05/20/2026
A vigilante posse out for criminals? Nope, these are just the members of the Westwood Gun Club at their clubhouse in 1903. This crowd of men, who were assuredly upstanding citizens, might have been ready if the local constable needed a posse, but there is no record of such. But there are numerous newspaper references for the club beginning in 1884, but unfortunately the exact location of the clubhouse was not given. (Most locations in Bergen County at that time did not have addresses, but I am sure if you followed the sound of gunfire …) Although in 1904, the club moved its clubhouse west to a new location, which was to “afford a better shooting range.”
The first reference to the club in the ‘Bergen County Democrat’ newspaper was on June 13, 1884, there it was noted that the club would shoot for a $10 gold badge prize on July 4. So, what did the club shoot at? In September 1884 the club had its anniversary shooting match. Thirty-four pigeons were procured and the 14 members present tried to shoot them. But the birds were very tame and had to be frightened by stones thrown at them before they would fly out of the cages. After the pigeons had been dispatched, the club members switched over to the usual clay pigeons.
The Westwood club competed against other clubs. There was the Spring Valley Gun Club (in today’s Paramus), and the Oradell Gun Club. The Boiling Spring Gun Club of Rutherford hosted the Westwood men at their shooting range located in East Rutherford. There was the North River Gun Club of Edgewater, who won the 1906 state championship at Rahway in 1906. And The Pleasure Gun Club, of Englewood, were the guests of the Westwood club in 1904.
The gun clubs at that time were social organizations. And in 1903, the members of the Westwood Gun Club considered a Thanksgiving Day shoot. Although it is unclear if the event happened. Then the Westwood men were invited to a live bird shoot at the Oradell grounds on Christmas morning. The Oradell men also hosted Westwood, and others, for an all-day pigeon shoot on Lincoln’s Birthday in 1903.
The big event for the Westwood Gun Club was their annual shoot and clambake held each August. And various clubs were invited to the occasion. It was reported in 1902, that the “burning of powder on the Gun Club grounds far exceeded that used in celebrating the national holiday” on July 4th. The participating clubs exploded over 5,000 cartridges, and shot at 11 barrels of clay pigeons, with each barrel holding 500 clay birds. The shooting started at 10:30 am and lasted until 5:30 pm.
At the end of the shooting that day, the Westwood club and its guests formed in line four abreast, and preceded by the Westwood Cornet Band, marched about a mile over the rough roads to a grove where the clam bake was prepared. The over 200 men had a grand time seated at the long tables set up in the glen. Torches were lit to dispel the darkness, and eventually the visiting teams left for home.
It is unclear when the Westwood Gun Club disbanded, or maybe they morphed into the Westwood Rod-Gun Club, which existed into the 1960s. Or maybe the club just ran out of ammunition. Maybe the wives put their feet down saying no more Christmas morning shooting. Then again, maybe the development of Bergen County stopped the clubs from shooting all over the place. Nevertheless, gone are the days with crowds of armed men traversing the county – at least many hope so! – Tim Adriance (Photo credit: Pascack Historical Society.)
