The Union Ferry Company of Brooklyn, commonly known as the Union Ferry Company, was a ferry company operating routes across the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...

between

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

History

The New York and Brooklyn Union Ferry Company was organized in 1839, and leased the

Fulton Ferry Company thumb , The Union Ferry Company's ferryboat ''Farragut'' on the Fulton Ferry route, ca. 1900 The Fulton Ferry was the first steam ferry route connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York City, United States, joining Fulton Street, Manhatta ...

and South Ferry Company. It was reorganized in 1844 as the Brooklyn Union Ferry Company, and leased the Hamilton Avenue Ferry in 1851. The creation of the Union Ferry Company of Brooklyn was authorized by the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an officia ...

on April 9, 1853, and on November 10, 1854 it was formed to replace the Brooklyn Union. It consolidated with the operating companies of four other ferries: the

Roosevelt Street Ferry The Roosevelt Street Ferry was a ferry route connecting Manhattan and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City, United States, joining Roosevelt Street (Manhattan) and Broadway (Brooklyn) across the East River. History The ferry was established on A ...

from the Roosevelt Ferry Company, the

Gouverneur Street Ferry The Gouverneur Street Ferry was a ferry route connecting Manhattan, New York City, with the city of Brooklyn, by joining Manhattan's Gouverneur Street to Brooklyn's Bridge Street across the East River. History The ferry, originally the Walnut Str ...

and Catherine Ferry from Smith & Bulkley, and the Wall Street Ferry from J. Sharp & Co. The ferry's decline came about in the early 20th century with the opening of fixed crossings spanning the East River. The Catherine and Wall Street ferries were the first to go, in 1912. The Fulton, Atlantic Avenue, and Hamilton Avenue ferries were turned into city ferries in 1922. The Fulton Ferry was defunct by 1924, but the Atlantic Avenue ferry lasted until 1933 and the Hamilton Avenue ferry ceased operation in 1942.

References

{{reflist Ferry companies of New York City East River