Paulus Hook, Jersey City
Encyclopedia
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
waterfront in Jersey City
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, located one mile across the river from Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. The name Hook comes from the Dutch word "hoeck" which translates into "point of land." This "point of land" has been described as an elevated area, the location of which is today bounded by Montgomery, Hudson, Essex and Warren Streets. The neighborhood's main streets are the east- and west-running Essex and Morris Streets. The waterfront of Paulus Hook is along the basin of the Morris Canal
Morris Canal
The Morris Canal was an anthracite-carrying canal that incorporated a series of water-driven inclined planes in its course across northern New Jersey in the United States. It was in use for about a century — from the late 1820s to the 1920s....
in a park with a segment of Liberty State Park
Liberty State Park
Liberty State Park is located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey, opposite the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with bicentennial celebrations and is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.-Geography and...
. The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City , and North Bergen.The system began...
has a Paulus Hook stop at Essex Street
Essex Street (HBLR station)
Essex Street is a station on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail located between Hudson and Greene Streets in Jersey City, New Jersey, in the United States....
and the Liberty Water Taxi
Liberty Water Taxi
Liberty Water Taxi is a water taxi service based at Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, New Jersey offering service between Liberty State Park in Jersey City, Warren Street in Paulus Hook, Jersey City and the World Financial Center in Battery Park City, Manhattan...
at Warren Street. The introduction of the light rail and development of office buildings on the Hudson Waterfront have brought more businesses to Morris Street including a number of restaurants with outdoor seating and small neighborhood shops.
History
Originally the location was called Arressick or Arisheck Island by the earliest settlers after a corrupted Lenape term, possibly from Kaniskeck meaning a long, grassy marsh or meadow.Colonization
The location was originally part of a tract of land purchased by Michael Pauw, an Amsterdam BurgomasterBurgomaster
Burgomaster is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration...
and Lord of Achttienhoven in 1630; the first settlement at Paulus Hook was in 1633. The area was an island at high tide, in 1638 was granted to Pauw's agent, a man named Micheal Paulez (Pauluson, Powles) who operated an occasional ferry and traded with the local 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...
population. His name was eventually anglicized to Paulus, and given to the hook jutting into the river and bay.
Until the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, the Dutch and then the English governed the site. In 1664, an expedition sailed from England to seize Dutch colonies in the New World. New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
Governor Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant , served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York...
and the Dutch surrendered to the English forces on September 8, 1664 but the Dutch recaptured the territory the next year. Eventually, as a result of a war in the "Old World," the Dutch lost their "New World" territories to the British. In 1672, war broke out between England and the Netherlands. Peace was achieved in 1674 and under terms of the Treaty of Westminster
Treaty of Westminster (1674)
The Treaty of Westminster of 1674 was the peace treaty that ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Signed by the Netherlands and England, it provided for the return of the colony of New Netherland to England and renewed the Treaty of Breda of 1667...
, England recovered New Netherland. The king awarded the territories to the Duke of York (later King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
) the region between New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
as a proprietary colony
Proprietary colony
A proprietary colony was a colony in which one or more individuals, usually land owners, remaining subject to their parent state's sanctions, retained rights that are today regarded as the privilege of the state, and in all cases eventually became so....
(as opposed to a royal colony). James then granted the land between the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
and the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
(the land that would become New Jersey) to two friends who had been loyal through the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
: Sir George Carteret
George Carteret
Vice Admiral Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet , son of Elias de Carteret, was a royalist statesman in Jersey and England, who served in the Clarendon Ministry as Treasurer of the Navy...
and Lord Berkeley of Stratton
John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton
John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton was an English royalist soldier. From 1648 he was closely associated with James, Duke of York, and rose to prominence, fortune and fame.-First English Civil War:...
. The Duke, to honor Carteret who had been with him in exile on the Channel Island
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
of Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
, named part of the territory "New Jersey."
American Revolution
In 1776, patriot colonists built several forts to defend the western banks of the Hudson. One of these forts was located at Paulus Hook. After suffering defeats in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the rebels abandoned Paulus Hook and the British occupied it. The fort was a naturally defensible position that guarded the gateway to New Jersey.
In mid-summer 1779, the flamboyant 23-year old Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
graduate, Major Henry Lee recommended to General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
a daring plan to attack the fort, in what became known as the Battle of Paulus Hook
Battle of Paulus Hook
The Battle of Paulus Hook was fought on August 19, 1779 between Continental Army and British forces in the American Revolutionary War. The Patriots were led by Major Light Horse Harry Lee, and launched a nighttime raid on the British-controlled fort in what is today downtown Jersey City. They...
. The assault was planned to begin shortly after mid-night on August 19, 1779. Lee led a force of about 300 men, some of who got lost during the march, through the swampy, marshy, land. The attack was late in getting started but the main contingent of the force was able to reach the fort's gate without being challenged. It is believed that the British mistook the approaching force for Hessian allies returning from patrol but this is not documented. The attacking Patriots succeeded in damaging the fort and took 158 prisoners, but were unable to destroy the fort and spike its cannons. As daytime arrived, Lee decided that prudent action demanded that the Patriots withdraw before the British forces from New York could cross the river. Paulus Hook remained in British hands until after the war but the battle was a small strategic victory for the forces of independence as it forced the British to abandon their plans for taking rebel positions in the New York area.
After the war ended on November 22, 1783, the day after Evacuation Day
Evacuation Day (New York)
Following the American Revolution, Evacuation Day on November 25 marks the day in 1783 when the last vestige of British authority in the United States — its troops in New York — departed from Manhattan...
, when they left New York City, the British evacuated Paulus Hook and sailed home.
While the battle occupies only a small portion of U.S. Revolutionary history, it is an important part of the history of New Jersey and holds an even more important place in the history of the neighborhood. A monument was erected in 1903 to memorialize the battle.
Paulus Hook Today
Paulus Hook is currently one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Jersey City. Real estate prices are generally higher than in surrounding neighborhoods, which include Liberty Harbor, the Financial District, Waldo, and Hamilton ParkHamilton Park, Jersey City
Hamilton Park is a neighborhood in Historic Downtown in Jersey City, centered around a park with the same name. Hamilton Park is located west of Newport, north of Harsimus Cove, north and east of The Village and south of Boyle Plaza. The Victorian age park is located between Eighth Street and...
. Morris Street and Washington Street have become the "restaurant row
Restaurant Row
Restaurant Row can refer to a street or region known for having multiple restaurants.Specific Restaurant Rows include:* Restaurant Row * Restaurant Row...
s" of the neighborhood, which is mainly residential.