At its regular monthly meeting Monday, July 11, the Harsimus Cove Association teams up with the Embankment Preservation Coalition to sponsor a lively talk by rail marine historian Thomas Flagg. Using high-quality slides of old maps, photographs, and other illustrations, "From Farm and Marsh to Cityscape: The Railroads Transformed Jersey City" will examine the transportation mode that dominated much of the city over more than a century.
Many residents of Downtown Jersey City might find it difficult to imagine the waterfront of a hundred years ago, teeming with freight yards, a passenger terminal, and marine and warehouse activity. Yet our current neighborhoods - the historic districts of Hamilton Park, Harsimus Cove, Van Vorst Park, and Paulus Hook; the Village neighborhood; the new waterfront high-rise areas - were all shaped by the rail lines that drove through the area to get to the Hudson River and the metropolis
across the way.
Now Thomas Flagg, author of the two-volume New York Harbor Railroads in Color,
will help you visualize that world. He will tell you stories and illumine controversies of the Pennsylvania Railroad Harsimus Branch and other rail lines. At the conclusion of his talk, Flagg and other rail historians, including historic preservationist Allen Kratz, will answer questions.
HCA Monthly Meeting, 7:30-8pm
Grace Church Van Vorst
39 Erie Street, Jersey City [enter on 2nd Street]
Thomas Flagg's talk: 8-9pm
Free and Open to the Public
At 9 all are welcome to repair to a local watering hole for
refreshment and continued conversation.
