View source for Paulus Hook

{{Short description|Neighborhood of Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}
[[File:PaulusHook.JPG|thumb|upright=1|Essex Street in Paulus Hook in April 2006]]
'''Paulus Hook''' is a community on the [[Hudson Waterfront|Hudson River waterfront]] in [[Jersey City, New Jersey]]. It is located {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in|abbr=off|round=0.5}} across the river from [[Manhattan]]. The name Hook comes from the Dutch word "hoeck", which translates to "point of land." This "point of land" has been described as an elevated area, the location of which today is bounded by Montgomery, Hudson, Dudley, and Van Vorst Streets.
The neighborhood's main street is the north- and south-running Washington Street. The waterfront of Paulus Hook is located along the basin of the [[Morris Canal]] in a park with a segment of [[Liberty State Park]]. The [[Hudson-Bergen Light Rail]] has a Paulus Hook stop at [[Essex Street (HBLR station)|Essex Street]] and the [[Liberty Water Taxi]] 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==
===Settlement===
[[File:Paulus Hook Monument Jersey City July 2020 001.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Paulus Hook Monument memorializing [[Continental Army]] troops who took part in the [[Battle of Paulus Hook]] during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] on August 19, 1779]]
[[File:NYC Downtown Manhattan Skyline seen from Paulus Hook 2019-10-30 IMG 6738 FRD.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The ferry dock in Paulus Hook]]
The location that today is Paulus Hook originally 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.<ref>"Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association" Volume 6. The Association, 1906</ref>
===17th century===
The location that represents present-day Paulus Hook was originally part of a tract of land purchased as part of [[Pavonia, New Netherland]] in 1630 by [[Michiel Reyniersz Pauw|Michiel Pauw]],<ref>Perhaps at Paulus Hook, in what is now [[Jersey City]], or else at [[Castle Point, New Jersey|Castle Point]], the trading station of Hobokan Hackingh (now [[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]]). From either one of these places, runners may have made their way to what is now [[Elizabeth, NJ|Elizabeth]], and thence followed an Indian trail to the bend in the [[Delaware River]] near [[Trenton, New Jersey|Trenton]].  (See R. P. Bolton, Indian Paths in the Great Metropolis in the series of Indian Notes and Monographs published by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation], pp. 198-99, and map of eastern New Jersey of 1747 in the same volume.) De Vries says that when Michiel Pauw, in 1630, discovered that other directors of the [[Dutch West India Company]] had appropriated the land at [[Fort Orange]] for themselves, he "immediately had the land below, opposite [[Fort Amsterdam]], where the Indians are compelled to cross to the fort with their beavers, registered for himself, and called it Pavonia." (J. F. Jameson, Narratives of New Netherland, p. 210.)</ref> a [[Burgomaster]] and Lord of [[Achttienhoven, Utrecht|Achttienhoven]] originally from [[Amsterdam]].
The first settlement at Paulus Hook was in 1633<ref>{{cite book|title={{Cws|title=From canoe to tunnel|link=From canoe to tunnel}}|page={{Cws|title=15|scan=Page:From canoe to tunnel.djvu/19|link=From canoe to tunnel#15}}|date=1909|publisher=A. J. Doan|last=Free Public Library of Jersey City}}</ref> when the area was an island at high tide. In 1638, it was granted to Pauw's agent, a man named Micheal Paulez (Pauluson, Powles<ref>{{Cite map|title={{Cws|title=A Map of that part of the Town of Jersey, Commonly called Powles Hook|link=A Map of that part of the Town of Jersey, Commonly called Powles Hook|scan=File:PowlesHook1804Map.png}}|publisher=P. Desobry's Lith.|date=1804}}</ref>) who operated an occasional ferry and traded with the local [[Lenape]] population. Paulez's name eventually became "Paulus," the name given to the hook jutting into the river and bay.<ref>[http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/P_Pages/Paulus_Hook.htm NJCU: Jersey City A to Z/Paulus Hook]</ref> By permission of the [[Director of New Netherland]], [[Willem Kieft]], the land at Paulus Hook was acquired by [[Abraham Isaacsen Verplanck]] on May 1, 1638.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofjerseycity.org/oldberg/chapter8.shtml|title=Jersey City History - Old Bergen - Chapter VIII.|website=www.cityofjerseycity.org|access-date=June 24, 2017}}</ref> The Manatus Map of 1639 depicts land holdings in the nascent province; number 31 is described as the "plantations at Paulus Hook",<ref name =Manatusmap>{{cite news | title = Earliest known Manhattan map made in 1639 | newspaper = The New York Times | date = March 25, 1917 | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/03/25/102325442.pdf | access-date = May 25, 2017 }}</ref>
On February 25, 1643, 100 Native American Indians were massacred at or in the vicinity of Paulus Hook.<ref>{{cite book |page=21 |last=Whitcomb |first=Royden Page |title=First History of Bayonne, New Jersey |location=Bayonne, NJ |publisher=R. P. Whticomb |year=1904 |oclc=1726713}}</ref>
Until the [[American Revolution]], the Dutch and then the English governed the site. In 1664, an expedition sailed from England to seize Dutch colonies in the New World. The colony of [[New Netherland]]'s Director-General [[Peter Stuyvesant]] surrendered its capital to the English forces on September 8, 1664, so [[New Amsterdam]] became New York City, although the Dutch recaptured it briefly, which served as a trigger event for the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]] in which the Dutch lost their North American territories. [[Charles II of England]] awarded territories to his brother James, [[Duke of York]], who later became [[James II of England|King James II]], and the region between [[New England]] and [[Maryland]] became [[proprietary colony|proprietary colonies]] as opposed to a [[royal colony]]. James then granted the land between the [[Hudson River]] and the [[Delaware River]] (the land that would become [[Province of New Jersey|New Jersey]]) to two friends who had been loyal through the [[English Civil War]]: [[John Berkeley]] and [[George Carteret]], who had been with the Duke in exile on [[Jersey]] in the [[Channel Islands]]. So the name "New Jersey" was chosen, and today the communities of [[Carteret, NJ|Carteret]] and [[Berkeley Heights]] are also named for the two friends, [[Elizabeth, NJ|Elizabeth]] is named for Carteret's wife, and the Duke of York is himself the namesake of New York.
In 1672, the [[Third Anglo-Dutch War]] broke out, and in July 1673, the Dutch reoccupied New York City, renaming it [[New Orange]]. Peace was achieved in 1674 under terms of the [[Treaty of Westminster (1674)|Treaty of Westminster]], and England recovered New York until the [[American Revolution]].
===18th century===
In July 1764,<ref>{{cite book |title=History of the County of Hudson, New Jersey: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time |first=Charles Hardenburg |last=Winfield |pages=243–246 |location=New York |publisher=Kennard & Hay Stationery M'fg and Print. Company |year=1874 |oclc=459078913}}</ref> a ferry began operating from Paulus Hook to Mesier's dock which was located at the foot of Courtland Street, where [[Cortland Street Ferry Depot]] was later built<ref>{{cite book |title=Railroad Ferries of the Hudson: And Stories of a Deckhand |first1=Raymond J. |last1=Baxter |first2=Arthur G. |last2=Adams |page=64 |year=1999 |location=New York |publisher=Fordham University Press |isbn=978-0823219544}}</ref> and where [[Battery Park City Ferry Terminal]] is located today.
====American Revolutionary War====
{{Further|Battle of Paulus Hook}}
[[File:Jersey City Main Post Office September 2020.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The Paulus Hook post office at 69 Montgomery Street]]
In 1776, [[Patriot (American Revolution)|American patriots]] built several [[fort]]s to defend the western banks of the [[Hudson River]], one of which was located at Paulus Hook. After suffering defeats in [[New York City]], the American patriots abandoned Paulus Hook and the [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British]] occupied it.The fort was a naturally defensible position that guarded the gateway to [[New Jersey]].
In mid-summer 1779, a flamboyant 23-year-old [[Princeton University]] graduate, Major [[Light Horse Harry Lee|Henry Lee]], recommended to General [[George Washington]] a daring plan for the [[Continental Army]] to attack the fort, in what became known as the [[Battle of Paulus Hook]]. The assault was planned to begin shortly after midnight on August 19, 1779. Lee led a force of about 300 men, some of whom got lost during the march through the swampy, marshy land. The attack was late 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 allied [[Hessian (soldiers)|Hessians]] returning from patrol, though this has not been definitively documented.
The attacking Patriots succeeded in damaging the fort and took 158 British prisoners, but were unable to destroy the fort and spike its cannons.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1879/08/20/81758040.pdf | work=The New York Times | title=Recalling Paulus Hook; Jersey City's Revolutionary Battle. Major Harry Lee's Dashing Exploit One Hundred Years Ago--His Attack Upon And Capture Of A British Garrison--Yesterday's Commemorative Exercises | date=August 20, 1879}}</ref> 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.
On November 22, 1783, the British evacuated Paulus Hook and sailed home.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Farrier|first1=George H.|title=Memorial of the centennial celebration of the battle of Paulus Hook|location=Jersey City, NJ|publisher=M. Mullone|date=August 19, 1879|url=https://archive.org/details/memorialofcenten00farr_0/page/58 |page=58 |oclc=1742471}}</ref> This was three days before they left New York on [[Evacuation Day (New York)|Evacuation Day]], November 25, 1783. While the battle occupies only a small portion of U.S. [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] history, it is an important part of the [[history of New Jersey]] and [[New Jersey in the American Revolution|New Jersey's role in the American Revolution]], and holds an even more important place in the history of the neighborhood. A monument was erected in 1903 to memorialize the battle.
===19th century===
Paulus Hook subsequently became a major road and rail head for traffic along the [[Northeast Corridor]] and in 1836 a railroad station linking the area to Newark was opened. The [[Jersey City Ferry]], as the original ferry became known, and later the [[Desbrosses Street Ferry]] and a ferry to West 34th Street in Manhattan would open and serve the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]'s [[Exchange Place (PRR station)|Exchange Place Station]]. During the mid-20th century the Pennsylvania Railroad's operations shifted to [[Pennsylvania Station (Newark)|Newark]] and [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)|New York Penn station]]s and ferry services to Manhattan were discontinued.
Paulus Hook was founded in 1894 by [[Cornelia Foster Bradford]] and named after [[John Greenleaf Whittier]].
===20th century===
[[Whittier House (Jersey City, New Jersey)|Whittier House]], also named after John Greenleaf Whittier, was the first [[settlement movement|settlement house]] in the state.<ref name="WoodsKennedy-1911">{{cite book |last1=Woods |first1=Robert Archey |last2=Kennedy |first2=Albert Joseph |title=Handbook of Settlements |date=1911 |publisher=Charities Publication Committee |pages=161–63 |edition=Public domain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UNUJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA161 |access-date=April 27, 2022 |language=en}} {{Source-attribution}}</ref><ref name="Bibliography-1900">{{cite book |title=Bibliography of College, Social, University and Church Settlements |date=1900 |pages=28–29 |edition=Public domain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRNFAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA28 |access-date=April 27, 2022 |language=en}} {{Source-attribution}}</ref>
===21st century===
During the 21st century the arrival of the [[Hudson–Bergen Light Rail]], a [[Wall Street West#Jersey City|construction boom following the attacks of September 11]],<ref name=marketwatch>{{cite news|last=Gelsi|first=Steve|title=Wall Street moves west|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-builds-waterfront-presence-in-jersey-city|access-date=May 21, 2013|newspaper=Market Watch|date=February 9, 2002}}</ref> investments in [[Liberty State Park]] and the expansion of the area's ferry connections to lower Manhattan all helped to propel a process of [[gentrification]].
Today, real estate prices in Paulus Hook are generally higher than in surrounding neighborhoods, which include Liberty Harbor, the [[Exchange Place (Jersey City)|Financial District]], [[Powerhouse Arts District, Jersey City|WALDO]], [[Downtown Jersey City]], and [[Hamilton Park, Jersey City|Hamilton Park]].{{citation needed|date=April 2017}} Morris Street and Washington Street have become the "restaurant rows" of the neighborhood,{{citation needed|date=April 2017}} which is mainly residential. The neighborhood is home to the Historic Paulus Hook Association<ref>{{Cite web|title=About the HPHA|url=https://www.paulushook.org/about-old|access-date=October 15, 2021|website=Historic Paulus Hook Association}}</ref> which was started in 1974 as a neighborhood association dedicated to preserving the historic feel of Paulus Hook.
On October 29, 2012, Paulus Hook was devastated during [[Hurricane Sandy]], with significant flooding occurring throughout the neighborhood.<ref>{{cite news |last=Pompeo |first=Joe |date=November 2, 2012 |url=http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/culture/2012/11/6538938/jersey-citys-paulus-hook-once-coveted-brownstone-garden-apartments-a |title=In Jersey City's Paulus Hook, once-coveted brownstone garden apartments are mucked out, and reconsidered |work=Capital New York |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104212909/http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/culture/2012/11/6538938/jersey-citys-paulus-hook-once-coveted-brownstone-garden-apartments-a |archive-date=November 4, 2012}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Colgate Clock (Jersey City)]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Paulus Hook}}
*[http://paulushook.org The Historic Paulus Hook Association]
*[http://www.paulushook.org PaulusHook.Org]
*[http://www.paulushookcondos.com/Paulus-Hook-Landmarks Landmarks]
{{Jersey City Neighborhoods}}
{{NRHP in Hudson County, New Jersey}}
{{authority control}}
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[[Category:1633 establishments in the Dutch Empire]]
[[Category:Neighborhoods in Jersey City, New Jersey|P]]
[[Category:Colonial forts in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Historic districts in Hudson County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:New Jersey populated places on the Hudson River]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1633]]