A journey back to St. Joseph's Village, Rockleigh, NJ


SPECIAL REPORT: DEMOLITION COMPLETE COVERAGE  

  • The Final Chapter 

    The long journey has come to an end and workers reduced the former home for dependent children to a pile of rubble to make way for a new health care center. Photos and drone video shows each step in the demolition.[read]

    THE DEMOLITION IS COMPLETE ANDWEWILL SOON PRESENT PHOTOS SHOWING WHERE GRAVEL MARKS THE FOOTPRINTS OF EACH OF THE FORMER BUILDINGS.

    WHAT'S THERE NOW? As of this update the entire Village campus is a vacant lot with nothing left but the original trees, grass, a few paved roads, and gravel that marks the footprings of each of the buildings. At some point in the future it is expected that new construction will begin on the site to build a new health care facility. While we do not incourage tressapesing, upon a recent visit in October of 2025, there was no physical barriers or security guards present and one could enter the grounds to explore. The gravel that covers the dirt patches where the buildings once stood allows you to "tour" the village like walking on the floorplan of the buildings. Even the long main corridor can be traced by the gravel in its path. If you do visit, we strongly incourage you to respect the property so that we many be allowed to continue visiting the site. With the help of a few photographers, video and photos of the demolition were recorded and can be seen here: "the Final Chapter." We will soon have a impressive collection of photos of the site and in some ways it will be like taking a walk back to when the Village building once were there.

    BULLETIN BOARD: NEWS & ADDITIONS TO THIS SITE

    • Pictures Now Enlarge in the Virtual Tour of the Village During the Bergen County Years

      Each picture in the tour now enlarges it simply by clicking on it. When it expands you will see a navigation bar underneath. You can take the tour this way or by scrolling the tour page without enlarging. Even if you taken the virtual tour before, you should explore it again for an even better experience. [Take the tour]

    • The Emotional Story of the Demolition of St. Joseph's Village

      A new section has been added to this site covering the final days of the SJV campus. We start with the announcement by Bergen County of plans to demolish and continuing with photo coverage of the entire demolition. Aerial drone footage follows the demolition project from start to finish. We will stay with the story through construction of the health care facilities that are believed to be planed for the site.       [read]

FEATURED SECTIONS

  • SHARE VILLAGE MEMORIES A discussion group on Facebook for anyone who ever lived, worked, or visited SJV. [visit group]
  • I'M DREAMIN' OF A VILLAGE CHRISTMAS This is a collection of Christmas time memories from former children and staff of the Village. [read]
  • VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE VILLAGE MANY YEARS LATER Explore the entire site. [read]
  • GROWING UP IN AN ORPHANAGE The movie Homecoming tells the emotional story of fifteen children who grew up in four different American orphanages. [read]
  • SHARE VILLAGE MEMORIES Memorable stories and short bites [read]

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Click + to see article.
  • Visiting the Site

    We regret that the Village site has been demolished and is no longer the place we once knew. As of this update the entire Village campus is a vacant lot with nothing left but the original trees, grass, a few paved roads, and gravel that marks the footprings of each of the buildings. At some point in the future it is expected that new construction will begin on the site to build a new health care facility. While we do not incourage tressapesing, upon a recent visit in October of 2025, there was no physical barriers or security guards present and one could enter the grounds to explore. The gravel that covers the dirt patches where the buildings once stood allows you to "tour" the village like walking on the floorplan of the buildings. Even the long main corridor can be traced by the gravel in its path. If you do visit, we strongly incourage you to respect the property so that we many be allowed to continue visiting the site. With the help of a few photographers, video and photos of the demolition were recorded and can be seen here: "the Final Chapter." We will soon have a impressive collection of photos of the site and in some ways it will be like taking a walk back to when the Village building once were there.

  • Who we are
    This website, StJosephsVillage.com is owned and operated by Jim Brown / Optisonics Productions and is in no way affiliated with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace or any actual St. Joseph's Village entity. It's content pertaining to and likeness to the actual institution is purely for information and nostalgia purposes only.
  • How to obtain resident records
    Details can be found HERE
  • A word of thanks
    We sincerely thank two individuals who were responsible for starting a renewed interest in St. Joseph's Village among its alumni and former staff by each creating a presence on the internet. Dominic Scalcione originated a website that included several photographs and information about the Village. The website has since been discontinued and we look forward to including material from his collection here on this website if he would contact us. He has been most grateful to the sisters for their bringing quality to his life after coming from an unhappy early childhood. Katherine (Flusk) Cadney began a mission to give voice to former residents who claimed that they have been victims of abuses at the Village, and through her website generated a community of alumni that are still collaborating on their diverse memories of the Village. That website is now longer available but Katherine continued her participation in the alumni community. Her web domain name for her websitewas was transfered to Optisonics Productions and accesses this Website, StJosephsVillage.com
  • This website's position in regard to allegations of abuse
    Some material on this website make reference to allegations by some former residents of St. Joseph's Village regarding their personal experiences with physical and sexual abuses by some clergy and lay staff of the former St. Joseph's Village. This material is solely the view, opinion, or personal account of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect the stated facts, views, and opinions of this website, its owner, or other any other affiliated parties. Furthermore, I (We) am in no way intending to or currently involved in any court action against any party regarding said allegations. There were many fine, respectable, and loving staff members at the Village. It should not be assumed that any past or present members of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace or any clergy or lay person were involved in such behavior unless proven in a court of law. This website does not directly or indirectly state that their was, nor does it deny there was child abuse at the St. Joseph's Village. It would be deemed libelous for this website to state or imply that there was abuse prior to any court conviction.
  • Submitting stories and photos
    Look around your old photos and see if you have anything from St. Joseph's If you are sending photos to friends or other former Village residents and would allow us to publish them here, be sure to send us a copy at the same time. If you have a story to tell about any event or aspect of Village life, write it up and send it to us. No need to be a great of even good writer. We will edit for style, clarity, and grammar, and in some cases collaborate with you to fill in additional information that may be suitable for the story. If you are interested in submitting materials, please e-mail them as attachments to: jimbrown@optisonics.com. If you wish to send physical photos, send us an e-mail indicating you wish to do so and we will let you know where to mail them. In either case, please indicate your name as you wish it to appear as a submission credit. Provide your e-mail address and phone number for our use only. Please let us know if original materials need to be returned and to where. Materials will be published or edited for clarity, length, and grammar at our discretion. We are interested in publishing photos that show the village itself as well as those who lived there. If there are people in the photos, please include (if available)a signed statement granting us permission for each person pictured. Shots should be fairly large and of crisp quality to reproduce best.
  • How do I contact someone
    If you wish to contact someone who wrote a story or are credited for a photo submission we can help in the following way. We do not reveal personal information, however, we will gladly forward your e-mailed or phone number to the person you want to contact and it will be at their discretion to get back to you. Be sure to state your full name and how you can be reached. Send contact requests to: jimbrown@optisonics.com We will only contact people we have access to ourselves.
  • Donations to support this website
    In order to meet our expenses and receive some compensation for the long hours devoted to construction and development of content, we are counting on our loyal guests and Village alumni to become "subscribers" by making a suggested contribution of $35 each year. You can make a higher, or lower, contribution if you wish. Advertising and merchandise sales alone bring in a marginal amount of funds. To subscribe, click on the appropriate donate buttons on the front page.
  • Advertising on this website
    We do not carry ads on this site at the current time and expect to continue not to do so.
  • Thanks to our contributors
    We give special thanks to those who have submitted photos and stories.

HELP US KEEP THE VILLAGE ALIVE ON THE WEB


Your statement will show a charge from Optisonics Productions. Donations are NOT tax deductable but are most appreciated. We will use the e-mail address furnished to us by PayPal to acknoledge your donation.