USA > New Jersey > Hudson County > Hudson County to-day; its history, people, trades, commerce, institutions and industries > Part 3
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On Bloomfield street, between Eleventh and Twelfth in the plot of ground owned by Mr. F. G. Himpler, one may still see several large trees, the last of the wooded splendor of the Elysian Fields: "The picturesque village" on the banks of the Hudson opposite New York has given way to the "Mile Square City" that shelters 76,000 people of every known race and creed. and whose occupations are more diversified than in any city of America.
The shore-front along which Hudson coasted in his little Half Moon three hundred and two years ago, and which later witnessed the development of the steamboat, and still later, the speed contests between many of America's fleetest sailing yachts, is now the docking place for some of the largest steam- ships afloat-here, too, a large proportion of the merchandise which enters and leaves the port of New York is handled-while the great tide of travel ebbs and flows unceasingly.
Our city is rich in memory and tradition from Henry Hudson down, and it is associated closely with the beginning and development of so much that has made America what it is to-day-the steamboat, the railroad. the iron- clad warship and the fleet pleasure yacht : such a city should command a place in the affection of every inhabitant.
Outline of Events.
No less interesting is the history of the city's rapid growth in population and industries-though nothing more than a brief outline can be attempted here.
Hoboken's existence as an incorporated city began on March 28. 1855; at that time the population numbering 6.727 : we celebrated our semi-centennial in 1905 with 65.468 population. After its creation as a city the events of importance might be set in order as follows-in 1855 the first stage route was established ; in 1857 the first water mains were laid : in 1858 School No. I was opened.
The first year of the Civil War saw horse cars on Washington street. In 1862 Number 2 School was opened: in 1863 came the construction of the Erie Railroad, and the riots in connection therewith. The Hamburg-American Line was also established here in the same year. In 1865 the establishment
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of the First National Bank-in the early seventies, the opening of School No. 3, and Stevens Institute- in the late seventies, the improvement of Hudson and Church Squares and the building of Number 4 School.
In the eighties the elevator lift and elevated road were built to the Hill ; the city fathers moved into the new City Hall; then came the construction of the West Shore Railroad along the Hillside, the opening of the 14th Street Ferry, the organization of the Second National Bank, and the opening of School No. 5.
In the years between 18go and 1900 we note the organization of the Hudson Trust, the building of School No. 6, the organization of the paid Fire Department, the construction of the Hudson County Boulevard, the horse cars superseded by the trolley, No. 7 School dedicated, the Trust Com pany of N. J. formed and the elevator lift at 19th street put in operation.
The years from 1900 to the present time are marked by the establishment of the Hudson Trust. the inception of the Board of Trade, opening of School No. 8, the formation of the Jefferson Trust Co., the completion of School No 9. the opening of the Hudson Tunnels, the completion of the new ferry terminal and Lackawanna Station, the Hudson Fulton Celebration and the opening of the new High School, and but recently the completion of new School No. 1 and the organization of the Columbia and Steneck Trust Com- panies and the erection of the Factory Terminal loft building, the first of a series of terminal factory buildings to be constructed in units and which when completed will enable the city of Hoboken to offer industrial advantages unequalled anywhere in the country.
Bayounr
AYONNE, originally part of Bergen Township, was made an indepen- dent municipality by legislative enactment in 1857. Messrs. A. D. Mellick. Jacob .A. Van Horn, Jacob M. Vreeland, Hartman Vreeland and Egbert Wauters were appointed to serve on the first commission to survey and lay out streets and avennes. Then Bayonne occupied a strip of land extending from 30th Street to 38th Street and from New York Bay to Newark Bay. It was first designated as the Township of Bayonne.
The name Bayonne was taken from the French city of the same name and was unquestionably selected because of the situation of the new munici- pality between two bays.
For a considerable period of its history Bayonne had to contend with serious obstacles in the building up of its population. Up to the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, it is doubtful whether there were more than four or five hundred people residing there. In 1870 the population was 3.834; in 1880. 9.372; in 1885. 13,006; in 1890, 19.033 : in 1900, 32.722; in 1905, 42,000 ; and 1910. 55-345. Even today Bayonne has not come into the full prosperity or populative strength justified by her enviable natural advantages. The real growth of the city dates back to 1869 when it was chartered.
On Van Boskerck's Point, a strip of rolling land of sandy character with marshes intervening which jutted into New York Bay to the north of Con- stable Hook, was built the first house in Bayonne. It was the home of one branch of the Van Boskerck family "who, generation after generation, tilled the soil as farmers, assisted by slave labor, and marketed their surplus pro- ducts at the growing city of New York." They made the trip in what was known as a "pieranza," a type of boat somewhat similar to a schooner without jib or topsails. The old homestead remained in the Van Boskerck family until it and the land surrounding was purchased by the Standard Oil Company.
Constable Hook, at the mouth of the Kill von Kull, and lying opposite New Brighton, S. I., was granted to Jacobson Roy, a gunner of Fort Amster- dam. It derived its name from the fact that Konstable was the title for gunner and locke meant Point-hence Constable Hook, or Gunner's Point. It contained about 300 acres and has since grown to be the nucleus of a thriving cluster of oil and other industries. Roy received a patent for the lands in March, 1646, and in 1654 patents were issued for lands between Gemonepas and the Kilvankol. Within this grant was Pamrapo, then called Pemrepogh, now a portion of the Third ward of Bayonne.
Early Growth Retarded.
As one monograph on the founding of Bayonne says, "The early growth of the settlement" was much retarded by the unfriendly attitude of the In- dians who had been incensed by the treatment they had received from the Dutch at New Amsterdam.
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"The barbarous attacks upon the isolated farm houses scattered over this territory compelled the inhabitants to fly for shelter to New Amsterdam, and their houses were burned and cattle driven off. For a number of years it was unsafe for them to return to their farms and rebuild after the troubles with the Indians had subsided, this section of the country became again inhabitated by the farm owners and by others who came with them, until clusters of houses, built near each other for mutual protection, formed them- selves into villages or hamlets. Gradually the Indian disappeared from this locality, withdrawing to the interior where he could not be molested by the intrusive white. The forests were cleared and as farms were extended the population increased."
Again in the "Cholera year" in the early 30's the population was deci- mated. The contagion in this locality was explained by some as the result of the throwing overboard from plague stricken ships in the harbor. bedding or other articles which were carried into the shore by the tide.
Bayonne was divided into four settlements, at this time, one at Bergen Point near the Staten Island ferry which was at first propelled by horse power : another and possibly the oldest settlement, at Constable Hook where about five or six families clustered; the third at Centreville where a number of houses were grouped around the country store, located near what is now the corner of 22nd street and Avenue D or Broadway; and the fourth at l'amrepough.
One of the features of the settlement at Constable Hook was the old tidal mill located on a tidal creek near the present site of the Oxford Copper Company's Works. Here were ground the wheat, rye and buckwheat of the farms of Bergen Neck and Staten Island. It was known as Terhune's Mill.
The first factory to be erected in this district was the Bergen Point Copper Company, prior to 1848-"now." as one historian says, "The whole Ilook is covered with the tanks and stills of the Standard Oil Company."
On Constable Hook in the early days were gathered the farms of the Treelands, Van Buskirks and Terhunes.
The earliest inhabitants subsisted at first by trading with the Indians. farming where lands could be easily cleared, and fishing and oystering As the timber land was gradually cleared away agriculture became the staple industry, the commons, or common land being turned over to the residents for cattle grazing purposes.
Bayonne During the Revolution and the Civil War Periods.
When Admiral Howe's fleet came to anchor off the mouth of the Kill von Kull in the Revolution, Bayonne, or that district which is now Bayonne. became a stragetic point in the movements of the Colonial troops. General Mercer, fearing an attack from Staten Island, where the British troops had been landed from the warships, placed a guard of 500 men at Bergen Neck on July 4, 1776. Later this force was augumented by part of the Pennsyl- vania militia. During some of the skirmishes that ensued it is supposed that the English troops managed to occupy Constable Hook. When the British invested New York the Continental troops withdrew from this part of Jersey and the Tory and English troops succeeded them. Fort Delancey, on Bergen Neck was used as an outpost by the Tory forces. The fort was located according to one historian. "On the high ground near the old homestead of llartman Vreeland about at 52nd street, west of Avenue C." This home- stead was torn down only a few years ago.
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Slavery existed among the more prominent families of the district for some time after 1800. A number of acts were then passed by the legislature penalizing slave holders and in 1846, it was abolished entirely. In 1790 Bergen County, of which Hudson County was then a part, had 2300 slaves. In 1800 there were 12.500. This number was gradually reduced until in 1840 there were only 674. Some of the descendants of these slaves still live in Bayonne. As they assumed the names of the families by whom they were held in many cases, some of their progeny still go by the name of Van Horn and Van Buskirk.
At the outbreak of the Civil War the district contributed a company of militia to the Union forces. This was known as the "Close Light Guards." in honor of Joseph B. Close, a wealthy property owner who provided most of the money for the equipment. The captain was John J. Van Buskirk who was afterwards promoted to major. Under his command the contingent formed a part of the Second New Jersey Volunteers and went to the front in April. 1861.
The Development of a Great Manufacturing Centre.
The developments of Bayonne from a district of farms to its present importance as a manufacturing centre is closely interwoven with the de- velopment of its roads and transportation facilities. The first road through Bergen Neck was located on the westerly side near Newark Bay and parallel thereto, west of what is now the Boulevard or Avenue A. In several places this road is still unobliterated. Then the Bergen Road was laid, which be- came afterwards the Plank Road, known as the Jersey City and Bergen Point Plank Road. Constructed by a stock company, it continued a toll road until the incorporation of the city.
The Kings Highway, from Paulus Hoeck to Bergen Point, was laid out in 1764. This road became part of the stage route between New York and Philadelphia. The means of conveyance on this route was a covered Jersey wagon without springs. In spite of its name, "The Flying Machine," it took three days to make the trip.
The first means of conveyance between Bergen Point and Jersey City was a stage coach. The Bergen Road was laid in 1796.
A steamboat line, running to Newark was established about 1840. Later on other boats were run to Elizabethport, Perth Amboy and South Amboy. Before the construction of the Central Railroad from Elizabeth to Jersey City, a ferry was operated from Elizabethport to New York, affording the residents of the Bergen Point section comparatively quick transportation to New York.
Until the construction of the "Dummy Railroad" by the Jersey City and Bergen Railroad Company, about 1860, the only means of conveyance from Centreville to Jersey City was a local stage route established by Jacob Merseles and afterwards operated by George Anderson. The starting point of this route was the Mansion House, corner of the Hook Road and the Plankroad.
Bayonne in the early days was a summer resort of some popularity. Here fashionable New Yorkers spent their week-ends and the Mansion House had its fill of patrons over Saturday night and Sunday.
In 1860 the Jersey City and Bergen Railroad began its operations. The original line ran from the Jersey City Ferry to Bergen Hill but branches to Pavonia Ferry and Bergen Point were added later. The cars used on this load were combination steam cars and locomotives. A train consisted of but one car, the forward part occupied by the steam engine and the rear part by the passenger compartment.
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Bayonne enjoyed its first real transportation facilities, however, with the building of the Central Railroad of New Jersey which first ran between Bayonne and Elizabeth and other towns to the west. Now three railroad systems, connecting Bayonne with every part of the country, operate within the limits of the city. These are the New Jersey Central, the Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley.
Another important link in the connection of Bayonne with its neighbor- ing municipalities was the erection of the bridge between Bayonne and Eliza. bethport across Newark Bay. The work was begun in 1861 and finished in 1865 and cost $327,653.
Today Bayonne's industries include the plants of the Standard Oil Com- pany, the Tidewater Oil Company, Pacific Coast Borax Company. the Oxford Copper Company, the General Chemical Company, Babcock & Wilcox Co., Safety Insulated Wire and Cable Company, Reding Bayonne Steel Casting Company, Electric Launch Company and many other concerns whose names are known all over the country, together with scores of smaller manufacturing concerns.
Nor is Bayonne lacking in the banking facilities to meet the exacting demands of its industries. The banking institutions are well scattered so as to supply the needs of the various districts. The Mechanics Trust Company and the Bayonne Trust Company are located at the southerly or Bergen Point end ; the First National Bank, in the upper part of the city at the corner of Thirty-third street and Broadway where it is convenient to the chief resi dential section, and the City Bank, in the central district at Twenty-second street and Broadway.
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North Hudson
ISTORY always has its interesting side and sidelights. North Hudson has many pleasing things to mark its onward march since that day when Henry Hudson's Half Moon anchored in the cove just below the projecting elevation of King's woods and north of Hoboken. North Hudson's history properly begins with the advent of the Half Moon in Wee- hawken Cove, and with the township begins in the proper way the story of the growth and development of the northern end of the county.
Weehawken.
Weehawken, known variously as Whehocken, Weehawk and Wechauk won a place in history as a famous duelling ground in which men of national fame took part. Halleck, the poet, gave the town a place in literature when he sang of its beauties in the following language.
"Weehawken, in thy mountain scenery yet, All we adore of nature, in her wild And frolic hour of infancy is met : And never has a summer morn smiled upon a holier scene.
Tall spire and glittering roof and battlement, And banners floating in the summer air, And white sails o'er the calm blue waters bend Green isle and circling shore are blended there.
In wild reality. When life is old And many a scene forgot, the heart will hold Its memory of thee."
It was its duelling ground on the water front that gave to Weehawken an unenviable fame long before it became a town of itself, and it was in Wee- hawken cove, just north of Hoboken, where Henry Hudson cast anchor before -ailing up the river that bears his name. A short distance north of this anchorage was located the duelling ground. This place could only be ap- proached by boat from New York.
The most famous duel ever fought at this historic spot was that on July 11, 1804, between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, in which the latter was killed and Burr as a result was for years thereafter a wanderer on the face of the earth, having gone to Europe, and spending the greater part of his time in France and England. This was Burr's second duel at Weehawken. he having fought a duel with Hamilton's brother-in-law, Mr. Church, on September 2, 1799.
On November 23. 1801, Alexander Hamilton's eldest son, Philip Hamil ton, was shot and killed at the Weehawken duelling ground by George I. Gacker. a New York lawyer. On the day before. November 22. Gacker fought a duel at the same place with one Mr. Price, a companion of Philip Hamilton's, so that it would seem that the spot was one of evil omen to the Hamilton family.
Other duels recorded as having taken place in Weehawken between prominent public men of the time were as follows: John Langstaff and Oliver Waldron. Jr., December 25, 1801 ; De Witt Clinton and John Swartout, July
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31. 1802: Richard Riker and Robert Swartont, November 21, 1803; Isaac Gouvernour and W. 11. Maxwell, July 10, 1815: Benjamin Price and Major Green, a British army officer, May 12, 1816.
Stephen Price, a brother of Benjamin, some time later overhearing Captain Wilson speak disparagingly of the Price-Green affair, challenged Wilson to fight at Weehawken. Wilson was killed.
The last famous duel of which there is record was fought October 19. 1835. between Henry Aitken and Thomas Sherman.
The Weehawken ferry started sometime before 1700, the exact date cannot be learned. The first record of the ferry is found on January 26, 1716. On March 15, 1859, the most famous section of North Hudson became a town- ship, and its growth in population, commercial and social importance has kept pace with its rapid rise in the annals of local history.
Guttenberg
It behooved the residents of the extreme northern end of the county to get busy. They caught the spirit of the times, Home Rule in a modified form caught their fancy, and they, the few early settlers, decided that they could run a full-sized town. The town was small in area but big in enthusiasm, and in 1859 it became a town in proper legal form, and today it stands as in matter of seniority, the second town in North Hudson. A bustling, busy municipality, its progress has been great, its future bright enough to please the grand chief of the optimist class.
Born in Wein Stube.
It was in 1851, when New York City had a population of 520,000, that a number of German-Americans who were in the habit of frequenting a wein stube in the basement of a building on the Bowery near Stanton street, decided that the city was becoming too crowded for themselves and their families to live in comfort. Those good old German-Americans, most of them employed by the Hoe Company at Grand street and East Broadway, New York, decided that they would seek more congenial surroundings. It was on Sunday afternoon in the early springtime that a few of the employees, among them John Pleikhardt, long a respected resident of Union Hill, hired a boat and crossed the Hudson.
The visitors clambered as best they could to the top of the bluff and then before them stretched to the far west a beautiful plateau of farms and woodland.
Flere was the ideal home land for themselves and their families. Here should they, if possible, build their homes and raise their families far from the maddning crowd of that half million that crushed and crowded the city.
A building and loan association was organized among the lloe em ployees in that Bowery wein stube, and thus Union Hill was born. The Hast member of that association to pass away was Mr. Pliekhardt.
On March 29, 1864, Union Hill became a town and for many years all its official business was transacted and the records were held in the German language. It was only in the early '70's when the first horse cars began to run between the town and the ferries to New York. At that time all resi- dents of West New York and Guttenberg had an hour's travel afoot to get home after leaving the car.
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North Bergen.
The parcel of all the municipalities in North Hudson became itself a township on February 10, 1843. having been set off at that time from the township of Bergen, and was named the Township of North Bergen. In its early days the township included all of North Hudson and a great part of what today is Jersey City. From time to time section after section seceded and formed independent towns until now the once far-spreading township is limited mainly to a long stretch of land west of the Boulevard and extending from the Jersey City boundary line to Bergen County.
New Durham, one of the most populous sections of the township was up to 1803 known as the Maisland, and here was located "The Three Pigeons," a tavern known before the Revolution to many wayfarers and was a popular place of call among those who loved a spin behind fast trotters along the country roads. Another interesting place in the township was the ence famous Frenchman's Gardens, located where Macphelah cemetery is today. Andre Michaux, who was a noted botanist, came to this country from his native France. bearing with him a letter of introduction from the Marquis de La Fayette to George Washington. Michaux sought the privi- lege of securing land where he might plant and experiment with flowers and trees. As an alien he was granted the right to have a tract of land not to exceed 200 acres. The western slope of the hill at New Durham attracted his attention and there he settled. It was from this spot that the Lombard poplar trees spread all over this country.
Today the township is one of the most prosperous in North Hudson : the meadow lands along the Hackensack valley have been largely filled in and manufacturing plants of many kinds are located there. It has time and again been suggested that the Hackensack river should be dredged to a sufficient depth to permit of its being made navigable for vessels in the coast and trans-Atlantic trade. Should this be accomplished, North Bergen would become a great commercial and manufacturing centre.
West Hoboken.
It has long been the proud boast of the residents of this municipality that it is the biggest town in the United States. It became a township set off from North Bergen in 1861, and for many years it languished along as a little village with no great promise of a vigorous and rapid growth. The village was located in the vicinity of the Paterson Plankroad, and the few residents who settled in the northern end of the town had a long and dreary walk through farm and woodlands to go to the village.
The United States government used the commons in the centre of the town as a camping ground in the early years of the Civil War, and many volunteers were there given their first taste of military life. The woodlands in the northern end of the town for many years thereafter furnished good sport for rabbit hunters who shouldered their guns and went after the wherewithal to provide themselves and their friends with hasenpfeffer. There are many residents alive today who went hunting in these woods as recently as the carlier 70's. Many of the old homesteads stood in the midst of ex- tensive grounds up until the 80's were well advanced. Open water courses were common features of the landscape.
Late in the 80's there came a building boom, woods were cut down: farms were swept away and homesteads gave way before the onward march of the awakened town. The commons were no more: streets were laid out and the village began to spread itself out northward. In 1868 an effort was made to have the town consolidate with and become a part of Jersey City.
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This proposition was submitted to the voters of West Hoboken, and they defeated the plan. In 1884 the township form of government came to an end and West Hoboken became incorporated as a town. In the early days as a township the governing body consisting of three members met at their homes and later in a hotel on Palisade avenue. The first town hall was a small frame structure scarcely large enough to seat comfortably a dozen persons.
Today the town is up to date in every respect. It has first class schools, efficient police and fire departments. The streets are all paved and the sewer -ystem is one that will be able to meet the needs of the town for many years to come.
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