[26] Rutherford was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 21, 1881, from portions of Union Township, based on the results of a referendum held on the previous day.

The ridge above the New Jersey Meadowlands upon which Rutherford sits was settled by Lenape Native Americans long before the arrival of Walling Van Winkle in 1687.

Union Avenue, which runs from the Meadowlands to the Passaic River, may have been an Indian trail, but was more likely a property boundary line; it was referenced in the 1668 grant of land by proprietary Governor Philip Carteret to John Berry.

Daniel Van Winkle, a descendant of Walling, donated land in 1866 for a train station at Boiling Springs.

Several resorts were built along the Passaic, with guests disembarking at Boiling Springs station and taking Union Avenue to the river.

Later, the railroad opened a station closer to the river, at Carlton Hill, and a horsecar line (briefly on rails) along Jackson Ave took travelers to the resort area.

The definitive reason for the change in spelling of the final syllable from "furd" to "ford" is unknown, though the change may have been the result of name recognition of the Ohio politician Rutherford B. Hayes, who was elected President in 1876, or could have been because of a clerical error by the United States Postal Service.

[4][5] Rutherford is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located 8 miles (13 km) west of Midtown Manhattan.

Rutherford officials have worked to get approval for the plan, in the face of opposition from the 14 mayors of the Hackensack Meadowlands Municipal Committee.

For most of his adult life, he maintained a physician's office in the house in which he lived, at 9 Ridge Road, at the corner of Park Avenue, even as he continued his artistic endeavors.

[71] Rutherford Memorial Park, in the northwest corner of town along the Passaic, was set aside as parkland by the voters in 1951.

[73] Sunset Park is located just north of the intersection of Union and Jackson Avenues and is on the western-facing side of a rather steep hill.

In the fall, it has hosted the Bergen County Cultural Festival, which is funded and run by the Civil Rights Commission.

As of 2023[update], the mayor of the Borough of Rutherford is Democrat Frank Nunziato, whose term of office ends December 31, 2023.

[6][80][81][82][83][84][85] In November 2019, the borough council selected Raymond Guzman from a list of three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to complete the term expiring in December 2020 that had been held by Frank Nunziato until he resigned from his council seat to take office as mayor.

[88][89][90] For the 119th United States Congress, New Jersey's 9th congressional district is represented by Nellie Pou (D, North Haledon)[91] New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Democrats Cory Booker (Newark, term ends 2027) and Andy Kim (Moorestown, term ends 2031).

[92] For the 2024-2025 session, the 36th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Paul Sarlo (D, Wood-Ridge) and in the General Assembly by Clinton Calabrese (D, Cliffside Park) and Gary Schaer (D, Passaic).

As of 2025[update], the county executive is James J. Tedesco III (D, Paramus), whose four-year term of office ends December 31, 2026.

[94] Bergen County's Commissioners are: Thomas J. Sullivan Jr. (D, Montvale, 2025),[95] Chair Germaine M. Ortiz (D, Emerson, 2025),[96] Joan Voss (D, Fort Lee, 2026),[97] Vice Chair Mary J. Amoroso (D, Mahwah, 2025),[98] Rafael Marte (D, Bergenfield, 2026),[99] Steven A. Tanelli (D, North Arlington, 2027)[100] and Tracy Silna Zur (D, Franklin Lakes, 2027).

[101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108] Bergen County's constitutional officials are: Clerk John S. Hogan (D, Northvale, 2026),[109][110] Sheriff Anthony Cureton (D, Englewood, 2027)[111][112] and Surrogate Michael R. Dressler (D, Cresskill, 2026).

The RFD utilizes three Engines, a Ladder truck, a Heavy Rescue, a Special Service Unit and two boats.

The corps provides basic life support, and is staffed primarily by certified Emergency Medical Technicians.

[152] In 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University was founded in Rutherford as a two-year college, anchored by the Iviswold Castle on Montross Avenue, which was built in the 1880s as a summer home by David B. Ivison.

In the fall of 1997, the Rutherford campus was purchased by Felician College, an independent private Roman Catholic institution, which often has cultural and community events.

In 1948, a new bypass road along the southwest edge of the borough was built to bring traffic from Clifton and points west to the Lincoln Tunnel.

The swing span of the Union Avenue Bridge over the Passaic was replaced in June 2002 as part of a $9.5 million project.

Following the initial wave of settlement in the late 19th century, an additional building boom occurred in the 1920s, when the majority of the borough's current housing stock was constructed.

The lines extended east to Jersey City, south to Newark, north to Hackensack, and west to Passaic.

Today, NJ Transit offers service to and from New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on several routes.

[157][158] Rutherford's train station, which was built by the Erie Railroad in 1898, serves passengers on NJ Transit's Bergen County Line.