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Weehawken, New Jersey
Weehawken, as seen across the Hudson from midtown Manhattan. The Lincoln Tunnel vent towers and the Palisades are visible on the right; the tunnel's access highway, known as the Helix, is on the left.
Weehawken is a township in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 13,501. GeographyWeehawken is part of the New York metropolitan area. Situated on the western shore of the Hudson River, along the southern end of the New Jersey Palisades, and across from Midtown Manhattan, Weehawken is the location of the western terminus of the Lincoln Tunnel.[8] According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²), of which, 0.9 square miles (2.2 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.7 km²) of it (43.71%) is water. Though small, Weehawken has very urban population density that is among the highest in the United States and comparable with that of nearby Jersey City. Weehawken is a residential community of primarily one- and two-family homes (many built during the Edwardian era) and low-rise apartment buildings. Weehawken has a retail district along Park Avenue (its boundary with Union City) and large office and apartment/townhouse developments along the Hudson River. A few scattered retail shops and light manufacturing facilities blend into their respective neighborhoods. Local zoning laws prohibit the construction of high-rise buildings that would obstruct sight-lines from higher points in town. As the emergent Palisades define Weehawken's natural topography, so too the Lincoln Tunnel (which cuts the town in half) looms as an inescapable man-made feature. Geographically, Weehawken has distinct neighborhoods: Downtown (or The Shades), The Heights, Uptown (which includes Kingswood Bluff), and The Waterfront, which since 1990s has been developed for transportaion, commercial, recreational and residential uses. Though some are long abandoned (e.g., Grauert Causeway), there are still several outdoor public staircases (e.g., Shippen Steps) throughout the town, and a surprising number (more than 15) of "dead-end" streets. At its southeastern corner is Weehawken Cove which, along with the rail tracks farther inland, defines Weehawken's border with Hoboken. Its northern boundary is shared with West New York. Traversing Weehawken is Boulevard East, a scenic thoroughfare offering a sweeping vista of the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline.[9] NameThe name Weehawken (generally pronounced WEE-haw-ken)is generally considered to have evolved from the Algonquian language Lenape spoken by the Hackensack and Tappan. It has variously been interpreted as rocks that look like trees, which would refer to the Palisades, atop which most of the town sits, or at the end [10] (of the Palisades). Three U.S. Navy ships have been named for the city. The USS Weehawken, launched on November 5, 1862, was a Passaic-class monitor, or ironclad ship, which sailed for the Union Navy during the American Civil War, encountered battles at the Charleston, South Carolina coast, and sank in a moderate gale on December 6, 1863. The Weehawken was the the last ferry to The West Shore Terminal on March 25, 1959 at 1:10 am, ending 259 years of continuous ferry service.[11] Weehawken Street in Manhattan's Greenwich Village was the site of a colonial Hudson River ferry landing. Weehawken is to referred to in The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, and in Carl Sandburg's Pulitzer Prize-winning Corn Huskers. DemographicsAs of the census[4] of 2000, there were 13,501 people, 5,975 households, and 3,059 families residing in the township. The population density was 15,891.3 people per square mile (6,132.7/km²). There were 6,159 housing units at an average density of 7,249.4/sq mi (2,797.7/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 73.05% White, 3.58% African American, 0.20% Native American, 4.67% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 13.94% from other races, and 4.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 40.64% of the population. There were 5,975 households, out of which 20.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.1% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.8% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 3.02. In the township the population was spread out with 16.6% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 42.4% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males. The median income for a household in the township was $50,196, and the median income for a family was $52,613. Males had a median income of $41,307 versus $36,063 for females. The per capita income for the township was $29,269. About 9.3% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over. History
Weehawken was formed as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1859, from portions of Hoboken and North Bergen (see map). A portion of the township was ceded to Hoboken in 1874. Additional territory was annexed in 1879 from West Hoboken.[12] Its written history began in 1609 when Henry Hudson, on his third voyage to the New World, sailed down what was later named The North River on the Half Moon and weighed anchor in Weehawken Cove.[13][dead link] At the time it was the territory of the Hackensack and Tappan, of the Turtle Clan, or Unami, a branch of the Lenni Lenape. They were displaced by immigrants to the province of New Netherland, who had begun to settle the west bank of the Hudson at Pavonia in 1630. On May 11, 1647, Maryn Adriansen received a patent for a plantation (of 169 acres) at Awiehaken. In 1658, Director-General of New Netherland Peter Stuyvesant negotiated a deal with the Lenape to purchase all the land from "the great rock above Wiehacken", west to Sikakes (Secaucus) and south to Konstapels Hoeck (Constable Hook).[14] In 1661, Weehawken become part of Bergen when it (and most of northeastern New Jersey) came under the jurisdiction of the court at Bergen Square. In 1674, New Netherland was ceded to the British, and the town became part of the Province of East Jersey. John Luby, in 1677, acquired several parcels comprising 35 acres along the Hudson.[15] Most habitation was along the top of the cliffs since the low-lying areas were mostly marshland. Descriptions from the period speak of the dense foliage and forests and excellent land for growing vegetables and orchard fruits. As early as 1700 there was regular, if sporadic ferry service from Weehawken.[16] In 1752, the first official grant for ferry service, the ferry house north of Hoboken primarily used for farm produce, and likely was sold at the Greenwich Village landing that became Weehawken Street. During the American Revolutionary War, Weehawken was used as a lookout for the patriots to check on the British, who were in situated in New York and controlled the surrounding waterways. In fact, in July 1778, Lord Stirling asked Aaron Burr, in a letter written on behalf of General George Washington, to employ several persons to "go to the Bergen heights, Weehawk, Hoebuck or other heights to observe the motions of the enemy's shipping" and to gather any other possible intelligence. 
Early documented inhabitants included a Captain James Deas, whose stately residence at Deas' Point was located atop a knoll along the river. Lafayette had used the mansion as his headquarters and later Washington Irving came to gaze at Manhattan. Not far from Deas' was a ledge 11 paces wide and 20 paces long, situated 20 ft (6.1 m) above the Hudson on the Palisades. This ledge, long gone, was the site of 18 documented duels and probably many unrecorded ones in the years 1798–1845. The most famous was that between General Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury, and Colonel Aaron Burr, sitting third Vice President of the United States, which took place on July 11, 1804. The duel was re-enacted on July 11, 2004, the 200th anniversary of the fatal duel, by descendants of Hamilton and Burr.[17] In the mid 1800s, James G. King built his estate Highwood on the bluff that now bears his name, and entertained many politic and artistic figures of the era, including Daniel Webster. With the ferry, the Hackensack Plank Road (a toll road that was a main artery from Weehawken to Hackensack), and later, the West Shore Railroad, built during the early 1870s, the waterfront became a transportation hub. The wealthy built homes along the top of the New Jersey Palisades, where they might flee from the sweltering heat of New York, and breathe the fresh air of the heights. Weehawken became the playground of the rich during the middle to late 1800s. A series of wagon lifts, stairs, and even an elevator designed by same engineer of those at the Eiffel Tower (which at the time was the world's largest) [11] were put in place to accommodate the tourists and summer dwellers. The Eldorado, a pleasure garden, drew massive crowds. The turn of the century saw the end of the large estates, casinos, hotels, and theaters as tourism gave way to subdivisions (such as Highwood Park and Clifton Park) and the construction of many of the private homes still seen in town. This coincided with the influx of the Germans, Austrians, and Swiss, who built them and the breweries and embroidery factories in nearby Union City and West New York, NJ. While remaining essentially residential, Weehawken continued to grow as Hudson County became more industrial and more populated. Shortly after the first World War, a significant contingent of Syrian immigrants from Hims (a major textile center in its own right) moved into Weehawken to take advantage of the burgeoning textile industry. Since the 1990s, a growing population of individuals and childless families (often retirees, gay men and women, or newlyweds) have taken up residency in town. Points of interestThough the panoramic view (from the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to George Washington Bridge) may be its most famous attraction, Weehawken is also home to other sites of historic, aesthetic, and engineering importance:
Hamilton MemorialThe Alexander Hamilton Memorial just off the Boulevard East Curve. The first memorial to the duel with Aaron Burr was constructed in 1806 by the Saint Andrew Society, of which Hamilton had been a member. A 14-foot (4.3-m) marble cenotaph, consisting of an obelisk, topped by a flaming urn and a plaque with a quote from Horace, surrounded by an iron fence, was constructed approximately where Hamilton was believed to have fallen.[23] Duels continued to be fought at the site, and the marble was slowly vandalized and removed for souvenirs, leaving nothing remaining by 1820. The tablet itself did survive, turning up in a junk store and finding its way to the New York Historical Society in Manhattan, where it still resides.[24] From 1820 to 1857, the site was marked by two stones, with the names Hamilton and Burr, placed where they were thought to have stood during the duel. When a road from Hoboken to Fort Lee was built through the site in 1858, an inscription on a boulder where a mortally wounded Hamilton was thought to have rested—one of the many pieces of graffiti left by visitors—was all that remained. No primary accounts of the duel confirm the boulder anecdote. In 1870, railroad tracks were built directly through the site, and the boulder was hauled to the top of the Palisades, where it remains today.[25] In 1894, an iron fence was built around the boulder, supplemented by a bust of Hamilton and a plaque. The bust was thrown over the cliff on October 14, 1934 by vandals, and the head was never recovered;[26] a new bust was unveiled on July 12, 1935.[27][28] The plaque was stolen by vandals in the 1980s, and an abbreviated version of the text was inscribed on the indentation left in the boulder, which remained until the 1990s, when a granite pedestal was added in front of the boulder, and the bust was moved to the top of the pedestal. New markers were added on July 11, 2004, the 200th anniversary of the duel.[29] GovernmentLocal governmentWeehawken operates under the Faulkner Act (Council-Manager) form of municipal government.[30] As of 2008[update] members of Weehawken's Township Council are:[31]
James Marchetti is the Township Manager. Federal, state and county representationWeehawken is in the Thirteenth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 33rd Legislative District.[32] Education
Woodrow Wilson School on Hauxhurst Avenue. The Weehawken School District serves public school students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district (with 2005–06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[33]) are Daniel Webster School (307 students in PreK through 2nd grade), Theodore Roosevelt School (342 students in grades 3–6) and Weehawken High School (541 students in grades 7–12). TransportationRail
During the 1940s and 1950s, Weehawken and Hudson County saw its extensive streetcar/trolley system dismantled and replaced by buses (as had happened in many cities across the USA). Today, the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) provides service on the waterfront at Lincoln Harbor and Port Imperial, where transfer to the boat is possible. The system connects with neighboring North Hudson locations at Bergenline Avenue and 48th Street (Union City/West New York) and Tonnelle Avenue (North Bergen) heading westbound and continues southbound towards Hoboken, Jersey City and Bayonne. In 1910, the Pennsylvania Railroad opened the North River Tunnels, with a western portal in North Bergen and terminus in the also newly opened Pennsylvania Station. Now used by the Northeast Corridor line, it is operated by Amtrak and shared with New Jersey Transit trains. Although the tunnel runs deep underground through the township, there has never been a stop in Weehawken, but one is being considered for the proposed Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel (THE Tunnel). Weehawken is a short bus or light-rail trip away from Hoboken Terminal, where connections to New Jersey Transit trains and the PATH system is possible. SurfaceBus service is provided by New Jersey Transit to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 123, 126, 128, 156, 158, 159, 165, 166, 168 and 319 routes. The George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal is served by the 181, Newark by the 67, and Jersey City on the 23, 68, 84, 86 and 89 routes.[34] There is also service by "carrito" (licensed mini-bus) with destinations in Journal Square and Pavonia/Newport in Jersey City, Manhattan, Paterson, and southeast Bergen County. WaterIn 1959, the last boat left the Western Shore Terminal, ending almost 300 years of ferry service. But in the late 1980s, the ferry returned in the form of NY Waterway. Ridership continues to grow (it was extremely high after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but some of the growth was temporary) and new ferry stops are being planned for the west bank of the Hudson from Fort Lee to Bayonne. In 2006, in agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the company opened new major terminal Weehawken Port Imperial and West 38th Street in Manhattan. Currently, NY Waterway offers service to midtown and lower Manhattan, as well sight-seeing trips and seasonal excursions to the Hudson Valley, Yankee Stadium, and Sandy Hook. Air
Emergency servicesFireMain article: North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue
Weehawken Volunteer First Aid and the Weehawken Police Department were among the many Hudson County agencies that responded to the January 2009 crash of Flight 1549, for which they received accolades from the survivors.[39][40] Noteworthy residentsNotable current and former residents of Weehawken include:
See also
External links
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