In 1666, 64 Connecticut families led by Robert Treat bought land from the Lenni Lenape Native Americans and named it New Ark to reflect a covenant to worship freely without persecution.

[21] For most of the nineteenth century, three water-powered mills produced lumber, calico, pasteboard boxes and brass fittings.

In 1872, the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway arrived, with the construction of the station at today's Benson Street.

In spite of repeated requests to Bloomfield officials, roads remained unpaved, water and sewer systems were nonexistent, and schools were miles away.

[25] On February 13, 1895, Glen Ridge was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature from portions of Bloomfield Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day.

[27][28] Circa World War II, gas lamps were discarded, many by the City of New York, later salvaged, repaired, and brought to Glen Ridge.

[27] With only 3,000 gaslights remaining in operation in the entire United States, the 2,500 managed by Public Service Enterprise Group, succeeding the Welsbach Company,[27][29] include 1,400 lamps in South Orange, 667 in Glen Ridge, some in Trenton and dozens of other towns, lighting their streets.

[40][dubious – discuss] In 2010, Glen Ridge was ranked as the 38th Best Place to live by New Jersey Monthly magazine.

[41] In 1989, athletes from the high school were involved in the sexual assault of a mentally handicapped student.

Three teenagers were found guilty of first-degree aggravated sexual assault; a fourth was convicted of third-degree conspiracy.

[42] Author Bernard Lefkowitz wrote about the incident in the 1997 book Our Guys: The Glen Ridge Rape and the Secret Life of the Perfect Suburb.

[43] Lefkowitz's book was adapted into the 1999 TV movie Our Guys: Outrage at Glen Ridge.

[45][46] In the 1980s, it was discovered that a section of the borough near Carteret Park was built on top of hazardous waste.

During the winter, it is highly recommended to wear warm clothing because it can get very cold, while the summers can get extremely hot and humid.

Due to the town's elevation and the topography of its river banks, it is not prone to significant flooding.

The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council.

[61][62] As of 2025[update], the mayor of Glen Ridge is Independent Deborah Mans, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027.

Members of the borough council are Peter A. Hughes (I, 2025), Richard P. Law (I, 2025), David Lefkovits (I, 2026), Rebecca Meyer (I, 2027), LoriJean Moody (I, 2026) and Steve Zimet (I, 2027).

[68] Murphy was selected by the borough council in November 2013 to serve the unexpired term of Elizabeth K.

A member of the council for three terms, he ran for mayor in 1999, losing to the CCC candidate Steven Plate.

When Plate was selected as the CCC candidate again in 2003 (contradicting the committee's precedent of one term per mayor), Bergmanson ran again, and won, gaining the majority in all but one of the town's districts.

[73] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 11th congressional district is represented by Mikie Sherrill (D, Montclair).

[75] For the 2024-2025 session, the 34th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Britnee Timberlake (D, East Orange) and in the General Assembly by Carmen Morales (D, Belleville) and Michael Venezia (D, Bloomfield).

As of 2025[update], the County Executive is Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. (D, Roseland), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.

[78] Essex County's Commissioners are: Robert Mercado (D, District 1 – Newark's North and East Wards, parts of Central and West Wards; Newark, 2026),[79] A'Dorian Murray-Thomas (D, District 2 – Irvington, Maplewood and parts of Newark's South and West Wards; Newark, 2026),[80] Vice President Tyshammie L. Cooper (D, District 3 - Newark: West and Central Wards; East Orange, Orange and South Orange; East Orange, 2026),[81] Leonard M. Luciano (D, District 4 – Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Livingston, Millburn, North Caldwell, Roseland, Verona, West Caldwell and West Orange; West Caldwell, 2026),[82] President Carlos M. Pomares (D, District 5 – Belleville, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Montclair and Nutley; Bloomfield, 2026),[83] Brendan W. Gill (D, at large; Montclair, 2026),[84] Romaine Graham (D, at large; Irvington, 2026),[85] Wayne Richardson (D, at large; Newark, 2026),[86] Patricia Sebold (D, at-large; Livingston, 2026).

[108] The Glen Ridge Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.

[120] Although the majority of Glen Ridge consists of houses, many residents live in apartment complexes.

The architecture of the borough includes houses representing every major style from the mid-nineteenth century onward.

[121] Notable architects that have left their legacy in the town include Frank Lloyd Wright, Stanford White, and John Russell Pope.

[126] Glen Ridge is a little over 2-mile (3.2 km) long, north to south, via Ridgewood Avenue, making it accessible for residents by walking or biking.