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Garfield Historians: It's Not 'Garbage-field'

GARFIELD, N.J. — Former Garfield Historian Elizabeth Gray recalls her students calling Garfield "Garbagefield," and felt compelled to defend the town's history.

"It's not 'Garbage-field,' Garfield has a tremendous amount of history," Gray said. 

"95 percent of the residents don’t know [the history], including the students."

Gray served as historian for 26 years before stepping down in 2016 for health concerns. The position is now helmed by Chris Shupenko. 

"You got to try to collect everything you can," Shupenko said in reference to the numerous odd items stored by Garfield's Historical Society.

The historians hesitate to pick their favorite fact about the city, but both expressed the importance of maintaining the town's history.

Gray's encyclopedic knowledge of the town's past goes from Native American burials, to the revolutionary war, up through the modern day and everything in between.

"They should know everything," Gray said.

She recommended residents read "History of Passaic and its environs," by William W. Scott if they're interested in learning more about Garfield.

Click through the pictures above to get a glimpse of the relics stored by Garfield's Historical Society.

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