brother Louis Coe, and a male friend encountered a burglar after investigating a suspicious light in a schoolhouse they passed. While investigating they came across John Baum who shot George. Louis and the male friend disarmed Baum and incapacitated him. Louis and the friend then carried George to their home for medical assistance. Baum fled and was later apprehended. George was believed to have been wounded fatally but recovered.
  • James Street Raids.jpg

    In 2004 an investigation was opened due to accusations that the homes of Latinx citizens and immigrants were being inspected in a manner that was intrusive and in violation of civil rights. The residents involved were the most Columbian neighborhood on West Charles and James Street.
  • Englewood Hotel Fire.jpg

    The New Englewood Hotel burned down on November 4, 1893, only seven months after it opened.
  • Galilee Church Fire.jpg

    In 1958 the Galilee Methodist Church burned down. The building was built in 1916. It was estimated that the damage was equivalent to 25,000 dollars.
  • Boys' Work Conference Englewood.jpg

    The Brooklyn Boys' Work Council sponsored a conference from February 20th to the 21st in Englewood, New Jersey. It was held in the First Baptist Church of Englewood.
  • Forest Park Gardens Rent Strike 1970.jpg

    In January 1970, the Forest Park Gardens tenants participated in a rent strike. They were protesting increased rent and poor living conditions. At the end of the month, the tenants gave the rent due while management promised to fix housing conditions.
  • Paid Fire Department.jpg

    The Englewood paid fire department was created in 1912 under the administration of Mayor Vernon Munroe. 
  • Building Trade Strike.jpg

    The Building Trades Strike in 1900 was a strike in New Jersey in which thousands of carpenters, painters, and decorators protested low compensation. In Englewood masons and laborers demanded an increase of twenty-five cents a day and shorter hours on Saturdays. 
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