The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-08-15
FIRST JERSEY ROADS.
Means of Travel Between New
York and Philadelphia in the
Infancy Of the Country.

Tn the very first year of Philadelphia's
settlement there were laid out in New
Jersey two WACO roads, the first links IN
the commercial chain between the two
greatest cities of the East. n of these
started at Elizabeth Town Point, forded
the Raritan at the present site OF New
Brunswick and ended at another ford
in the Delaware, a few miles above the
point at which Trenton was afterWard
built. The other road forked out from
the former a few miles west of New
Brunswick, and terminated at Buriing-
ton. says the Philadelphia Times"
A fleet of small sloops sailed between
New York and Elizabeth Town Point,
and similar water craft connected either
Burlington or Trenton with the wharves
at Philadelphia. The next year another
road connected Perth Town or Perth
Amboy, with Burlington, and the first
sailing ferryboat in America piled be-
tween the latter port and New York
During the latter part of the seventeenth
century and the fore part of the eigh-
teenth century the only c-onveyances
which were driven regularly over these
roads were for hauling freight. One man
had a patent on this business, which mo-
nopoly he held for many years.
THE FIRST RAILROAD.
The first railroad line between New
York and Philadelphia-the old Camden
and Amboy-was begun at Bordentown
in August, 1881, and the famous John
Bull locomotive, which arrived at Phil
adelphia from England shortly before,
was tried ON this first line of track on
the 18th of November of the same year.
The new railroad Company continued TO
extend its tracks, which were competed
between Bordentown and Annoy IN De-
cenber, 1882, and came into control OF
the steamship route between, Phaiadei-
phia and B~ordentown. IraveIers rem q
take the steamboats, as far as Borden
town until the fall of 1893, when the
railroad was finished along the Jersey
bank as far as the Raneocas: a line OF
stages was started between Toys Hotel,
Camden, and the end Of the line Pas.
sengers form Philadelphia for the first
time began to cross the river to Camuen
en- route for New York.
In January, 1884, Robert .Buzby, me OF
the pioneer enginemen OF the Camden
No. 2. into Camden. Thus it was sixty
one years ago when the little sister city
across the river began her career as a
ferryboat from Philadelphia first landed
passengers on her lwharves for direct
communication with the steam earg.
II 1882 Soloman Smith and James
Moore. Of Burlington advertised in The
| Mercury that they kept two stage wag-
ons intending to- &C from, Burlington to
Amboy and back from Amboy to Burling-
ton again. once every week or of'ner, If
that business presents TThis was the
conditions of affairs up to the middle of
the century. Travellers from Philadel-
phia to New York took their chances in
engaging a sloop to convey them to Bur
lington or Trenton, and upon their arrival
at these cities had often to wait over
night for the return of the weekly, stage
either from Elizabeth Town or Amboy.
In 1904 the first bridge across the Della
| ware was erected at Trenton, and pas
sengers could leave Philadelphia by a
tri-weekly line of stages at "A. NJ, ar
irving in New York at Z or 8 the same
evening. By 1872 John Stevens. New Jer-
sey's inventor-statesman, together with
his sons. had not only completed the first
steamboat to venture out to seattle
Phoenix-but had made steam naviga-
ton ON the Delaware a commercial sue
cess. The Steveneses thereupon estab-
lished the Union Line. which conveyed
| passengers from the Philadelphia wharf
to. Trenton, by steamboat, from Trenton
to New Brunswick by overland stages,
and from New Brunswick to New York
by steamboat. In 1927 a passenger leav-
ing New York at y O'Clock noon could,
by taking this line, arrive in Philadelphia