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What does Newark, Mulberry St, Flemming Ave and the Morris Canal have in common?
Well I've heard both streets were once a canal, the northern side of Fleming ave was called the Island and people crossed it through little walking bridges. The Passaic side of Fleming ave, called the island, was mostly an Italian neighborhood, on the eastern side lived the Germans or the Poles (yet to be confirmed). I am searching for more information. Can you help? If you can, send me a note ( there is a link on the bottom).
To start, there was once a canal in Newark. The Morris Canal extended from Easton to Newark, NJ, a distance of 86 miles. The eastern section of this canal was completed in 1829. From Newark to Paterson, the country through which the canal passes is beautiful. On the south the canal for some distance is bounded by mountainous rugged cliffs, the rocky excavations through which were attended with great labor and expense. Four miles above Patterson is what is called the Grand Aqueduct across the Passaic river at the Little Falls. This Aqueduct may just be ranked, for its admirable construction, workmanship, space of the arch and elevation, with the greatest objects of curiosity in artificial navigation, and altogether may be considered superior to any thing of the kind in this country. Half a mile further is an aqueduct across the Pompton river, a work of considerable magnitude. The whole route, from Newark to Easton is interesting and worth our attention. Than from Easton to Delaware Water gap the distance is 23 miles, proceeding through Richmond, Williamsburg, and from there to the Water Gap. Newark, M.J. which is located on the route, and which is within 10 miles of New York, is one of the most elegant villages in the union. It is situated near the west bank of the Passaic River, 3 miles from its mouth, and is laid out in regular streets, the principal (Broad) being 200 feet wide. The public square near the centre, is very handsome, and is surrounded by a number of elegant private dwellings. The public buildings in the place are a court house, a jail, two banks and academy and six churches. The population in 1830 was 10,705.
Reference: The Traveller's Guide Through the Middle and Northen States and the Provinces of Canada by G.M.Davison 1834 Page 90
After further reading I find the Charter for this construction being granted in December 31, 1824 as a cheap means of transportation for merchandize between the Hudson and the Delaware and especially as an eastern outlet for the coal of Pennsilvania. The Canal was completed six years late in August of 1931 through Newark but it only reached Jersey City in 1836. The canal remained in this condition until 1941 when the deman for better facilities and larger boats led to the widening of the planes by 2ft. while th elocks were widen to 11 ft and lengthend to 95 ft. The canal started from tide water level at Newark and run to Phillipsburg on the Delaware river. In traverssing it a boat passed through 16 lifts locks and 12 inclided planes to the summit which is at Lake Hopatcong. The elevation at this point was 914 ft above sea level.
Ref.: American Engineer and Rairoad Journal 1894 page 555
In 1852 an arragement with the Morris Canal and Banking Company for the use of the space over the canal from Broad Street to Mulberry street, with a view to increasing the space for the Centre Market and in order to erect a market building. This structure and the massive brick tower which was removed in the early 1860's, was erected in 1853 and the first months of 1854. In the tower was fixed the first fire alarm bell. When the tower was declared unsafe in the 1860's, the bell was removed to a frame tower erected between Market, Arlington (then Catherine), Augusta and Nicholson streets. About ten years later the bell was taken down and removed to a new iron tower on Halsey street a little south of the canal. The iron tower was taken down in 1897, the electric fire alarm signal service having made the use of the bell unnecessary. At time, early in the last quarter of the last century, alarms were also rung from "strikers"; at the Haymarket, in Summer avenue; from the Second Presbyterian Church tower; from T.P. Howell's leather factory near county Jail, and from other spots about the city.
In 1927, the Newark portion of the canal was authorized to become a right-of-way for streetcars, and construction began on this new subway on November 18, 1929. The downtown portion of the line was covered, creating a new street (Raymond Blvd.), while the outer portion was dredged out and overpasses were built at major cross streets and station locations.
The Newark City Subway was, for the most part, constructed in the bed of the Morris Canal, which itself was built between Jersey City and Phillipsburg, NJ in the period 1825-1837. At its peak it was over 100 miles long and barges took five days to traverse its entire length. But, by the early 1900's, the railroads across New Jersey (specifically the Lackawanna and Jersey Central) signed the Morris Canal's death certificate and by 1920, the stagnant waters were a health hazard and the New Jersey state legislature pushed for the draining and filling of the canal bed. Reference: Newark City Subway
On December 27 2007 I stopped ãt Raymond Boulevard in the Ironbound for awhile. I stood there in silence imagining what would have been like to watch those boats packed with coal passing through the neighborhood. It was drizzling and as the water carresse my face I pretended to be a young boy playing along side the canal. I took a few pictures for my arquives. As much as I like progress, I regret the fact that we don't honor ou past that much! I bet hundreds of kids have been raized here without even knowing what this was all about.
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