Last updated: December 20, 2023
Place
Califon Historic District
Photograph courtesy of the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office
Quick Facts
Location:
Main and Academy Sts., Califon, New Jersey
Significance:
Commerce
Designation:
Listed in the National Register - Reference number 76001157
MANAGED BY:
The Califon Historic District in Califon, New Jersey was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The district is representative of the small rural-oriented communities which formed throughout much of New Jersey during the late 19th early 20th centuries.
The area that later became Califon was largely rural the mid-19th century, at the heart of a peach growing district and other farm land. Around 1850, Jacob Neighbors built a second saw mill to support the industrialization of the area. The area was first named "California" due to Neighbors's enthusiasm for the California Gold Rush, but was later renamed Califon. Shortly after the Neighbors mill was constructed, locals gained a tannery, distillery, and hotel.
By the late 1800s, Califon was known for its charming Victorian homes, "attractive" town planning, and small but well-stocked commercial downtown. Philip Van Doren Stern, a graduate of Rutgers University, cited Califon as the inspiration for Bedford Falls in his short story "The Greatest Gift," which later went on to inspire the film It's a Wonderful Life. In particular, the iron-wrought Califon Main Street Bridge is said to have inspired the setting for the book and movie's opening scene, where George Pratt/Bailey contemplates suicide but is ultimately convinced that his life is worth living.
The historic district contains 154 contributing buildings, three contributing structures, and one contributing site, many of which are either clapboard or frame dwellings that are still occupied by the town's roughly 1000 residents today.
The area that later became Califon was largely rural the mid-19th century, at the heart of a peach growing district and other farm land. Around 1850, Jacob Neighbors built a second saw mill to support the industrialization of the area. The area was first named "California" due to Neighbors's enthusiasm for the California Gold Rush, but was later renamed Califon. Shortly after the Neighbors mill was constructed, locals gained a tannery, distillery, and hotel.
By the late 1800s, Califon was known for its charming Victorian homes, "attractive" town planning, and small but well-stocked commercial downtown. Philip Van Doren Stern, a graduate of Rutgers University, cited Califon as the inspiration for Bedford Falls in his short story "The Greatest Gift," which later went on to inspire the film It's a Wonderful Life. In particular, the iron-wrought Califon Main Street Bridge is said to have inspired the setting for the book and movie's opening scene, where George Pratt/Bailey contemplates suicide but is ultimately convinced that his life is worth living.
The historic district contains 154 contributing buildings, three contributing structures, and one contributing site, many of which are either clapboard or frame dwellings that are still occupied by the town's roughly 1000 residents today.