New Barbadoes Neck
Encyclopedia
Gateway Region
The Gateway Region is located in the northeastern part of State of New Jersey in the United States of America. The area encompasses Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Union and Middlesex counties...
, USA between the lower Hackensack
Hackensack River
The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River,...
and Passaic River
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
s, in what is now western
West Hudson, New Jersey
West Hudson is the collective name of the municipalities of Kearny , Harrison , and East Newark located west of the Hackensack River and east of the Passaic River in Hudson County in northeastern New Jersey. The Passaic River separates it from Newark and Belleville, and the Hackensack River...
Hudson County
Hudson County, New Jersey
Hudson County is the smallest county in New Jersey and one of the most densely populated in United States. It takes its name from the Hudson River, which creates part of its eastern border. Part of the New York metropolitan area, its county seat and largest city is Jersey City.- Municipalities...
and southern Bergen County
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
. The neck begins in the south at Kearny Point in the Newark Bay
Newark Bay
Newark Bay is a tidal bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in northeastern New Jersey. It is home to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the largest container shipping facility in Port of New York and New Jersey, 3rd largest and one of busiest in the United States...
, and is characterized by a ridge
Ridge
A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
(creating the valley of the Passiac) along the west and part of the New Jersey Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeast New Jersey in the United States. The Meadowlands are known for being the site of large landfills and decades of...
(the flood plain of the Hackensack) on the east.
Native Americans and Netherlanders
The neck was part of an area called MeghgectecockNew Jersey Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeast New Jersey in the United States. The Meadowlands are known for being the site of large landfills and decades of...
by the Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
, was the territory of the group called the Hackensack
Hackensack (Native Americans)
Hackensack was the exonym given to a band of Lenape, a Native American people is a European derivation of the Lenape word for what is now the region of northeastern New Jersey along the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers.-Territory and Society:...
. The name of masgichteu-cunk meaning where May-apples grow, from a moist-woodland perennial that bears edible yellow berries. The name Achter Col was given during the New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
era in the mid-17th century, and can be translated a rear mountain pass or behind the ridge, in reference to the access it provided to the hinterlands beyond the Hudson Palisades that were rich fur-trapping grounds.
British land grants
After the surrender of Fort AmsterdamFort Amsterdam
For the historic fort on the island of Saint Martin, see Fort Amsterdam Fort Amsterdam was a fort on the southern tip of Manhattan that was the administrative headquarters for the Dutch and then British rule of New York from...
by the Dutch in 1664 the area became part of the Province of New Jersey
Province of New Jersey
The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland, but came under English rule after the surrender of Fort Amsterdam in 1664, becoming a...
during the period of British colonization of North America. On July 4, 1668, a Crown Grant of 30,000 acres (120 km²) obtained by Major William Sandford, who named the area New Barbadoes after his old home the Caribbean island. As was the custom of the times, the Major paid Chief Tantaqua of the Hackensack Indians 20 English Pounds Sterling for all their reserve rights and titles. William Sandford died in 1690. In 1708, his friend Major Nathaniel Kingsland took over the upper western tract of the Grant. He is recalled in the Kingsland Station
Kingsland (NJT station)
Kingsland Station is a railroad station on New Jersey Transit's Main Line. It is located under Ridge Road between New York and Valley Brook Avenues in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, United States, and is one of two stations in Lyndhurst. The station is not staffed, and passengers use ticket vending...
, Kingsland Avenue in Lyndhurst, and Kingsland Manor
Kingsland Manor
The Kingsland Manor is located in Nutley, New Jersey. The house was built in 1790 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 24, 1978.-See also:*Van Riper House*Vreeland Homestead*List of the oldest buildings in New Jersey...
.
To the north, a large patent was also made to Captain John Berry who had also emigrated from the island of Barbadoes to take up residence. It is likely the border was at Union Avenue in today's Rutherford
Rutherford, New Jersey
Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 18,061. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
. He is recalled in the names of Berrys Creek
Berrys Creek
Berrys Creek is a tributary of the Hackensack River in the New Jersey Meadowlands in Bergen County, New Jersey.-Geography:...
, and the historic Yereance-Berry House
Yereance-Berry house
The Yereance-Berry House is a stone house built in the early 19th century in what is now Rutherford, New Jersey. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 10, 1983 and is currently home to the Meadowlands Museum....
. A portion was later sold to an early settler to Pavonia, New Netherland
Pavonia, New Netherland
Pavonia was the first European settlement on the west bank of the North River that was part of the 17th century province of New Netherland in what would become today's Hudson County, New Jersey.-Hudson and the Hackensack:...
, Walling Van Winkle
Walling Van Winkle
Walling Jocobse Van Winkle was an early settler of the Northern New Jersey area and the namesake for the town of Wallington, New Jersey, where he had built a home.-Family history:...
.
New Barbadoes Township
The township was created was created in 1710 and encompassed all of the neck as well as lands to the north and west to the Saddle RiverSaddle River
Saddle River may refer to:Places:*Saddle River, New Jersey, a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey*Saddle River , a tributary of the Passaic River in New Jersey...
. At this time the territory was transferred from Essex County
Essex County, New Jersey
Essex County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 783,969, ranking it third in the state after Bergen County and Middlesex County; Essex County's population has declined from 786,147 as of the bureau's...
and made part of an expanded Bergen County
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
.
Copper mine and steam engine
In 1710, Kingsland sold the a tract for 300 English Pounds Sterling to Captain Arent SchuylerArent Schuyler
Arent Schuyler was born in Rensselaerswyck , New York on June 25, 1662 and died in Belleville, New Jersey on November 26, 1730. A member of the influential Schuyler family , during his life-time he was a surveyor, "Indian agent", miner, merchant, and land speculator.Schuyler participated in the...
, a former trader and Indian agent, and a member of the influential Schuyler family
Schuyler family
The Schuyler family was a prominent family in New York and New Jersey. Notable family members include:*Alexander Hamilton*Angelica Schuyler Church*Arent Schuyler*Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton*James Alexander Hamilton*Philip Jeremiah Schuyler...
. The new purchase included present-day Kearny
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
, North Arlington
North Arlington, New Jersey
North Arlington is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 15,392...
, and Lyndhurst
Lyndhurst, New Jersey
Lyndhurst is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 20,554.Lyndhurst was originally formed as Union Township on February 19, 1852 from portions of Harrison Township...
. Following his death in 1730, his sons inherited the land. After Schuyler's purchase of his new homestead, it was discovered the ground contained copper which led to the opening of a mine. After it became flooded the first steam engine in America was developed and used to pump out the deep mine shaft. The engine was secretly built by the engineer Josiah Hornblower
Josiah Hornblower
Josiah Hornblower was an English engineer and statesman in America Belleville, New Jersey. He was a delegate for New Jersey in the Continental Congress in 1785 and 1786.-Engineering career :...
. The engine and mines were destroyed by fire in 1768 and remained idle for some years. Schuyler Avenue
County Route 507 (New Jersey)
County Route 507 is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends from Harrison Avenue on the Kearny-Harrison town line to the New York state line in Mahwah. Between Ho-Ho-Kus and Mahwah, this highway is known as Franklin Turnpike...
, which runs along the eastern edge of the ridge honors the early settlement.
Revolutionary era
Lord HoweWilliam Howe, 5th Viscount Howe
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB, PC was a British army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American War of Independence...
of England took possession of New York Harbor
Port of New York and New Jersey
The Port of New York and New Jersey comprises the waterways in the estuary of the New York-Newark metropolitan area with a port district encompassing an approximate area within a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument...
and the proximity of Schuyler Mansion drew many of his officers who traveled over a road known today as the Belleville Turnpike. It had originally been laid in 1759 with cedar logs from the nearby swamps. In September 1777, Henry Clinton
Henry Clinton (American War of Independence)
General Sir Henry Clinton KB was a British army officer and politician, best known for his service as a general during the American War of Independence. First arriving in Boston in May 1775, from 1778 to 1782 he was the British Commander-in-Chief in North America...
, head of the British Expeditionary Forces in America, selected Schuyler Mansion for his headquarters during one of his more important raiding operations, including those along of Second River
Second River (New Jersey)
The Second River, or Watsessing River, in the state of New Jersey in the United States, is the second main tributary of the Passaic River encountered while travelling upstream from its mouth at Newark Bay....
.
Eighteen-hundreds civic borders
In the 1800s the Neck came under the jurisdiction of different townships and in 1840 part of the newly created Hudson CountyHudson County, New Jersey
Hudson County is the smallest county in New Jersey and one of the most densely populated in United States. It takes its name from the Hudson River, which creates part of its eastern border. Part of the New York metropolitan area, its county seat and largest city is Jersey City.- Municipalities...
.