Jersey City and Its Historic SitesEaton, Harriet Phillips
History
Jersey City and Its Historic Sites
Eaton, Harriet Phillips
Jersey City (N.J.) -- History
The Ferry Company had a very unfortunate experience; they sank all of
their capital and in 1824 were obliged to assign their lease to Francis
B. Ogden, Cadawalder D. Colden, and Samuel Swartout, who secured a new
lease for fifteen years and six months from November 1st, 1825. They
were to provide two good steamboats, but were afterwards permitted to
use a team-boat in place of one. They were also to provide row boats.
They bought and placed on the ferry the Washington. Within a year
Messrs. Ogden and Swartout transferred their interest to Mr. Colden;
he failed to make it remunerative and surrendered the lease to the
owners, "the Associates of the Jersey Company." January 1st, 1831, they
leased it to the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company. By
renewals the lease was continued until 1853, when the Railroad bought
up the stock of the Associates and became the owners of the ferry. The
first night boat was put on in June, 1835. The line to the foot of
Desbrosses street was started in 1862. These ferries were transferred
to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1871. Among the various schemes
to secure patronage for the ferry by bringing people from New York,
was the erection in 1825 of a large amphitheatre on the south side of
Sussex street, between Hudson and Green streets, on land leased from
Mr. Drayton, Sr. For about two months large numbers, mostly from New
York, gathered here on Fridays to witness the fighting of bulls, bears,
buffaloes and dogs.
[Illustration: THE EDGE WINDMILL.]
EDGE'S WINDMILL.
A quaint and interesting landmark of lower Jersey City, for some
thirty years, was the windmill near the corner of Montgomery and Green
streets; to be exact, it stood upon a pier one hundred feet in length,
seventy-five feet north of Montgomery street, and fifty feet east of
Green street. According to the family traditions this mill, an exact
duplicate of one owned by himself in Derbyshire, England, was sent
by Mr. Edge, Sr., to his son Mr. Isaac Edge, soon after he settled
in Jersey City in 1806, in appreciation of his success in the New
World. Every part was marked to insure its proper erection. The motive
power was a windmill upon an octagonal stone tower seven stories in
height. The fans on the wings were originally of canvas, but these
were destroyed by a September gale in 1821, when Mr. Edge replaced
them with iron fans. It was quite a celebrated mill and considered the
best in America. It faithfully ground its grists until taken down in
1839 to make room for the New Jersey Railroad tracks; but its days of
usefulness were not over, it was removed to Town Harbor, L. I., from
there it was taken to Southold, L. I., where it continued to do good
work until destroyed by fire on June 25th, 1870.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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