The Meadowlands History Project

Snake Hill: The Once Prodigious Rock of Secaucus

  
    Rising 150 feet from Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus and abutting the eastern spur of the New Jersey Turnpike, Snake Hill is a common sight for Secaucus residents and those passing through town on the Turnpike.

   Officially known as Laurel Hill, the rock formation’s summit offers spectacular views of Laurel Hill Park.

  Just as impressive is Snake Hill’s fascinating history as the one-time home to Hudson County’s most notorious institutions, including the County’s Almshouse, Penitentiary, Asylum and Tuberculosis Sanatorium.

Snake Hill 1948

   Hudson County purchased Snake Hill in 1855. At the time the rock jutted 200 feet into the sky, and its base area consisted of 25 acres of rugged open space.

   As legend goes, early Dutch settlers found the rock infested with  numerous snakes as long as 15 feet. They named the area “slagenberg,” Dutch for Snake Hill. L. E. Travis, editor of the Bayonne Evening News, reported in the late 1870s that, upon sailing the Hackensack River near Snake Hill, “for not less than a quarter mile of shoreline, the steep bank was a mass of hissing, squirming, villainous water snakes.”

   The County Almshouse was constructed in 1863 to provide a home to the feeblest of the region’s residents. A penitentiary followed in 1870. The asylum was built in 1873 with accommodations for 140 patients. A county general hospital, a tuberculosis sanatorium, a boy’s camp and churches were soon added to the sprawling base of the hill.

   A report produced in 1873 noted that 427 people were housed in the almshouse at a cost of $89 per person per year. A new almshouse was built later and the original facility came to serve as an infirmary. The number of residents at the Almshouse increased to 689 by 1913, with the per capita cost of care soaring to $150 per year.

Click "Continue Reading ..." below for more on the history of Snake Hill

 

Treasure Trove of Online Meadowlands Maps, Documents Available

(1970 Map of Hackensack Meadowlands)    

   Fairleigh Dickinson University, in conjunction with the Meadowlands Commission’s Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute, has posted a treasure trove of 346 Meadowlands region-related maps, documents and other archival information on its website.

   To access the digitized documents, which date back to 1916, click here and scroll down to Hackensack Meadowlands Papers. The documents are in PDF format.

   Information on the site includes:

• Assessment, aerial, zoning and topographical maps of Meadowlands municipalities and the region's waterways 
• NJMC Annual Reports, including the Commission’s first report from 1969
• Numerous economic, scientific, engineering and environmental reports and studies

   These are just a few of the highlights from the hundreds of remarkable historical documents available. Happy reading!

Governor Richard Hughes and the Meadowlands

 

The transformation of the Meadowlands from one-time dumping ground to today’s economic engine and urban environmental oasis has its roots in the hard work of former Governor Richard J. Hughes (pictured above), with valuable assists to former Assemblyman Richard W. DeKorte and former State Sen. Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr.

Hughes, who served as Governor from 1962-1970, worked tirelessly to create a balance of sensible economic development and environmental restoration and preservation in the Meadowlands region.

Under his leadership, the state legislature introduced the Hackensack Meadowlands Reclamation and Development Act in 1968. A year later, the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission – now the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission – was formed as the regional planning agency for parts of 14 towns in Bergen and Hudson counties.

“It was while I was campaigning in Bergen County in 1961, driving through and around this huge undeveloped and polluted area right in the center of the most densely populated section of New Jersey that I determined to make it a priority,” Hughes said in a 1990 article in Meadowlands USA magazine.

“I used to argue that we, in this highly urbanized, congested State needed to jealously guard our open space and that both state and local government needed to take steps to see that development of our remaining land was orderly and balanced in recognizing this need to preserve open space,” said Hughes, who died in 1992 at age 83.

In addition to championing open space preservation, Hughes was an equally ardent supporter of economic growth and development. He saw the potential of the Meadowlands, with its large undeveloped area and access to major financial markets, as a key part of his long-term economic development strategy for the state.

 “I thought that sensible development of the Meadowlands could … also contribute to our economic development by bringing attractive ratables to the area,” Hughes said.

Click "Continue Reading ..." below for more information about Richard Hughes’ vital role in the transformation of the Meadowlands

 

ID Needed!

   The History Blog needs your help in identifying the objects below. NJMC staff came across them recently while working on construction of the River Barge Park and Marina in Carlstadt.

   We've been calling them channel markers, as they appear buoyant and might have once delineated waterway boundaries.

   They appear to be made of steel, and each marker has a person-sized door built into one side of the bottom half. The objects are hollow inside.

   If you know the proper name for these objects or what they were once used for, please leave a comment or email brian.aberback@njmeadowlands.gov. Any feedback would be appreciated.

   River Barge Park and Marina is scheduled to open in late Summer 2011. The public recreation area will feature a 30-slip marina, a boat ramp, and  kayak and rowing launch points. The marina will offer the first public motorized boat access to the Hackensack River in Bergen County in decades.

 

LITTLE FERRY/NJMC: Naturalist Don Smith

     Don Smith, born and raised in Little Ferry, is a long-time naturalist who knows the Hackensack River and its marshes better than just about anyone.

   Don has been with the Meadowlands Commission for most of its 40-year history.

    In this audio interview, Don has plenty to say about his childhood, his efforts to fight pollution and save wetlands, and some of the challenges the commission faced -- especially in the early years.

   Click "Continue reading..." immediately below to hear Don's comments.

NJMC: Ground-breaking Engineer Ileana Kafrouni

     In the following audio interview, long-time NJMC Director of Land Use Management Ileana Kafrouni shares a variety of poignant and funny memories from her pioneering 25-year career at the Commission.

    Ileana, who called the job “the best learning experience that a young engineer could have,” rose through the ranks as the NJMC’s first female engineer.

    Her stories include the challenges she faced as a young female engineer, her proudest accomplishments, and her reflections on her 25-year career with NJMC.

    Click "Continue reading ..." immediately below to hear her the sound files.