West End, Jersey City
Encyclopedia
The West End is the former name of the only neighborhood in Historic Downtown
Jersey City, New Jersey
that is entirely west of the New Jersey Turnpike
's Newark Bay Extension.
for "sea maize"
In 1760, Jacob Prior constructed a tidewater
mill at Mill Creek, a tidal creek running through the marshlands separating Harsimus Island from the rest of Bergen Neck
. The creek emptied into Communipaw Bay (at the south, to the north it emptied into the Hudson River at the Hoboken border) at Mill Creek Point (formerly called Jan de Lacher's Hoeck or John the Laugher's Hook, after Jan Evertsen Bout, one of the first two European settlers in the area), where a dam was built to allow water to enter the creek at high tide
, without losing it at low tide. Mill Creek Point was located near where Pine Street and the railroad tracks are today in Jersey City.
In 1837, the creek was filled, in order to construct railroad tracks and the following year, Prior's Mill was razed. Decades later, in 1880, the house on the property was razed. A nearby street named Mill Road remembers Prior's Mill, though there is no sign of the creek today. The mill's former location today is just north of Wayne Street, between Ristaino Circle and the railroad overpass.
Downtown Jersey City
Downtown is an area of Jersey City, New Jersey that includes the Historic Downtown and the Waterfront. Historic Downtown can be further broken down into the neighborhoods of Harsimus Cove, The Village, Van Vorst Park, Grove Street, Hamilton Park and Boyle Plaza...
Jersey City, New Jersey
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...
that is entirely west of the New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
's Newark Bay Extension.
History
The area of the West End once was divided by a creek (or stream) known as Bergen Creek, Harsimus Creek or Mill Creek. To the east of the creek (approximately where the railroad runs between Grand Street and Wayne Street), was Harsimus Island, corrupted from "Ashki'muis", LenapeLenape
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...
for "sea maize"
In 1760, Jacob Prior constructed a tidewater
Tidewater
Tidewater may refer to:*Tidewater , a geographic area of southeast Virginia and northeast North Carolina*Tidewater , a company providing marine services to the offshore petroleum industry...
mill at Mill Creek, a tidal creek running through the marshlands separating Harsimus Island from the rest of Bergen Neck
Bergen Neck
Bergen Neck is a name for the peninsula between the Upper New York Bay and the Newark Bay in the Hudson County, New Jersey municipalities of Bayonne and Jersey City...
. The creek emptied into Communipaw Bay (at the south, to the north it emptied into the Hudson River at the Hoboken border) at Mill Creek Point (formerly called Jan de Lacher's Hoeck or John the Laugher's Hook, after Jan Evertsen Bout, one of the first two European settlers in the area), where a dam was built to allow water to enter the creek at high tide
High Tide
High Tide was a band formed in 1969 by Tony Hill , Simon House , Peter Pavli and Roger Hadden .-History:...
, without losing it at low tide. Mill Creek Point was located near where Pine Street and the railroad tracks are today in Jersey City.
In 1837, the creek was filled, in order to construct railroad tracks and the following year, Prior's Mill was razed. Decades later, in 1880, the house on the property was razed. A nearby street named Mill Road remembers Prior's Mill, though there is no sign of the creek today. The mill's former location today is just north of Wayne Street, between Ristaino Circle and the railroad overpass.
Street Etymologies
- Amity Street - its name means friendly relations
- Bishop Street
- Bright Street
- Chopin Court - named after DE Chopin President of the Steam Railroad Men's Protective Union of New Jersey
- Colden Street - named for Cadwallader D. Colden, a Jersey City resident and President of the Morris Canal Company
- Cornelison Avenue/CR-619 - for John M. Cornelison, director of the Hudson and Bergen Plankroad Company
- Factory Street - named for the factoryFactoryA factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
located along the nearby rail lines - Fairmount Avenue - refers to Mount Pleasant, which is part of Bergen HillBergen HillBergen Hill refers to the lower Hudson Palisades in New Jersey, USA, where they emerge on Bergen Neck, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson River, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet.-Rail:...
- Fremont Street
- Florence Street
- Grand StreetBergen Point Plank RoadThe Jersey City and Bergen Point Plank Road was a road in the 19th century in Hudson County, New Jersey which ran between Paulus Hook and Bergen Point. The company which built the road received its charter on March 6, 1850. It has subsequently become Grand Street and Garfield Avenue in Jersey City...
/CR-622Bergen Point Plank RoadThe Jersey City and Bergen Point Plank Road was a road in the 19th century in Hudson County, New Jersey which ran between Paulus Hook and Bergen Point. The company which built the road received its charter on March 6, 1850. It has subsequently become Grand Street and Garfield Avenue in Jersey City...
- named so for the size of this early road which replaced the old Plank Road across the wetlands - Ivy Place - named for Hedera helixHedera helixHedera helix is a species of ivy native to most of Europe and western Asia. It is labeled as an invasive species in a number of areas where it has been introduced.-Description:...
- Johnston AvenueJohnston AvenueJohnston Avenue in lower Jersey City, carries the designation Hudson County Route 614 for a section of its length. Johnston Avenue begins in the west at the foot of Bergen Hill close to Communipaw Junction and ends at the Liberty State Park Station of the Hudson Bergen Light Rail. The street...
/CR-614 - named after John T. Johnston, who was the president of the Central Railroad of New Jersey - Merseles Street- named after Jacob M. Merseles who founded the Bergen Plank Road company. One of his descendents, Theodore F. Merseles, was president of Montgomery WardMontgomery WardMontgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
and Johns-ManvilleJohns-ManvilleJohns Manville is an American corporation based in Denver, Colorado that manufactures insulation, roofing materials, and engineered products. The stock was included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average from January 29, 1930 to August 27, 1982 when it was replaced by American Express. Berkshire... - Montgomery Street - named after James Montgomery, Jr., director of the Hudson and Bergen Plankroad Company
- New Loop - named for the shape the road made when this development was built
- Prior Street - small street named for John Prior, who had a mill just north of this location
- Ristaino Drive - named for John Ristaino, a candle and furniture-maker, champion speed-skater and Korean War Vet who grew up in Jersey City
- State Street - originally the name replaced King Street to the non-royalist State Street in many cities in the northeast United States
- Wayne Street - most likely named for a Revolutionary War general, Anthony WayneAnthony WayneAnthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the sobriquet of Mad Anthony.-Early...
- Westervelt - named after the famous Westervelt family of Bergen County and Jacob Aaron Westervelt, a shipbuilder and mayor of New York City.