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In 1882, the precursor to the Wardlaw School, The Leal School for Boys, headed by Mr. Wardlaw, serving boys from first grade to senior year of high school, was founded in Plainfield, New Jersey. In 1916, Charles Digby "Pop" Wardlaw moved from teacher to Head and purchased the school, and changed its name to The Wardlaw School. In 1959, the school was purchased from 'Pop' Wardlaw and renamed The Wardlaw Country Day School. The campus on Central Avenue was expanded with a new classrrom wing and auditorium. In the late 1960s, the Wardlaw school moved to a campus off Inman Avenue in the bordering town of Edison.
The Misses Scribner and Newton's School for Girls was founded in 1884 in Plainfield near the Wardlaw School. The school name was changed to The Hartridge School when, in 1903, Miss Hartridge became the school's owner. For many years, the Hartridge School and the Wardlaw School were closely affiliated. Each school would invite students from the other school to dances, and the two schools shared a drama department (out of necessity, as boys and girls were both needed to fill roles in school plays and musicals.