The original English name of Brookdale was Stone House Plains. "Stone House" referred to a rock formation known as the stone house or great rock, supposedly once suitable as a shelter, just north of the present-day intersection of Bellevue Avenue and Newell Drive.Lee, Francis Bazley. Genealogical and Memorial History of the State of New Jersey, p. 175. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1910. Accessed June 14, 2016. The rock was still present in 1802 but was removed not long afterward.Folsom, Joseph F. Bloomfield, old and new: an historical symposium, pp. 167-168. Local resident Lewis Cockefair, born 1826, was used extensively as a source, and he evidently did not have first-hand knowledge of it. "Plains" referred to the plains of the segment of the Yantecaw River which passes through the area.Google Maps, accessed Jun 13, 2016.
