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

 

When Pigs Were Pigs

 

   What’s that smell?!

  That was the scrunched-nose reaction of first-time travelers through and around Secaucus from the early 20th century up until the early 1960s. Whether you came by way of today’s New Jersey Turnpike, Route 17, or Route 3, no one was immune to the nauseating foul stench that permeated the air.

   In parts of South Bergen, the awful odors were attributed to the then many chemical facilities and manufacturers of sweet perfumes. But in Secaucus, there were few who doubted the source of the smell was the town’s beloved pig farms.

   “In those days, cars didn’t have air-conditioning, and it didn’t matter how hot or humid it was – we weren’t about to roll down our windows,” said Rich Fritzky, a Hackensack native whose family made many trips through the Meadowlands in the 1950s and early 1960s.

   According to a story in the Hudson Reporter, in the early 20^th century Secaucus counted 250,000 pigs on 55 farms. To put that number in context, the pig count in Secaucus was once approximately 16 times that of the human population.

   Throughout the early part of the 20^thcentury, Secaucus’ governing body was controlled by pig farmers, who fared very well, given their proximity to the mighty New York and Newark meat markets.

   In recent years, the annual Riverfest Celebration in Laurel Hill Park hosted pig races to pay tribute to the town’s hog history.

   Click "Continue reading ..." below for more information about the pigs of Secaucus

 

Former Secaucus Resident, Actor Dan Resin Dies

Longtime former Secaucus resident Dan Resin (third from left), who starred in the 1980 hit comedy film “Caddyshack” and portrayed the Ty-D-bol Man in dozens of television commercials in the 1970s, died on Saturday at age 79.

An Indiana native, Resin lived in Secaucus for 50 years, where he and his wife Margaret raised three daughters. In 1987 he ran, unsuccessfully, for the town council. Resin and his wife moved to Wayne four years ago.

Resin played the arrogant physician Dr. Beeper in Caddyshack, which also   
starred comedy heavyweights Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield. As the pitchman for Ty-D-bol, he was known for his trademark white pants and captain’s blazer. Resin also had a successful stage career and performed on Broadway in “My Fair Lady” and “Once Upon a Mattress.”

Visiting hours are 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday at the Mack Memorial Home, 1245 Paterson Plank Road, Secaucus. The funeral is at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Immaculate Conception Church, 1219 Paterson Plank Road, also in Secaucus.

To read an obituary of Mr. Resin in today’s Record, click here.

Deadly New History Tour

    
  Secaucus resident Mark Rivers isn’t your typical New York City tour driver. Instead of operating a bus, Rivers whisks people around lower Manhattan in a 1960 Cadillac Superior Crown Royal hearse.  

    Rivers works for Dead Apple Tours, which takes in sites where famous New Yorkers have died and famous New York City deaths have taken place over the past 200 years. New York City resident Drew Raphael owns, operates and serves as the tour guide for Dead Apple Tours, which launched this spring.

    The tour’s itinerary includes the final addresses of former President James Monroe, founding father Thomas Paine, actor Heath Ledger and punk rocker Sid Vicious. The route also highlights eateries that have served as backdrops to infamous mob hits.

   Guests on the the two-hour excursion will hear macabre Manhattan tales such as “The Hangman’s Elm,” “Dead Man’s Curve” and “The Butcher of Tompkins Square Park.” The tour takes in the Murray Hill, Flatiron, Union Square, Greenwich Village, Soho, Little Italy and Chinatown sections of Manhattan.

    Tickets are $45 per passenger, and the hearse holds up to seven people. For more information or to reserve a tour, call 888-557-1313, email tickets@deadappletours.com, or click here.

African-American Genealogy Program in Secaucus

     The Hudson County Genealogical Society is hosting a free African-American Genealogy Research program at the Secaucus Public Library on Saturday, Feb. 13, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The presentation will guide participants through available resources for researching African-American ancestry.

    The program is co-sponsored by the New Jersey Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. Program leader Michael Hait is a professional genealogist from Washington D.C. specializing in African-American research, Civil War research and Maryland research. For more information on the program, click here.

    The Secaucus Public Library is located at 1379 Paterson Plank Road and can be reached at 201-330-2083.

North Bergen/Secaucus: Vince Petto, Life by the River

  Lifelong Meadowlands resident Vince Petto spent his childhood hunting, fishing and swimming in the Hackensack River and neary marshes.

   In this audio interview, Petto recounts several colorful tales of boyhood explorations and misadventures.

   Petto, who grew up in North Bergen and now lives along the Hackensack River in Secaucus, also discusses the allure of the river and how it has changed for the better over the years.

    Click "Continue reading ..." to hear Vince's stories.