New Barbadoes Neck is the name given in the colonial era for the peninsula in

northeastern New Jersey The Gateway Region is the primary urbanized area of the northeastern section of New Jersey. It is anchored by Newark, the state's most populous city. While sometimes known as the Newark metropolitan area, it is part of the New York metropolitan ...

, US between the lower Hackensack and

Passaic River Passaic River ( ) is a river, approximately long, in Northern New Jersey. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, ...

s, in what is now

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Hudson County Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...

and southern

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Kearny Point Kearny may refer to: People *Cresson Kearny (1914–2003, American author and researcher **Kearny fallout meter ** Kearny air pump *Eleanor Kearny Carr (1840–1912), American planter and political hostess, First Lady of North Carolina *Jillian K ...

in the

Newark Bay Newark Bay is a tidal bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in northeastern New Jersey. It is home to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the largest container shipping facility in Port of New York and New Jersey, t ...

and is characterized by a

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

(creating the valley of the Passaic) along the west and part of the

New Jersey Meadowlands New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeastern New Jersey in the United States, a few miles to the west of N ...

(the

flood plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of the Hackensack) on the east.

Native Americans and Netherlanders

The neck was part of an area called Meghgectecock by the

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

. It was the territory of the group called the Hackensack. The name of ''masgichteu-cunk'' meaning ''where May-apples grow'', from a moist-woodland perennial that bears edible yellow berries. The name

Achter Col Achter Kol (or Achter Col) was the name given to the region around the Newark Bay and Hackensack River in northeastern New Jersey by the first European settlers to it and was part of the 17th century province of New Netherland, originally adminis ...

was given during the

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...

era in the mid-17th century, and can be translated a ''rear mountain pass'' or ''behind the ridge'', in reference to the access it provided to the hinterlands beyond the

Hudson Palisades The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs st ...

that were rich fur-trapping grounds.

British land grants

After the surrender of

Fort Amsterdam Fort Amsterdam was a fort on the southern tip of Manhattan at the confluence of the Hudson and East rivers. It was the administrative headquarters for the Dutch and then English/British rule of the colony of New Netherland and subsequently the ...

by the Dutch in 1664, the area became part of the proprietary

Province of New Jersey The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1783. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after the ...

during the period of

British colonization of North America British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...

. On July 4, 1668,

William Sandford William Sandford (26 September 1841 – 29 May 1932) was an English-Australian ironmaster, who is widely regarded as the father of the modern iron and steel industry in Australia. Early life in England Sandford was born at Torrington in ...

obtained a grant of 15,308 acres (62 km²) from the proprietors. In the grant document, the name of the area was recorded as "New Barbados." As was the custom of the times, Sandford paid Chief Tantaqua of the Hackensack Indians 20 English Pounds Sterling for all their reserve rights and titles. On June 10, 1669, John Berry obtained a grant of 10,000 acres (40 km²) to the north of Sandford's grant. In 1671, Sandford's grant was divided between him and his uncle Nathaniel Kingsland of Barbados, with Sandford owning the southern third of the tract and Kingsland the northern two-thirds. The Kingsland tract was settled by Nathaniel's nephew Isaac Kingsland about 1683. From 1668 to 1687, New Barbadoes was part of Newark Township. The Sandford family is recalled locally in Sandford Avenue in

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...

and Kearny. The Kingsland family is recalled in the

Kingsland Station Kingsland is a railroad station on New Jersey Transit's Main Line (NJ Transit), Main Line. It is located under Ridge Road (New Jersey Route 17, Route 17) between New York and Valley Brook Avenues in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, and is one of two s ...

, Kingsland Avenue in Lyndhurst, and

Kingsland Manor The Kingsland Manor is a Dutch Colonial home with Federal-style elements located at 3 Kingsland Street in Nutley, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The house was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places on January 9, 1978, a ...

. Berry is recalled in the names of

Berrys Creek Berry's Creek (sometimes referred to as ''Berrys Creek'' or ''Berry Creek'') is a tributary of the Hackensack River in the New Jersey Meadowlands in Bergen County, New Jersey. The creek watershed contains a diverse array of wetlands, marshes, and ...

, and the historic Yereance-Berry House. A portion was later sold to an early settler to

Pavonia, New Netherland Pavonia was the first European settlement on the west bank of the North River (Hudson River) that was part of the seventeenth-century province of New Netherland in what would become the present Hudson County, New Jersey. Hudson and the Hackens ...

, Walling Van Winkle.

New Barbadoes Township

The township was created in 1710 and encompassed all of the neck as well as lands to the north and west to the Saddle River. At this time, the territory was transferred from Essex County and made part of an expanded

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

Copper mine and steam engine

In 1710, Kingsland sold a tract for 300 English Pounds Sterling to Captain

Arent Schuyler Arent Philipse Schuyler (June 25, 1662 – November 26, 1730) was a member of the influential Schuyler family (among the first settlers to New Netherland). He was a surveyor, Native American trader, miner, merchant, and land speculator. Early l ...

a former trader and Indian agent and, a member of the influential

Schuyler family The Schuyler family ( /ˈskaɪlər/; Dutch pronunciation: xœylər was a prominent Dutch family in New York and New Jersey in the 18th and 19th centuries, whose descendants played a critical role in the formation of the United States (especiall ...

. The new purchase included present-day Kearny, North Arlington and Lyndhurst. Following his death in 1730, his sons inherited the land. After Schuyler's purchase of his new homestead, it was discovered the ground contained copper, which led to the opening of the

Schuyler Copper Mine The Schuyler Copper Mine is an abandoned, historic copper mine located in what is now North Arlington in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Operations began in 1715, making it the earliest copper mine in New Jersey and one of the oldest i ...

. After it became flooded, the first steam engine in America was developed and used to pump out the deep mine shaft. The engine was secretly built by the engineer

Josiah Hornblower Josiah Hornblower (February 23, 1729 – January 21, 1809) was an English engineer and statesman in Belleville, New Jersey. He was a delegate for New Jersey in the Continental Congress in 1785 and 1786. Personal life Josiah was born in S ...

. The engine and mines were destroyed by fire in 1768 and remained idle for some years. Schuyler Avenue, which runs along the eastern edge of the ridge honors the early settlement.

Revolutionary era

Lord Howe of England took possession of

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

and the proximity of Schuyler Mansion drew many of his officers who traveled over a road known today as the Belleville Turnpike. It had originally been laid in 1759 with cedar logs from the nearby swamps. In September 1777, Henry Clinton, head of the British Expeditionary Forces in America, selected Schuyler Mansion for his headquarters during one of his more important raiding operations, including those along Second River.http://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs//enviroed/oldpubs/battles.pdf

Eighteen-hundreds civic borders

In the 1800s, the Neck came under the jurisdiction of different townships and in 1840 part of the newly created

Meadowlands development and preservation

A large portion of the peninsula has, since 1968, been part of the

New Jersey Meadowlands District New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

References

{{coord, 40.707, -74.112, type:adm3rd_globe:earth_region:US-NJ, display=title Landforms of Bergen County, New Jersey Pre-statehood history of New Jersey Populated places established in 1693 Peninsulas of New Jersey Landforms of Hudson County, New Jersey Kearny, New Jersey New Jersey Meadowlands District 1693 establishments in New Jersey