USA > New Jersey > Hudson County > Jersey City > History of Jersey City, N.J. : a record of its early settlement and corporate progress, sketches of the towns and cities that were absorbed in the growth of the present municipality, its business, finance, manufactures and form of government, with some notice of the men who built the city > Part 46
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
CLOTHING-FACTORY PRODUCT. Establishments, 3; direct investment, $9,955 ; miscella- neons expenses, $12,440 ; employees, 41 ; wages, $19,980 ; cost of material, $76, 140; value of product, $135,920.
DRESSMAKING. Establishments, 3 ; direct investment, $4,150 ; employees, 9 ; wages, $3,668 ; value of material, $1,661 ; value of product, $6,805.
WOMEN'S CLOTHING-FACTORY PRODUCT. Establishments, 4; valne of hired property, $37,775 ; direct investment, $31,550 ; miscellaneous expenses, $5,845 ; employees, 132 ; wages, $40,538 ; cost of material, 891,247 ; value of product, $141,400.
CONFECTIONERY. Establishments, 16; value of hired property, $122,900 ; direct investment $32,585 ; miscellaneous expenses, $8,242 ;, employees, 48; wages, $25,149 ; cost of ma- terial, $54,862 ; value of product, $111,139.
-
RESIDENCE OF CHARLES JUDGE. 238 Ege Avenue, near West Side.
COOPERAGE. Establishments, 5 ; direct in- vestment, $81,252 ; miscellaneous expenses, $2,641 ; employees, 64 ; wages, $46,104; cost of material, $100,413 ; value of product, $171,660.
DRUGGISTS' MATERIALS. Establishments, 3 ; direct investment, $5,800 ; employees, 9; wages, $3,520; cost of material, $6,590 ; valne of product, $17,666.
DYEING AND CLEANING. Establishments, 3; value of hired property, $22,775 ; mis- cellaneous expenses, $2,252 ; employees, 14 : wages, $6, 170 ; cost of material, $2, 148 ; value of product, $16,000.
DYEING AND FINISHING TEXTILES. Estab- lishments, 3 ; direct investment, $24,000 ; mis- cellaneous expenses, $3,250 ; employees, 26; wages, $13,850 ; cost of material, $8,550 ; value of product, $33,000.
-
314
HISTORY OF JERSEY CITY.
FOOD PREPARATIONS. Establishinents, 3 ; direct investment, $17,800 ; miscellaneous ex- penses, $1,845 ; employces, 22 ; wages, $9,083 ; cost of inaterial, $56,454; value of product $79,250.
RESIDENCE OF HON. ALLAN MCDERMOTT.
FOUNDRIES AND MACHINE SHOPS. Estab- lishments, 33 ; value of hired property, $345,- 375 ; direct investment, $1,399,356 ; miscella- neous expenses, $92,622 ; employees, 975 ; wages, $675,700 ; cost of material, $787,948 ; value of product, $1,822,104.
FURNITURE AND CABINET WORK. Estab- lishinents 7 ; direet investment, $38,950 ; mis- cellaneous expenses, $1,789 ; employees, 26 ; wages, $16,836 ; cost of material, $11,708 ; valne of product, $42,764.
FURNITURE-FACTORY PRODUCT. Estab- lishments, 3; direct investment, $64,200 ; miscellaneous expenses, $2,020 ; employees, 62; wages, $40,628 ; cost of materials, $26,- 928 ; value of product, $85,250.
HAIRWORK. Establishments, 3 ; direct in- vestment, $18,200 ; employees, 12; wages, $6,090; cost of material, $6,552 ; value of prod- uct, $13,925.
ARCHITECTURAL IRON WORK. Establishments, 3 ; direct investment, $44,200; miscel- laneous expenses, $1,041 ; employees, 55; wages, $45,182 ; cost of material, $53,130 ; value of product, $137,000.
MALT LIQUORS. Establishments, 3 ; direct investment, $585,195 ; miscellaneous expenses, $51,156 ; employees, 47 ; wages, $41,060 ; cost of material, $102,037 ; value of product, $259,498.
LOCK AND GUNSMITHING. Establishments, 3 ; value of hired property, $4,545; direct in- vestment, $790 ; miscellaneous expenses, $331 ; employees, 6 ; wages, $2,912 ; cost of materials, $877 ; value of product, $4,695.
LOOKING-GLASS AND PICTURE FRAMES. Establishments, 4; value of hired property, $34,- 750; direct investment, $6,985 ; miscellaneous expenses, $2,889 ; employees, 18; wages, $10,492 ; cost of materials, $21,928 ; value of product, $44,300.
LUMBER, PLANING MILL PRODUCTS. Establish- ments, 8; value of hired property, $78,675 ; direct investment, $430,100 ; miscellaneous expenses, S21,- 267 ; employees, 247 ; wages, $157,743 ; cost of ma- terials, $457,476; valne of produet, $698,250.
MASONRY, BRICK AND STONE. Establishments, 7: value of hired property, $17.750; direet invest- ment, $191,336 ; miscellaneous expenses, $05.538 ; employees, 286 : wages, 8257,720 ; cost of materials, $166,903 ; value of product, $553,669.
MILLINERS' CUSTOM WORK. Establishments, 3 : valne of hired property, $15,425 ; direct invest- ment, $3,610 ; miscellaneous expenses, $1, 102 ; em- ployees, 15; wages, 85.595: cost of materials, $16,740 ; value of product. $27,680.
MINERAL AND SODA WATERS. Establishments, 7; valne of hired property, $14,775 ; direct invest- ment, $54,900 ; miscellaneous expenses, $9.500; employees, 41 ; wages, 826,982 ; cost of materials, $54,765 ; valne of product, $125,759.
-
1
1
1. 1
11
--
1
1. 1
BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING.
MONUMENTS AND TOMBSTONES. Establishments, 6; valne of hired property. $12,775 ; direct investment, $49,050; miscellaneous expenses, $3.308; employees, 64; wages, $47,166; cost of materials, $68,507 ; value of product, $130,336.
.
.
:
RESIDENCE AND UNDERTAKING ESTABLISHMENT OF GEORGE STEVENS, JERSEY CITY
315
HISTORY OF JERSEY CITY.
PAINTING AND PAPER-HANGING. Establishments, 17; value of hired property, $38,935; direct investment, $42,177 ; miscellaneous expenses, $4,635 ; employees, 119; wages, $93,591 ; cost of materials, $33,403 ; value of product, $153,156.
PAINTS. Establishments, 4; value of hired property, $5,000 ; direct investment, $1,201,- 338; miscellaneous expenses, $22,361 ; employees, 230; wages, $176,429; cost of materials, $514,239; value of product, $808,613.
PATENT MEDICINES AND COMPOUNDS. Establishments, 3 ; value of hired property, $5,855 ; direct investment, $17,920; miscellaneous expenses, $1,180 ; employees, 6 ; wages, $5, 174 ; cost of ma- terials, $6,930 ; value of product, $16,950.
PHOTOGRAPHY. Establishments, 9; value of hired property, $27,300; direct investment, $11,355; miscellancous expenses, $3,377 ; employees, 16; wages, $9,060 ; cost of materials, $5,601 ; value of product, $24, 100.
PLUMBING AND GAS FITTING. Establishments, 37 ; value of hired property, $80, 110 ; direct invest- ment, $156,707 ; miscellaneous expenses, $10,854 ; employees, 233 ; wages, $174,331 ; cost of mater- ials, $153,969 ; value of product, $401,712.
PRINTING AND PUBLISHING-BOOK AND JOB. ES- tablishments, 5 ; value of hired property, $112,400; direct investment, $183,370 ; miscellaneous ex- penses, $12,001 ; employees, 169; wages, $92,380 ; cost of material, $69,400; value of product, $214,100.
PRINTING AND PUBLISHING-NEWSPAPERS. Estab- lishments, 6 ; value of hired property, $130,735 ; direct investment, $280,110; miscellaneous ex- penses, $186,753 ; employees, 336 ; wages, $225,496 ; cost of materials, $91,256; value of product, $589,700.
ROOFING AND ROOFING MATERIAL. Establish- ments, 8 ; value of hired property, $15,120 ; direct investment, $126,925 ; miscellaneous expenses, $5,587 ; employees, 142 ; wages, $111,969; cost of materials, $175,841 ; value of product, $315,465.
SADDLERY AND HARNESS. Establishments, 11 ; value of hired property, $27, 115 ; direct investment, $33,065 ; miscellaneous expenses, $2,341 ; em- ployees, 26 ; wages, $16,088 ; cost of materials, $9,442 ; value of product, $36,416.
SHIPBUILDING. Establishments, 4 ; value of hired property, $199,250 ; direct investment, $276,980 ; miscellaneous expenses, $26,986 ; employees, 109 ; wages, $111,332 ; cost of materials, $61,600 ;"value of product, $277,016.
RESIDENCE OF DR. JULIU'S FEHR
SHIRT MANUFACTURE. Establishments, 4 ; value of hired property, $9,550 ; direct investment, $2,725 ; miscellaneous expenses, $757 ; employees, 22 ; wages, $6,184 ; cost of material, $2,943 ; value of product, $11,533.
SILK AND SILK GOODS. Establishments, 7; value of hired property, $24.000 ; dircet invest. ment, $593,900 ; miscellaneous expenses, $59.964; employees, 820; wages, $327.320 ; cost of material, $565,757 ; value of product, $1,066,000.
SLAUGHTERING AND PACKING-WHOLESALE. Establishments, 3; value of hired property. $26,765 ; direct investment, $57,200 ; miscellaneous expenses, $5,120; employees, 51 : wages. $37,030 ; cost of material, $664,501 ; value of product, $731,652.
SLAUGHTERING-WHOLESALE-NOT INCLUDING PACKING. Establishments, 15: value of
316
HISTORY OF JERSEY CITY.
hired property. 8546.6;5 : direct investment, Sója,was; miscellaneous expenses, 846,375 ; em- ployees, 491 ; wages, Saab,bob ; cust of materials, 810.04; bb5 ; value of product, $10,624,850.
SOAP AND CANDLES Establishments: value of hired property, Siness ; direct invest- ment, $1,004, 300 ; miscellaneous expenses. 8355.04; ; employees, 401 ; wages. 8226,476; cost of materials, 8:56,488; value of product. 81.554.270.
STEAM FITTING AND HEATING APPARATTS, Establishments, 3; value of hired property. $252,850; direct investment. Số20.toe: miscellaneous expenses, $43.215; employees, 441; wages, $302,813 ; cost of materials, 8301.225; value of product SA58.000.
TIN, COPPER AND SHEET IRON Establishments. 13; value of hired property, 842,915 : direct investment. 871,:36: miscellments expenses, 80.552; employees, 86; wages, 8mb,;25 : cost of materials, 863.521, value of product, $104.331.
1
1
1
-
WOUD'S HALL. RITTOF STEEL
TOBACCO, CIGARS AND CIGARETTES. Establish- ments, So ; value of hired property, 880,312 : direct investment. $157,156 : mis- cellaneous expenses, $53 -- o58; employees, 102: wages, 895,c24 ; cost of ma- zemals, Sic3,5;6; value of product. $285.736.
UMBRELLAS AND CANES. Establishments, 2 : value of hired property, 812.000; direct investment, $110,- 350; miscellaneous ex- penses, 83.142 : employees, 212; wages, 85783; cos of materials. 851,264; value of product. 8150,705.
WATCH, CLOCK AND JEW-
ELRY REPAIRING. Estab- lishments, 4: value of hired property. 823.145: direct investmen :. 829.100: mis- cellaneons expenses, 82,- ;&p ; employees, 13: wages, $8,352; cost of materials, Sg.00; ; value of product $39.000
Woon TURNING AND CARVING. Establishments, 4: value of hired prop- erty, 834.8 ;;; direct investment, 8 ==-=- : miscellaneous expenses, 84.305: employees, 41: wages. $37,612 : cost of material Sibbde : value of product $3423.
MISCELLANE 'S INDUSTRIES Establishments, os. value of hired property, 81327873: direct investment 80.353.035 : miscellaneous esmensch, Stea,;re : employees, 3,300; wages, SI .- R89 5;1 : cost of materials, Sa.108, 48 - value i pardnet & pocers. These embrace awnings. tents, sails, s; axle grease. I. habbit: metal and solde- i: behing and hose. Inen. 1; belding and hose rubber 1; bone, ivory and lampblack, I bookhunding and black book making. 1: boot and show uppers, 3 : bonds and shoes, factors product 1. boxes, wooden packing. 2: card cutting and designing. 1 ; carpets, sag. :: cars, street railroad, not including operations of Fail- road companies, 1: chia decorating. 1. cleansing and polishing preparations. 1; crocibles. 1: dentistry, mechanical 2. ¿ restof- and extracts a fancy articles not elsewhere specified 2: fireworks, 1 : fish canning and preserving. I ; Bowring and gras mill products, a : fur goods 1 ;
317
HISTORY OF JERSEY CITY.
furnishing goods, men's, 1 ; galvanizing, 1; illuminating and heating,.1 ; gloves and mittens, 1 ; gold and silver leaf and foil, 1; hardware, 1; hats and caps, not including wool hats, 1; hosiery and knit goods, 1 ; ink, printing, 1; instru- ments, professional and scientifie, 1 ; iron and steel, 1 ; iron and steel forgings, 1 ; iron and steel nails and spikes, eut and wrought, including wire nails, 1 ; ivory and bone work, 1 ; lamps and reflectors, 1; leather goods, 2; leather. tanned and curried, 2 ; litlı- ographing and engraving, 1 ; marble and stone work, 2; mats and matting, 1: mattresses and spring beds, 2 ; models and pat- terns, 2; musical instru- ments, organs and mater- ials, 1 ; oakum, 2; oil, cas- tor, 1; paper, 2; paving and paving materials, 1; HAMILTON PARK. pencils, lead, 1 ; perfumery and cosmetics, 1 ; photographic apparatus, 2 ; photographic materials, 1; pickles, preserves and sauces, 2; plastering and stucco work, 1; plumbers' supplies, 2; pocket books, 1 ; pumps, not including steam pumps, 1; refrigerators, 1 ; rubber and elastic goods, I : springs, steel, car and carriage, 2; stamped ware, 2; surgical appliances, 1 ; toys and games, 2 : trunks and valises, 1; upholstery materials, 1; varnish, 1; vinegar and cider, 1 ; watehes, I ; window shades, 2; wire work, including wire rope and cable, 2 ; wood preserving, 1.
SPECIFIC INDUSTRIES. The formation of the enterprise known as the sugar trust has con- soiidated the sugar refining interests in Jersey City and prevented the publication of any infor-
)
VAN VORST PARK.
mation about the extent of the business done. Therefore, this industry is omitted from the foregoing list. It is one of the most important in the city, and for that reason is worthy of mention. The Matthies- sen & Weichers Company was organized originally in 1867, and the works were completed the follow- ing year at a cost of $514,- 000. Ten years ago, with 1,000 employees, these works produced 1,200,000 pounds of sugar daily. The capacity is greater now, but how much greater is not known. The plant has been enlarged a num- ber of times. The Have-
meyer Company was organized in 1880 to succeed a company that spent $300,000 on the plant. An additional $128,000 was spent in enlarging the works. Ten years ago there were
318
HISTORY OF JERSEY CITY.
150 employees, and the output was 350,000 pounds of sugar daily. In the absence of specific information no estimate can be given of the business. It is much more extensive than it was in 1884.
The Lorillard Tobacco Works is another very large concern that is omitted from the classi- fied enumeration, because the census department will not give information in detail about the business of a single manufactory. The investment in the works is $5,000,000 ; there are 3,000 employees, and the wages paid average $1,000,000. The value of the product is $10,000,000.
The works were established in 1760 in New York, but the superior advantages offered by Jersey City caused a removal to Jersey City about a seore of years ago, and the factory covers over ten acres of ground. The plant is the largest of its kind, and some idea of the extent of the business can be formed from the fact that the revenue tax on its product paid to the general government has varied between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000 annually.
The Colgate Soap Works employs from 300 to 400 hands, and produces high grade soaps and perfumery, besides the lower grades of product, and the output runs up to many million pounds annually. The firm started the factory in New York in 1806, and moved it to Jersey City over forty years ago.
The Dixon Crucible Company was organized about fifty years ago in a small way, and has grown until it is the largest business of its kind in the country. About 600 employees work in its blocks of buildings. Many millions of lead pencils, millions of packages of stove polish and crucibles and lubricants, that are estimated in thousands of tons, are produced annually.
BUILDING INSPECTORS' REPORTS. The office of building inspector was created in 1888. Prior to that time no regular record of new buildings was kept. The report ineludes new build- ings, repairs, extensions and alterations. It shows the extent of building carried on in the city during the past six years as follows :
Buildings.
1888
794
Amount Expended. $3,074,951
1889
722
2,930,857
1890
678
2,909,044
1891
646
2,004,599
1892
670
2,510,256
1893
628
1,958,433
4,138
$15,388,140
RAILROADS IN JERSEY CITY. The importance of Jersey City as a tidewater terminal was one of the first facts recognized by the far-seeing men who embarked in the novel enterprise of railroad building sixty years ago. The efforts of the earlier organizations to secure water front terminals in the city, and to prevent rivals from obtaining equal advantages, together with the constant growing needs for additional facilities, has had a marked effect upon the municipality.
The first railroad that reached tidewater was the New Jersey Railroad and Transporta- tion Company's road. It was chartered on March 7, 1832, with a capital of $775,000. The com- missioners who were appointed to receive subscriptions were : John S. Darcy, William Chet- wood, Isaac Baldwin, Abraham W. Kinney, Garret Sip, William Edgar, Cornelius P. Harden- burg, Thomas Muir, William R. Allen, James C. Van Dyke. William Pennington, Zephaniah Drake, Amzi Dodd, Thomas Salter, Jacob K. Mead, A. W. Corey, Joseph W. Seott and Jacob S. Morris. They secured more subscriptions than were called for. The roadbed across the meadow and the bridges over the rivers were finished in two years, and the cars were run with horses from September 15, 1834 The depot in Jersey City was a small building about halfway between York and Montgomery streets on Hudson. The team travel then went up York to Gregory, and so to Newark Avenue. Montgomery was a back street. The first locomotive used was the " Newark," and its first trip was made on December 2, 1835. The ent was not completed until January 1, 1838. The ferry franchise in Jersey City was secured by the com- pany in 1853. The New Jersey Railroad Company was consolidated with the Camden and Am- boy in 1867, and the United Railroad and Canal Company was formed. On December 1, 1871, the United Railroad and Canal Company leased its roads to the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany. Extensive improvements were begun at once. A large depot was erected, which was 620 by 228 feet in floor area. This was burned down on August 4, 1884, and a new one was built which was torn down to make way for a larger one in 1890. The Harsimus Cove grant
319
HISTORY OF JERSEY CITY.
gave the company 1, 100 feet of frontage on the Hudson, which was utilized for freight piers, and an abattoir on an extensive scale. A large grain elevator was built, and the most complete freight terminal of the day was made on land reclaimed from the river. Since then the needs of the company have heen growing daily, and it has branched out in many directions. A large repair shop, covering twenty acres, was built on the meadows back of the city, and several thousand men were employed there. The Pennsylvania Company now controls 782 miles of railroad in New Jersey, which represents $63,683,647, and it paid a tax in 1893 of $416,297 on its holdings.
The Lake Erie Railroad Company was the second to arrive in Jersey City. The company was chartered in 1832, but did not reach Jersey City until 1853, when it leased the Paterson and Hudson road, and connected with the New Jersey Railway at West End. It secured its own terminus in 1861, when the tunnel was completed. The first train ran through the tunnel on May 1, 1861. The Erie now has 79 miles of road in New Jersey, valued at $17,239,664, on which it is taxed $146,177.
The Morris & Essex road reached Jersey City in 1855, connecting with the New Jersey road in Harrison. In 1862 the terminal was moved to Hoboken.
The New Jersey Central opened its depot in 1860 in Jersey City, and filled in the Sonth Cove. It now has a companion there in the Lehigh Valley and the Philadelphia and Reading. The New York, Susquehanna and Western came later. The main lines now arriving in Jersey City have property in New Jersey valued at $218,406,065, which paid a tax in 1893 of $1,483,477. The stock and bonds of the roads in New Jersey, all of which reach tidewater in Hudson County, was $302,632,326 in 1892, and their gross earnings that year aggregated $45,301,925. The Consolidated Traction Company, which operates the street railway system in Jersey City, has a capital of $25,504,216. The North Hudson, which gives the northern part of the county access to Jersey City, has a capital of $4,946,277.
All the trunk lines which reach the seaboard, with the exception of the New York Central, have terminal stations on the Hudson County water front, and all are connected with Jersey City. The exact amount of business done over these roads through Jersey City is not known, but it forms a large percentage of the business of the nation.
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE EVENING JOURNAL-A BRIEF HISTORY OF ITS FOUNDATION AND PROGRESS-THE MEN WHO MAKE THE " JOURNAL"-THE MECHANICAL DEPARTMENTS OF THE EVENING JOURNAL-THE JERSEY CITY PRINTING COMPANY-THE LARGEST PRINTING ESTABLISHMENT IN THE STATE.
THE EVENING JOURNAL .*
T is simple truth to assert that in a large sense the history of The Evening Journal has been also the history of Jersey City for the past twenty-seven years. The Evening Journal has shared, and may justly elaim to have largely promoted, the growth and prosperity of the city. In 1867, when The Evening Journal issued its first number, Jersey City was but a small town of about 40,000 inhabitants. It has since then more than quadrupled its area and population, carried out a comprehensive system of public improve- ments, including streets, sewers, schools, publie buildings, publie institutions, hospitals, public library, systems of lighting and transportation, great factories and thriving commercial estab- lishments and handsome residences on a scale that augurs and secures prog- - ress and prosperity to a still greater extent in the future. It is, therefore, in strict accord with the fitness of things that A History of Jersey City compiled by The Evening Journal should be ae- companied by a sketch of a paper that, from humble beginnings, has risen to be one of the leading in- stitutions of the city it is proud to claim as its home.
associated with himself in the enterprise Capt. William B. Dunning, a practical printer, with some experience in news- paper publication, and the paper was issued by Messrs. Pangborn and Dunning under the firm name of The Evening Journal Association, on May 2, 1867. In Novem- ber, 1868, they sold an in- terest in The Evening Journal to Mr. Joseph A. Dear, and thenceforward, until 1877, the style of the firm was Pangborn, Dunning & Dear. At the latter date the firm was dissolved, and the prop- erty and publication busi-
The Evening Journal was founded by its pres- ent editor-in-chief, Major CAPT. WM. B. DUNNING, One of the Founders of the Evening Journal. Z. K. Pangborn, who also ness were transferred to a stock company, under the old name of The Evening Journal As- sociation, organized under the general manufacturing law of New Jersey, and the publication is at present continued by this association. Shortly after the organization of The Evening Journal Association, Capt. Dunning died, and since that date the affairs of the association have been under the sole management of Messrs. Pangborn and Dear.
The first number of The Evening Journal was a four-page sheet, 22 X 33, six columns to the page, set up in brevier type, liberally padded with low-priced advertisements taken to " fill up," and containing on all its pages less reading matter than ordinarily appears on any one reading page of The Evening Journal of to-day. Its speedy failure was generally predicted ; people were sure it could not be maintained in competition with the two apparently prosperous and well-established papers then existing. This prediction, although it borrowed some probability from the very slender resources of the proprietors of the Journal-after paying for their small
· Prepared by Z. k. Pangborn.
321
HISTORY OF JERSEY CITY.
outfit of type and a slow press run by hand, their total available capital was only $119.00-was soon proved to be false. The apparently rash venture was soon seen to be-a success. Its vig- orous editorials, its spicy comments and free and fearless criticisms of all public matters, and its thoroughness in the collection and presentation of all local, State and county news, quickly gave it a place in the favor, and a hold on the affections, of the people of Jersey City that has never been weakened, nor even seriously threatened.
The publication office of The Evening Journal consisted of two small rooms, also used as editorial rooms, in No. 13 Exchange Place, while the kindness of Mr. D. S. Gregory, a staunch friend, provided it with a composition and press-room in a garret of what was then known as the Darcy (now Fuller) building, at the corner of Hudson and Montgomery streets. A con- vincing proof of popular favor was shown when Mr. Thos. Blainey, Sr., who took the place of a steam engine to turn the wheel of the country "railroad " press, became unequal to the labor re- quired by the increasing edition, and had to be helped out every afternoon by at least one, and some- times two or three, 'longshoremen from the Cunard doek. In May, 1869, these cramped quarters were exchanged for the partly burned threc-story frame building at 158 Greene Street, between York and Montgomery.
Here a very ambitious and, as it then seemed, The Journal's First Press. daring scheme was undertaken. The size of page was inereased to seven columns, a hot-air engine and fast double-cylinder press were procured and installed on the ground floor. By dint of much propping and shoring-performed almost alone by Mr. James White, now the chief pressman of the Journal-the upper floors of
the rickety old building were rendered safe for occupancy ; the cases of type and frames were carried around by the compositors after the issue of the paper, and on the 29th of May, 1869, the Journal was for the first time printed on a power press. The circulation of the Journal had already reached the encouraging figure of 2,300 daily, to which, with the advantage of its improved facili- ties, an increase of 1,000 was soon added. All the floors of the building were soon occupied, and in eighteen months still more room was gained by the removal of the business office and editorial room to the adjoining building.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.