top of page

The Pool Facility:

We are a private community pool that has a limited membership comprised of the people from the Glacier Hills and a number of small surrounding areas. Our facility boasts an Olympic sized swimming pool with a depth of nine feet and plenty of room for people to relax or swim laps for exercise. The pool also has life guard on stand at all points during the whole day from opening to closing to ensure the safety of the swimmers. If you have young kids who are not yet adept swimmers, we offer swimming lessons for no extra charge. Our facility also has a cabana equipped with changing rooms and even showers to wash off after your swim or change into dry cloths. The Glacier Hills association is also a part of the Morris County Swim League and hosts swim meets for the other teams in the league, so if you're a competitive  swimmer or just interested in joining to swim with your friends were perfect for you. 

- What we Value -

We are more than a just a pool club, we're a community driven association!  There are plenty of chances to socialize not just around the pool but throughout the year at our many events. All events are set up by groups such as our adult or children's recreation committee, and run by the members who volunteer and work together to plan and execute those events. Likewise is true about all the work involved in maintaining and improving our pools, structures and park lands. Whether you have lived here for a few weeks or a few years, the community of Glacier Hills is pleased to have you as a neighbor. If you're interested in the history and background of why the founding members joined together to form not just another community group, but a special kind of civic and social force, head over to Our History. 

The Park lands:

The Glacier Hills Association is more than just a pool and cabana, the facility sits on a large reserve of eighteen acres of woods and wetlands including ponds, fields, and picturesque woodlands. The main pond is a great place for fishing or to take a walk on the path that encircles it. There is an all purpose court that is perfect for sport players with setup for basketball, volleyball, baseball,four square and a host of other summer games and activities. For the kids in the family there are children's playgrounds and for the adults there are horseshoe pits. If you're interested in grilling and BBQ-ing, then our pavilion is tailor made for you with picnic tables and two large grills perfect for hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken or your favorite meal.     

- Who we are -

In 1954 a group of neighbor came together and established a corporation that would work towards the benefit of all residence in what once was a secluded community. This corporation could deal in real estate, buy and sell commodities  or whatever was necessary, all in the effort to make a better place to live for the community at large. We are Glacier Hills Association Incorporated, still operating today and working towards the future. The corporation started by pulling together properties to give the neighborhood almost twenty one acres of park lands. In 1963 after significant planning and funding the G.H.A. broke ground on the pool facility. Completed and operational the same year, the facility has seen many changed since the 1960's. By the 1970's, most buildable lots were gone, the corporation was doing well , membership was to the point of wading lists. The 1980's saw the addition of the pavilion and the BBQ area located near the existing cabana. 2001 was the long awaited replacement and addition to the old cabana. Replaced with block and with an eye to the future, the project was paid for by fundraising and GHA bonds sold to the membership, payed back in the ten years by lottery. This program was a huge success. The common aspect of all this work over the years is the people who work together just to make a better place to live. We are a tight knit community. The GHA with all its activities and jobs to fill, help keep us busy and interacting with our neighbors. We are looking to the next 50 years, Come join us!   

history Anchor

Our History

How it All Began

    “This sylvan settling cried to be developed. Into the breach stepped Edwin R. Closs, part visionary, part snake oil salesman, part rosy-cheeked optimist, and, some said, all baloney. His dream was that of a middle class Smoke Rise, to be created by medium income do-it-yourselfers, and he had no trouble finding a supply.  

 

    The first houses to be built were six in number and were located in Section 1. This promising start fizzled and building languished while the Ecloss Company tried to solve problems of finance (first and foremost), political road blocks, and an inadequate water supply. Finally, ln 1951, the builder started again, this time in Section 6 with the promise of bridle paths and a stable for your steed, a lake with boating and fishing, a ski run and toboggan slide, and - believe it or not - an airport for the flying enthusiasts. As proof of the reality of the dream, a sales contract of that period admonished “On Lake front properties, no docks or summer houses of any kind nay be constructed or maintained…”

Interested in reading the full article? Click Here

The Glacial Glacier Hills

    "These 'Hills' we live on date back to the Wisconsin Age of the Pleistocene Epoch.At the time, as a result of mostly unknown climatic factors, thick masses of ice invaded the North American continent. One of these continental ice masses, approximately 6,000 feet thick, spread out from near Labrador and advanced as far south as New Jersey. As the prevailing temperature increased the melting of the continental glacier equaled its rate of advance. Consequently, the incorporated soil and rock fragments carried forward within the ice were deposited at the edge of the glacier. One lobe of this melting ice mass extended in a broad arc from Denville to Summit and, therefore the resulting glacier deposit between these .towns took the fon-n of a rough semi-circle. Glaciologists ten-n such a deposit 'End Moraine or Terminal Moraine or Glacier Hills.'

    "The present terminal moraine, in New jersey extends from Perth Amboy to Belvidere, however, our part is certainly nearest to home. This 100 to 200-foot ridge, about l/4 to two miles wide contains a heterogeneous mixture of materials ranging in size from clay to boulders. Locally, as near as Morristown, the hills are silty, whereas in

other areas clean sand and gravel prevail. The barrow pit just off Route 53 near Morris Plains is partly in the terminal moraine. It is interesting to note the composition, structure and type of material we live on."

Interested in reading the full article? Click Here.

An Invitation to Neighborliness

    "...Our name stems from a glacial deposit formed some 10,000 years ago? The many pools, sand pits, barrows, and terminal moraines (rock piles) are mute reminders of our unique geological origin.

    In the not too distant past, our lands were part of the areas known as Littleton Comers, a small settlement at the crossroads of Littleton Road (now Route 202), and Mt. Pleasant Avenue (Route 10). Here was a small group of stores, rural post office, and a cluster of modest homes.  Just beyond this, north on Route 202, was the great Ballantine estate, employing many local residents whose wagon trails are still clearly marked in certain areas.  Abounding our land were fox, deer, mallards, flying squirrels, muskrats, oppossums, and raccoons.  Some of these woodland denizens can still be spied by the wary naturalist.  Tinker's Pond in Section 6 was the scene of many a duck hunt and deer hunting here was renowned, for the hillocks and water holes provided an ideal habitat for game.  This was the setting for the pioneers of modern Glacier Hills in 1945...."

Interested in reading the full article? Click Here.

Newark Sunday Times Article, January 1954

"A community where ingenuity is commonplace and hard work is a byword."

bottom of page