The station primarily serves students of Montclair State University, which sits to the northeast of the platforms and has been owned by the township since 1983.

The station was replaced by the Erie Railroad in 1905 and moved to the Normal Avenue grade crossing from its previous home at Mount Hebron Road.

To the west, trains depart for nearby Montclair State University, Dover, Hackettstown, and Lake Hopatcong stations.

This line was built as part of the New York and Oswego Railway, beginning in Jersey City and proceeding through Hudson, Essex, Passaic and Morris County for 40 miles (64 km).

[3] In a strange outbreak, several hundred horses in the area were exposed to the glanders, an infectious disease, at Montclair Heights station itself in July 1905.

[27] A fight broke out between the Erie Railroad and the state of New Jersey in June 1907 with the planned construction of a new normal school in the Montclair Heights section.

This new siding would start at Montclair Heights station and go into the rear end of the campus for construction of the new school.

[29] As part of opening the school, Principal Charles S. Chapin struck a deal with the Erie Railroad to add Montclair Heights stops to three trains for students.

This new business district would involve the areas around Montclair Heights and nearby Mountain Avenue station.

The writer, who got signatures after a 1925 proposal to do the same thing, noted that it would require locals to walk 15 minutes 300 times a year to the other stations.

[34] Thomas Topping, the author of 22 Glenwood Road,[35] would note that the group involved in the protest would continue to fight.

The 8,650 attendees saw the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, various drafts of the Emancipation Proclamation and other historical documents through World War II.

[40] In August, the Erie Railroad also chose to file for abandoning the station agent at Montclair Heights.

[41] At this time, the proposal from the Erie Railroad would be to have the depot open from 7–9 am for commuter use, as agreed to with Mountain Avenue earlier in the year.

At a September 23, 1959 meeting of the Public Utility Commissioners, Montclair State College President E. DeAlton Partridge noted that it would be a "disservice to the students" who attended the school.

[42] Partridge himself admitted that only 25 percent of the student body used rail service to attend Montclair State, they were continuing to push railroad use due to limited parking options.

[42] However, a representative from the United States Postal Service noted that they had no opinion of what the Erie would do with the Montclair Heights depot.

[42] However, after a two-hour deliberation on September 12, 1959, the Public Utility Commissioners reserved judgement on what to do in the Montclair Heights agent removal.

With the decision, Postmaster Richard F. McMahon announced that they would close the substation on November 20 and not replace the facility in the area.

[4] On September 17, 1968, the town of Montclair sent a letter to the Erie Lackawanna Railroad that any station depots in poor condition were to be demolished as soon as possible.

[45] At the same time, McGowan notified the town that Montclair State College and the Erie Lackawanna were in talks to lease the station.

[45] On February 2, 1970, the complaint against the Erie Lackawanna was dismissed by the Montclair Municipal Court Judge Frank Brunetto, Jr. Johseph C. Dickson, Jr., the Assistant Town Counsel, noted that the railroad took care of the rodent outbreak.

Dickson noted that the town wants to maintain the depot and the surrounding area, which would also include asking Public Service Coordinated Transport and Trackless Transit, two local bus companies to move their buses elsewhere while idling.

[10] The Erie Lackawanna applied in November 1970 to have the Montclair Heights station lack any facilities completely rather than build a new depot or shelter on the location.

The railroad's attorney, Henry Wilewski, noted that the New Jersey Department of Transportation would help fund the cost of a new shelter at Montclair Heights, which was the request of the town.

[48] In March 1971, almost a year after the fire, the Erie Lackawanna was ordered by the Commissioners to build a new station shelter suitable for commuters at Montclair Heights.

[5] In 1981, the township of Montclair was informed that as of July 1, any remaining agencies would be removed except for Watchung Avenue station.

Peter Steck, the local official in charge of Planning and Community Development, noted that the drainage would go into the storm sewer and that the station resurfacing work would be finished on July 29.

Montclair Heights also gained a new shelter in the construction leading up to the lease, as part of spending $800,000 on all six stations.

Commuters would transfer at Montclair Heights to catch an electric train if coming from stations west.