Remember the name Little Ferry. It echoes from a time of vital crossings and bustling industry. This borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, holds a unique story.
Little Ferry’s origins trace back to a simple rope-drawn ferry. This ferry operated from 1659 to 1826. It connected communities across the Hackensack River. The borough got its name from this ferry. It was smaller than the ferry crossing the Hudson.
Imagine the scene in 1776. Washington’s troops used the Little Ferry on November 20. They were fleeing the advancing British Army. They marched through what is now Washington Avenue and Liberty Street. They headed to Hackensack.
Little Ferry was sparsely settled until the 1860s. Maps from 1839 and 1861 show few buildings. Only Liberty Street, Washington Avenue, Riverside Avenue, and Bergen Pike existed then. Sadly, no buildings from that era remain today.
The late 1800s saw a phenomenon called Boroughitis sweep through Bergen County. Little Ferry was formed on September 18, 1894. It was created from parts of Lodi Township and New Barbadoes Township. Little Ferry was one of 26 boroughs formed in Bergen County in 1894 alone.
Now picture barges laden with bricks floating down the Hackensack River. In 1847 Elizabeth Sutliff Dufler, a freed slave, bought 87 acres. She sold clay to New Jersey potteries. Her clay company became the second-largest in the nation. She is buried at Gethsemane Cemetery in Little Ferry.
The first brickyards in Little Ferry were established in 1872. Cole and Shower started them. Later, John Thume and then the Mehrhofs took over. Little Ferry boomed due to extensive clay beds. Hundreds worked in the brickyards. By 1895, four large yards produced 100 million bricks annually. Little Ferry became the second-largest brick producer in the United States.
The Mehrhofs were key players. They had the Mehrhof Brick Company and the E. N. Mehrhof Company. They loaded bricks onto schooners. These schooners sailed to markets in Paterson, Newark, New York, and Providence, Rhode Island. The Mehrhof firm owned one of the fastest river schooners. Captain “Joe” Kinzley commanded it until 1915. Later, barges replaced the schooners. Horse-drawn vehicles were used for overland transport.
Around 1904 Little Ferry had eight brickyards. After World War I, the industry declined. By 1923, only four remained. The Hackensack Brick Company was the last to close.
Today, you can visit the three lakes of Little Ferry: Willow, Indian, and the pond at Mehrhof Road. These were once clay pits. When the brickyards closed, pumps stopped. The pits filled with water creating the lakes.
Little Ferry transformed from a vital ferry crossing to a brick-making powerhouse. Though the brickyards are gone the lakes remain. They are quiet reminders of Little Ferry’s industrious past. They reflect the borough’s journey through time.