History

Curtiss-Wright Aircraft Facility

Posted March 5, 2009 by The Lostinjersey Blog

The Curtiss-Wright facility comprised more than two dozen buildings across approximately 140 acres in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey. One building alone covered about 30 acres, and the entire property occupied roughly one-third of the borough.

Aircraft engines were designed, tested, and manufactured at the complex. Its operations later expanded to components for nuclear submarines and other specialized industrial applications. Curtiss-Wright facilities played an important role in American aircraft production during World War II.

Origins of Curtiss-Wright

The company took its name from aviation pioneers Glenn Curtiss and the Wright brothers. Wilbur and Orville Wright achieved their first powered flight in 1903 and continued improving their aircraft over the following years. Glenn Curtiss, who had worked with Alexander Graham Bell’s Aerial Experiment Association, emerged as another leading early aviator and aircraft designer.

Curtiss founded the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, which became a major aircraft manufacturer during World War I. Wright Aeronautical later merged with the Lawrence Aero Engine Corporation. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis, which used a Wright-built engine. Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and Wright Aeronautical merged in 1929 to form Curtiss-Wright.

Aircraft and Engine Development

During the 1930s, Curtiss-Wright advanced air-cooled and radial aircraft-engine technology. The company supplied engines associated with military aircraft such as the B-17 Flying Fortress and manufactured fighters including the P-36 Hawk and its successor, the P-40 Warhawk.

As jet aircraft became dominant, Curtiss-Wright moved away from producing complete airplanes and concentrated on engines and components. Its products appeared in commercial aircraft, while later diversification brought the company into plastics, nuclear-control equipment, aerospace electronics, hydraulics, actuators, flow-control systems, and machinery for nuclear power plants and Navy vessels.

New Jersey Operations

The company’s New Jersey connections began with the Simplex automobile business in New Brunswick, which joined with Wright interests during World War I. Wright-Martin manufactured aircraft engines there before moving its remaining operations to Paterson after wartime contracts ended.

Following the 1929 Curtiss-Wright merger, the company operated facilities around the country, including sites in Paterson and Clifton. The Paterson operation expanded into Wood-Ridge around the beginning of World War II.

Wood-Ridge During World War II

At its peak, the Wood-Ridge complex employed more than 27,000 people and operated around the clock like a small city. The property included a hospital, daycare center, and dedicated police and fire services. Many women worked at the facility as part of the wartime industrial workforce represented by the “Rosie the Riveter” icon.

New housing developments appeared nearby as employment increased. One seven-block neighborhood across the street became known as Sunshine City.

Security measures reflected the plant’s strategic importance. Some buildings had concrete walls several feet thick, anti-aircraft guns were installed on the property, and false buildings, roads, and landscaping were placed on rooftops to camouflage the complex from the air. Parts of the operation also extended underground, including a tunnel reportedly more than half a mile long.

Postwar Decline and Closure

After World War II, the Wood-Ridge plant continued producing engines and later manufactured components used in nuclear submarines. Government contracts declined after the Korean War, however, and production slowed during the early 1970s. The facility ultimately closed later in that decade, although portions of its buildings were subsequently leased to other companies.

The shutdown caused extensive local economic disruption through job losses, reduced business activity, declining property values, and diminished tax revenue. Disputes over the property’s tax obligations continued for decades.

Sale and Redevelopment

Curtiss-Wright sold the complex to Wood-Ridge Industrial Property Owner LLC for $51 million in December 2001. At the time, the property included approximately 2.3 million square feet of rentable space on about 138 acres. Curtiss-Wright remained responsible for environmental-remediation work.

Redevelopment plans envisioned townhomes on former parking areas, denser housing, open space, commercial development, and a transit stop. Early proposals allocated approximately 70 acres for around 700 townhomes, with the goal of restoring the property to productive use and strengthening the borough’s tax base and nearby Passaic Avenue businesses.

Author’s Update

The original account was written in 2005 following conversations with local residents and Wood-Ridge Mayor Paul Sarlo. The author noted that the site had been explored with permission and that information about its environmental cleanup remained incomplete.

Updated December 8, 2015.