HOBOKEN THE ISLAND

Hoboken was originally an island, surrounded by the Hudson River on the east and a swamp at the foot of the New Jersey Palisades on the west. It was used seasonally as a campsite by the Lenni Lenape Native Americans until they fell victim to war, disease and forced migration brought by Europeans in the 17th century.

The first European to discover the area was Henry Hudson, who anchored his ship off the northern coast of Hoboken in Weehawken Cove on October 2, 1609. Three Native Americans eventually sold the land that is now Hoboken to Michael Pauw, Director of the Dutch West India Company on July 12, 1630, for 80 fathoms (146 m) of wampum, 20 fathoms (37 m) of cloth, 12 kettles, 6 guns, 2 blankets, 1 double kettle and half a barrel of beer. The first European settlers of Hoboken were Dutch farmers. Hendrick Van Vorst of Jersey City leased the land to Aert Van Putten, who became Hoboken's first resident. In 1643, Van Putten built a farm house and brew house north of Castle Point. The brew house was America's first.

Eventually, the land came into the possession of William Bayard. Bayard, who originally supported the revolutionary cause, became a Loyalist Tory in 1776 after the fall of New York. At the end of the Revolutionary War, Bayard's land was confiscated by the Revolutionary Government of New Jersey.