Leonia History | Books and Other Resources

Carol Karels, a professional speaker and author, is a native Chicagoan and has acted as the Borough historian of Leonia, N.J., since 1994.

Carol wrote a weekly column for the Bergen News on Leonia history for five years and has written four books, all filled with historic photos, on Leonia: Leonia Line and Leonia Legacies (both out of print), Images of America: Leonia, and Leonia Stories.

She is the editor of The Revolutionary War in Bergen County, published by the History Press in 2007.

You can order Carol's signed books--for yourself, your friends, classmates, and family!

Did you know that Leonia…
• was a noted artists’ colony at the turn of the century
• was home to five Nobel Prize scientists including Enrico Fermi
• was once known as the Athens of New Jersey
• hosted a U.S. Open Golf Tournament
• has the second oldest continuous community theater in the country
• was home to Pat Boone, Robert Ludlum, Robin Cook, Sammy Davis Jr.
• had one of the first volunteer ambulance corps in the country
• was one of the first communities to recycle glass and paper
• was once known as the English Neighborhood
• once had a slave burial ground
• was named after disgraced Rev. War General Charles Lee
• forbids funeral parlors in its boundaries
• has had more books written about it than any other town its size? (4)
• was once advertised as “the ideal community for the college man”
TESTIMONIALS
“Every LHS alumni should have these books on their coffee table!”
“The books brought back memories and stimulated lively conversation at our reunion”
“The photos showing Leonia before it was developed are amazing!”
THE BOOKS
Images of America: Leonia
128 pages, 222 photos / $20.00 plus $4 shipping / Now in its third printing!
Order Today: carolkarels@gmail.com
From the back cover: Leonia was once a sleepy farming community on the western slope of the Palisades. Its proximity to New York City’s major universities, performing centers, theaters, galleries, and art schools has contributed to making the town a home for many of the twentieth century’s foremost artists, scientists, and academics. With hundreds of vintage photographs, Leonia offers the reader an overview of a town that has been called the English Neighborhood, West Fort Lee, and the Athens of New Jersey. Leonia explores the fascinating town that was settled in 1668 by Dutch and English farmers. Leonia was a crossroads of the Revolution and a training ground for Civil War soldiers. The town remained a farming community until the late 1800s, when it experienced enormous economic and cultural growth. Prominent artists were first to arrive. Advances in transportation, such as the West Side subway, the ferries, and the trolley systems, made it possible for many to commute to the city. This pictorial history illustrates how Leonia soon became a haven for some of the nation’s most creative minds, including five Nobel Prize winners.

Leonia Stories
46 pages, 15 stories, 47 photos / $10.00 plus $4 shipping
Order Today: carolkarels@gmail.com
Fifteen stories and 47 photos of old Leonia. Read about the Lenape Indians in the area, Leonia during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War Drill Hall, the Art Colony, the history of Overpeck Park, the Volunteer Fire Department, the old Golf Course, Leonia’s Nobel Prize winners, the threat of Route 80, and much more.

The Revolutionary War in Bergen County: The Times That Tried Men’s Souls
192 Pages, 22 essays, 19 contributors, 60 photos / $23.00 plus $4 shipping
Order Today: carolkarels@gmail.com
Featuring Leonia writers Marvin Kitman, Barbara Marchant, Arthur Aranda. Bergen County was located between both major armies, and served as the breadbasket for both. George Washington didn’t sleep here, but he led his famous retreat down Fort Lee Road, as depicted in the painting in the ACS auditorium. Lafayette camped here, Loyalists and Patriots skirmished here. Two Revolutionary War-era homes still stand in Leonia: the Cole/Boyd House and the Vreeland House. If you’re a Revolutionary War buff, this is a must read!
Order Today: carolkarels@gmail.com
Images of America: Leonia
$20.00
Leonia Stories
$10.00
The Rev. War in Bergen County
$23.00