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55-574: Montrose Park is primarily a residential neighborhood, located in the northeast corner of the township of South Orange. The general geographic boundaries are the Morris and Essex Railroad on the west, the municipal boundary between the City of Orange and the Village of South Orange on the north, the municipal boundary with the City of Newark on the east, and South Orange Avenue on the south. The neighborhood

110-573: A frog war in late 1870 and early 1871, caused by the M&;E's attempts to modify the connection between their Boonton Branch , a newer freight bypass, and the Erie tunnel. The DL&W built the New Jersey Cut-Off , a long low-grade bypass in northwestern New Jersey, opened in 1911 from the M&E at Port Morris west to Slateford Junction just inside Pennsylvania . On July 26, 1945

165-465: A branch of the M&E. The Passaic and Delaware Extension Railroad was chartered in 1890 and opened later that year, extending the line to Gladstone . The Chester Railroad was incorporated in 1867 and opened in 1872, running from the M&E west of Dover southwest to Chester . The short Hopatcong Railroad was a branch from the M&E at Hopatcong north to Roxbury . The DL&W bought it in 1892. The Sussex Railroad stretched north from

220-485: A fairly regular basis, homes and businesses in the flood plain become flooded. A plan has been proposed to build a massive 20 miles (32 km) structure, the Passaic River Flood Tunnel , to divert the periodic floodwaters southeasterly into Newark Bay, thus relieving these flooding problems upstream. Some residents have accepted buy-outs from the federal government while the concept of constructing

275-556: A flood tunnel is debated, however, many residents still live within the flood plain and flooding appears to be growing worse as the land in the Passaic River basin continues to be developed. The Little Falls River Gauge along the Passaic River is located just south of the junction with the Pompton River, in an area that frequently floods. Flood stage is 7 feet (2.1 m) at this location. On February 28, 1902, there

330-519: A number of county parks. One notable park is Stanley Park between Summit and Chatham. Other parks along the river are located in Passaic County. As part of the ongoing Newark revitalization effort by the city government, parkland is proposed along the banks of the river. The Passaic River generally is free of industrialization until it reaches the Summit and Chatham border. The upper portion of

385-672: A number of other streets were developed by Thomas A. Kingman (as Montrose Park), who insisted that lots measure no less than 100 by 200. Within the historic district, there are 900 contributing buildings (mostly single family dwellings), 229 noncontributing buildings, and 1 contributing site. Of the key buildings, two, the Old Stone House and Mountain Station , are already listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Except for two synagogues and one school, most of

440-484: A special issue of the magazine and quickly became its best-selling issue, confirming readers' interest in stories involving the Passaic River. Antabanez intentionally did not want the special issue to be a history lesson of New Jersey or the river but instead wanted it to be a Huckleberry Finn -style adventure story. In his canoe, Nightshade, Antabanez visits the most dangerous parts of the Passaic, along with several of

495-665: Is also host to the annual Head of the Passaic Regatta that has been held since 2001. Commercial transport on the Lower Passaic hasn't entirely died. On December 3, 2008, a barge was loaded with biodiesel at the former W.A.S. Terminals in Newark, now Passaic River Terminals. Innovation Fuels LLC, one of the terminal's tenants, has plans to continue to sell two barge loads a month of biodiesel to customers in Europe. This

550-516: Is characterized by elegant, large-scale homes, dating from the last quarter of the 19th century into the 1930s. The houses are set on large, landscaped lots, outlined by bluestone sidewalks and curbs, framed by mature trees and shrubbery, and lit by gaslight . Several of the streets were originally developed by John Gorham Vose and Henry A. Page between 1867 and 1874 as part of a residential development called Montrose, intended to attract wealthy New York businessmen to rural South Orange. After 1891,

605-537: Is now known as Glacial Lake Passaic and was centered in the present lowland swamps of Morris County, forming because of a blockage of the normal drainage path. Eventually, the lake level rose high enough that the water flowed out of a new outlet. The Passaic River found a new path to the ocean via the Millington Gorge and the Paterson Falls as the glacier that covered the area retreated northward and

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660-464: Is the first commercial barge in the river in over 15 years. Although they experienced some delays with the County drawbridges that have been neglected for years and had some problems with shoaling due to the lack of maintenance dredging, they remain undeterred and the Passaic River represents the cheapest and most efficient method to ship their cargo to its customers. The Passaic River can be accessed via

715-582: The Bergen Hill Cut . The original connection between the two lines was in downtown Newark; the M&E turned south on Broad Street to meet a branch of the NJRR at Market Street. Service to Paulus Hook in what is today Jersey City commenced on October 14, 1836 and passengers could transfer to the Jersey City Ferry and cross to lower Manhattan at the nearby ferry slips. On January 1, 1838,

770-567: The Camden and Amboy Railroad . The New Brunswick, Millburn and Orange Railroad was proposed as a connection between the two, allowing for a C&A route to Jersey City without using the NJRR. The Hoboken Land and Improvement Company operated a ferry across the Hudson River between Hoboken and New York City . Until early 1859 the NJRR paid the HL&;I for the business that instead used

825-714: The Passaic River Basin Flood Advisory Commission . In January 2011 a report was issued, mentioning the 2010 flood, and the result was for municipalities to change their master plans and change local flood damage prevention ordinances, which would include such things as elevating structures, and to stop expansion into flood zones. The areas considered prone to continual flooding are Acid Brook, Buttermilk Falls, Haycock Brook, Mahwah River, Masonicus Brook, Packanack Brook, Pequannock River, Plog Brook, Pompton River, Ramapo River, Third River, Wanaque River, and Wolf Creek. On August 30, 2011 there

880-520: The Pompton River , then meandering through Little Falls, New Jersey as it drops over a fall, across some rapids, and under Passaic County Route 646 and an abandoned railroad trestle . The river flows northeast into the city of Paterson , where it drops over the Great Falls of the Passaic . On the north end of Paterson, it turns abruptly south, flowing between Paterson and Clifton on

935-481: The swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey, called the Great Swamp , draining much of the northern portion of the state through its tributaries . In its lower (southern) portion, it flows through the most urbanized and industrialized areas of the state, including along Downtown Newark . The lower river suffered from severe pollution and industrial abandonment in

990-399: The 19th and 20th centuries because of industrial waste discharges to the river and improper waste disposal practices on adjacent land. Although the health of the river has improved due to implementation of the 1972 Clean Water Act and other environmental legislation , and the decline of industry along the river, it still suffers from substantial degradation of water quality . The sediment at

1045-407: The 20th century. In April 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $ 1.7 billion plan to remove 4.3 million cubic yards (3.3 million cubic metres) of toxic mud from the bottom of lower eight miles (13 km) of the river. It is considered one of the most polluted stretches of water in the nation, and the project is one of the largest toxic cleanups ever undertaken in

1100-500: The M&E at Waterloo (later Stanhope ) to Newton and beyond. The DL&W leased it in 1924. Passaic River Paterson , Clifton , Garfield , Elmwood Park, New Jersey The Passaic River ( / p ə ˈ s eɪ . ɪ k / pə- SAY -ik ) is a river , approximately 80 miles (130 km) long, in Northern New Jersey . The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through

1155-470: The M&E was extended their route to Morristown. On October 29 of that year, an agreement was signed to move the NJRR connection to the foot of Centre Street (via the northeast side of Park Place, to the NJRR alignment along the Passaic River ), and the track on Broad Street was removed. Through car service began August 1, 1843, with horse power used along the streets, between Broad Street station and

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1210-610: The M&E was formally merged into the DL&;W. However it remained the Morris and Essex Division , and even today New Jersey Transit calls it the Morris and Essex Lines . In 1960 the DL&W merged with the Erie Railroad to form the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad , becoming part of Conrail in 1976. The Boonton Branch was first built as a short branch from the main line at Denville east to Boonton . It

1265-555: The NJRR ferry. Because of this, the HL&I decided to help the M&E by building their new alignment, using the New York and Erie Railroad 's Long Dock Tunnel . To use the Erie's tunnel a supplement to their charter was needed; this was passed March 8, 1860 after arguments against the bill from the NJRR. Another legal obstacle was the NJRR's monopoly over bridges, granted to the Passaic and Hackensack Bridge Company , invalidated by

1320-502: The Passaic River. Leaving Dubourg Pond the river travels northeast and crosses Corey Lane before entering the Buck Hill Tract Natural Area . However At this point, the river begins to generally flow south, through Morristown National Historical Park , and forms the boundary between Morris and Somerset counties. In its current path, it passes through the southeast edge and drains Lord Stirling Park then along

1375-459: The State of New Jersey $ 130 million for ecological damages related to Passaic River pollution. However, it is unclear as to whether the state will actually use this money for clean-up efforts. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) issued notices in 2009 banning commercial fishing and advising the general public that fish caught in the tidal Passaic River (from Dundee Dam to

1430-497: The Wallington Reach, the river remains navigable via a series of maintained channels to its final destination, Newark Bay . It passes Passaic , Clifton again, then Nutley and Belleville on the west; it flows past Rutherford , Lyndhurst , and North Arlington to the east. In its lowest reaches, it flows along the northeast portion of the city of Newark on the west, passing Kearny , East Newark , and Harrison on

1485-400: The abandoned buildings and factories that relied on the Passaic years ago. In addition to the river and the decaying structures that surround it, he also researched murders that involved the Passaic River, including the horrific case of Jonathan Zarate, who attempted to dump the mutilated body of his 16-year-old neighbor in the river but was thwarted by a police officer who happened to pass by at

1540-483: The banks of the Lower Passaic River. Today, the rowing community is very active through the two Rowing Clubs ( Nereid Boat Club and Passaic River Rowing Association) and ten high school crews that include Kearny, Belleville, Nutley, Don Bosco Prep , St. Peter's Preparatory School , Montclair, Ridgewood, Teaneck, Westfield, North Arlington (2012-13 School Year), and St. Benedict's Prep . The Passaic River

1595-723: The boundary between Morris and Essex counties. It passes Livingston and Fairfield , where it flows through the Hatfield Swamp and is joined by the Rockaway River just after the Rockaway is joined by its own tributary, the Whippany River . Southwest of Lincoln Park it passes through the Great Piece Meadows , where it turns abruptly eastward and is joined at Two Bridges by its major tributary,

1650-501: The early 1990s. There has been a long tradition of high school rowing by Kearny (since 1968), Belleville (1942, New Jersey's first public high school crew team), and Nutley High Schools and, in 1990, the historic Nereid Boat Club (founded in 1868) was revived, broadening participation in the sport of rowing on the Passaic River. In 1999, the Passaic River Rowing Association became the second rowing club along

1705-530: The eastern bank. Near downtown Newark it makes an abrupt easterly bend, then south around Ironbound , joining the Hackensack River at the northern end of Newark Bay, a back bay of New York Harbor . The Passaic River formed as a result of drainage from a massive proglacial lake that formed in North Jersey at the end of the last ice age , approximately 13,000 years ago. That prehistoric lake

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1760-543: The foot of Centre Street. Continuations opened west to Dover on July 31, 1848, Hackettstown in January 1854, and the full distance to Phillipsburg in 1866. A new alignment, including a bridge over the Passaic River, was built by the NJRR and opened on August 5, 1854, ending at East Newark Junction with the NJRR main line in Harrison . This eliminated the street running in downtown Newark; those tracks were removed

1815-601: The lake drained. As a result, the river as we now know it was born. Prior to European colonialization along the Passaic in the late 17th century, the valley was the territory of the Lenape groups now known as the Acquackanonk and Hackensack , who used the river for fishing. To that end they built weirs , or overflow dams, to create pools and where the fish could be trapped. Many of these archeological sites are still present and, in some cases, in good condition. The river

1870-466: The lease was cancelled. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad leased the M&E on December 10, 1868, connecting to their Warren Railroad at Washington . In 1868 the Morris & Essex leased the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad, which connected Roseville Avenue to Bloomfield and Montclair , then West Bloomfield. In 1876 the new tunnel under Bergen Hill opened, after hostilities including

1925-445: The lower few miles (kilometers) of the river mainly are industrialized. The Passaic River is known for chronic flooding problems during periods of heavy rainfall or snow-melt, especially where the Pompton River joins the Passaic River on the border of Fairfield, Lincoln Park, and Wayne . The two rivers form a sizable flood plain in this area. Building has been allowed in the flood plain and during extreme weather events that occur on

1980-411: The lower river has left a post-industrial landscape of abandoned and disused factories and other facilities. In particular, the stretch of the river along downtown Newark came to be regarded in the latter decades of the 20th century as particularly wretched. Starting in the 1990s, the lower river became the subject of federal and state urban restoration efforts, which have resulted in new construction along

2035-469: The mouth at Newark Bay) should not be eaten. The fish consumption advisories remain in effect as of 2020. In April 2014 EPA announced a $ 1.7 billion plan to remove 4.3 million cubic yards (3.3 × 10 ^  m ) of toxic mud from the bottom of lower eight miles (13 km) of the river. It is considered one of the most polluted stretches of water in the nation and one of the biggest clean-ups project ever undertaken. The decline of manufacturing on

2090-635: The mouth of the river near Newark Bay remains contaminated by pollutants such as dioxin . The dioxin was generated principally by the Diamond Shamrock Chemical Plant in Newark, as a waste product resulting from the production of the Agent Orange defoliation chemical used during the Vietnam War . The cleanup of the dioxin contamination on the bottom of the river is the subject of a major environmental lawsuit regarding

2145-492: The nation. The Passaic River rises in the center of Mendham , in southern Morris County . According to Google Maps the river begins at Dubourg Pond located on private land between Spring Hill Road and Hardscrabble Road. This pond is fed by a very small stream that begins from a spring located approximately 1000 feet south west of the pond at the bend in Spring Hill Road. This spring is the likely true headwater of

2200-424: The next year after a lawsuit was filed by Newark. On March 6, 1857, a supplement to the M&E charter was passed, authorizing it to buy the new alignment (until then owned by the NJRR as their East Newark Branch) and build a new line to Jersey City, as long as it passed under Bergen Hill in a tunnel. With this authority, the M&E became important as a possible competitor to the NJRR, and began negotiations with

2255-855: The primary buildings are residential. Montrose Park contains a collection of Victorian and period revival architecture, dating from 1870 to 1930, with some earlier exceptions. The most commonly represented styles include the Colonial Revival , with Georgian , Adam and Dutch Colonial influences the most dominant, followed by the Shingle Style . The following styles are also represented, in descending order of frequency: Tudor Revival , Queen Anne , Italian Renaissance Revival , Italianate , French Second Empire , Mission , Romanesque Revival , French eclectic , medievalizing , Art Deco and Gothic Revival . Notes Sources Morris and Essex Railroad The Morris and Essex Railroad

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2310-542: The responsibility for the cleanup. In 2008, the EPA reached a settlement with Occidental Chemical Corporation and Tierra Solutions Inc. to clean a portion of the polluted river. A New Jersey Superior Court judge, ruling in July and September 2011, stated that Occidental and Maxus Exergy Corporation (a subsidiary of YPF ) are liable for remediation in other portions of the river. In 2013, several corporate defendants agreed to pay

2365-643: The river, above Summit and Chatham, are more natural in appearance and the river has more of a young river character in places. The middle portion of the river flows through natural marshlands and forested areas in Essex County, which are generally inaccessible, and then through heavily populated areas of Passaic County where it is accessible via parallel roads and parks. Lower portions of the river, south of Paterson are wider, more industrialized, and more mature in nature. Kearny Riverbank Park and Riverbank Park in Newark both provide waterfront access. The banks of

2420-602: The riverfront, the city of Newark has constructed a riverfront walk from the Jackson Street Bridge to the Bridge Street Bridge . It is landscaped with trees, plants, flowers, and benches. Construction of office buildings has also taken place, including a regional headquarters building for the FBI . While there has been a decline in the industrial use of the river, recreational use has increased since

2475-540: The run in the 2004 short story, "From Out of the River", by beat laureate Spencer Hash. The river, and especially its Great Falls, plays a large part in William Carlos Williams 's epic poem Paterson . From 2006 to 2008, writer Wheeler Antabanez traveled the Passaic River and its shores, chronicling his adventures in a special issue of Weird NJ magazine. Nightshade on the Passaic was released as

2530-526: The state in 1861. The first excursion train operated on the new alignment on November 14, 1862, but a contract required the M&E to continue using the NJRR until October 13, 1863. The next day, regular service began via the new alignment. On November 1, 1865, the Atlantic and Great Western Railway leased the M&E as part of its planned route to the west. However, the A&;GW went bankrupt in 1867 and

2585-620: The west and Hawthorne , Fair Lawn , Elmwood Park , Garfield on the east, next through the city of Clifton. At Elmwood Park it begins to form Dundee Lake , created by the Dundee Dam built in 1845. The river becomes navigable 2.5 miles (4.0 km) downstream of the Dundee Dam at the Eighth Street/Locust Ave Bridge in Wallington where the dredged Wallington Reach channel begins. Proceeding beyond

2640-602: The western edge of the Great Swamp , which it drains through several small tributaries including Black Brook. The river passes through a gorge in Millington and then turns abruptly northeast, flowing through the valley between Long Hill to the west and the Second Watchung Mountain to the east. It forms the boundary between Morris and Union counties as it passes Berkeley Heights , New Providence , and Summit . Near Chatham it turns north, forming

2695-735: Was a railroad across northern New Jersey , later part of the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad . The M&E was incorporated January 29, 1835, to build a line from Newark in Essex County west to and beyond Morristown in Morris County . The first section, from Newark west to Orange , opened on November 19, 1836. Under an agreement signed on October 21, the New Jersey Rail Road provided connecting service from Newark east to Jersey City via

2750-416: Was another flood with a 14.19 feet (4.33 m) crest. The flood control issue had been considered as far back as 1870 and there were studies in 1939, 1948, 1962, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1987, and 1995 with minimum results from report suggestions. A poem about the river was written by John Alleyne Macnab in 1890, and put to music by Fountains of Wayne . The river hosted a group of Inuit plantation workers on

2805-517: Was built by the M&E and mostly owned by them. The M&E leased it on April 1, 1868. The Gladstone Branch was the only completed part of the New Jersey West Line Railroad , a failed plan to build a new line across the state. The actually-constructed portion went from Summit on the M&E west to Bernardsville , and it was soon renamed the Passaic and Delaware Railroad . The DL&W leased it on November 1, 1882 as

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2860-572: Was built in the 1920s as a connection from the Boonton Branch at Kingsland south to the main line in Kearny . The Morris and Essex Extension Railroad was chartered in 1889 and opened later that year, connecting the Boonton Branch to Paterson . The Newark and Bloomfield Railroad was chartered in 1852 and opened in 1855 as a short branch from the main line at Roseville Avenue/Bloomfield Junction northwest to Montclair via Bloomfield . It

2915-593: Was highly significant in the early industrial development of New Jersey. It provided a navigable route connected by canals to the Delaware River starting in the late 18th century. It also was an early source of hydropower at the Great Falls of the Passaic in Paterson, resulting in the early emergence of the area as the center of industrial mills. Much of the lower river suffered severe pollution during

2970-472: Was later extended much further east toward Paterson and then south to return to the main line at the west end of Bergen Hill ; this opened on September 17, 1870. A realignment was later built at the west end, bypassing Denville and some curves, for a shortcut of both the branch and the main line. In 1903 the Kingsland Tunnel opened as part of a short realignment at Kingsland . The Harrison Cut-off

3025-465: Was severe flooding of the river. On October 10, 1903, one of the worst floods on record happened. The water crest was 17.50 feet (5.33 m) and severe flooding of Little Falls, Paterson, as well as many other areas along the river. Other high crests were: 12.91 feet (3.93 m) on April 7, 1984; 11.88 feet (3.62 m) on April 18, 2007; and 11.87 feet (3.62 m) on March 16, 2010. On April 23, 2010, Governor Chris Christie issued an order creating

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