The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-04-09
TOWN OF HARRISON
Interesting Features of the
Trans-PassaiC Town, It's
Growth and Business
Interests.
A RAPID RISE TO PROSPERITY
How the Resources Of a Thriving
Municipality Were Developed
From Its Early History.


| tions of Hudson county that for years
has made untiring efforts to annex IT.
| self to Essex county, says the Newark
Daily Advertiser of Saturday, April 6.
1t was one of the prominent sons of the
town. ex-AsSsmblyman John Kerr, who
| last year nearly succeeded in accomplish
| ing that result.
Harrison is a town of $500 population
| and has within it's boundaries am
cial interests of large magnitude and far
reaching Importance. When the present
| town was established its large water
! front and cont.guity to the factory in
| terests of Newark seemed to augur we'll
| for its future prosperity. This expecta-
| tion has been more than fulfilled. as a
Journey through dts crowded streets and
a view of its mammoth factories would
attest.
According to the annua report of
| Treasurer Edward Grace. completed with
in the current week., the total receipts
of last year We're s156. 4S1 Al; disburse-
ments, $13o, 796. rs; total assets, S465, 446. 80
| liabilities, s44s. es2. IS.
The principal t~heroughfare of the.t town
is Harrison avenue, which was severed
in 1873 well paved during the year
following.
It runs east and west. from the Kearny
township line to the Bridge street bridge,
through the heart of the city. both sides
of the t~horoughfare beng lined with bust
ness houses.
Communications with the parent. city
of Newark by the trolley cars OF the
| Consolidated Traction Company is quick
Pie HEART OF THE CITY.
On this avenue the principal puiIdings
81 4bo cifN ara constructed Near EOurtl
street is the City Hall building, where
the city government, including the Police
Departmept, inds aua aroanf,v N fseishsd 0 by
Peter J.. Goodman, Clarence T.. van
Deren and E. J. GRACE, used partly for
business and partly for dWsillng. D Ieaga
Church of the Holy Cross. of which the
| Rev. Father Maurice F. O'Connor is pas
tor. The building is one OF the hand.
is a monument to the energy and enter
prise of its pastor.
A short distance east or the Churcn
of the Holy Cross the Davis Me-
mortal Chruch steeple. points skywar6.
This church was founded by Hiram W
Davis. father of Mark W. and william
]. Davis, who are spoken of elsewhere
in these columns. In the rear OF ting
church stin lies one of the old diving
bells used in recovering the sunken
steamer Lexington, by the founder OF the
H~ARRIsoN's TOPOGRAPHY
The topography of Harrison Is entirely
different from that of Kearny Township,
which lies directly north. 1t is largely q
fiat, level country, showing. near the
Kearny line the first rise of the ridge
ny Township to the highlands of Orange
County, N. Y.
In prehistoric days the site of Harrison
was the delta bed of a mighty. stream
that had it's h~eadauarters near the pres
emit Hudson Bay watershed, in Canada. !.
The town is pounded on the east and
south and west by the .Passatc River.
Harrison was incorporated as a town by
an act of the legislature In 1863. two
years after the township of Kearny had
been organized. 1t is divided into four
wards, and the town government con-
sists of a Common Council of eight
members. four Of whom are elected each
The present Council is composed of the
following members. Alderman John Wade
First ward-Joseph Carney, Democrat;
John Phalen. Democrat, Second ward
e. J. Rice, Democrat: John Wade. Demo-
crst Third wara- " Wilhelm, k he
can. Fourth ward John j.. Muiigaf,
Democrat; r. ]. Cairns. Democrat;
Politically, the town IS strongly Demo
front, the mass of the people treat the
questions submitted to them in a fair
and impartial manner.
EdNar SaDS j Grace. treasurer: B. P.
walsh. Town Clerk: Martin Lawiess,
Police Justice; Philip M~uiiigan. Chief of
missioner; Senator N. +. Barrett. Town
Counsel: P. ]. Goodman. Chief of Fire
Department.
The growth of Harrison has been phe-
nomenaal. In 1884. when the old Diving
Bell Hotel was in existence, much OF the
present town was used for FARMING pun.
cattle, numbering 10000, We're frequently
pastured on the open ground back OF the
Davis homestead and present City Hall
In 1878 the town began working Under
the provisions Of ITS charter. To show
the growth Of the town since that period,
a comparIson o TT me tb fir5t x Xe tag. W FldsaP fhs
returns quoted for this year. IS sagnifi-
Almost every street dn the town is grad
ed, curbed and Tagged, and water fnafns
have been laid as street improvements
were instituted.
IN 1875, the. old church that stood on
the corner of Third and Jersey streets.
in the Second Ward, was purchased and
used for the Town Hall. In May. 1889,
this building, and the bT dns o9 inca aaloln1
origin. This incident was the subject OF
much investigation, and was widely, pub
terfered vii! TaE zaf B6 bfoSMsPeos1Fsy 1886 s. 'Ae 'o~'.
The year eof=1sss marked a change, and
HaTrison,s roWfh The water system
was completed. Many new arrivals came
to take up permanent residence, and BUS
mess was booming in every direction.
In 1889 a complete system OF lighting
the streets by electric arc lights was in
stituted. The present City Hall was built
In 1891, the opening taking place in the
early spring of the year following. The
Common Council held Its first meeting in
March,, John Wade then, as now, being
The schools Of Harrison are Of a high
standard, and 1898 one, the latest addition
to their number, Yves opened with elabor-
ate exercises over 400 scholars participa-
ting.
New BarbadoesNeck, as the region was
called, was known to the Indians as
MighEecticock, and was estimated. by
the early colonists to contain 5,S0S acres
of upland, and 10000 acres of meadows
and cedar swamp.
judy 4. 1865, Captain William Sanford,
of the island of Barbadoes. purchased the
tract from the proprietors, on condition
that the should COLOMBO the territory
| Of 92O sterling. On July 20, of the same
year, he purchased the claim of the In
dams to the am tract. ITO goe up north
ward In the countrey about seavel Miles
till 1t comes to a certain Brook or Spring
now called Sanford SPRING.
Two-thirds. of this purchase was shortly
after turned over to Major Nathaniel
A'As = LAND SOLD AT AUCTION.
~ October !, 1873. the Dutch, having re-