Historic New Bridge Landing Is Our Newest State Park

 

On October 21, Historic New Bridge Landing here on the Hackensack River finally received full state park designation from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection. Governor James E. McGreevey made the announcement at a ceremony held at the Great Falls in Paterson, site of another newly designated state park.

Historic New Bridge Landing is co-managed by the Bergen County Historical Society with assistance from Ringwood State Park. It includes four colonial-era buildings, an historic pony-truss swing bridge (believed to be the last one remaining in the U.S.) and a tract of lowland forest along the river. A new visitor’s center with museum and classroom space will soon be built at the site on vacant land along New Bridge Road.

“Our parks and open spaces are the pride and joy of New Jersey,” said McGreevey. “Parks create a sense of place, provide recreational and educational experiences, protect the environment and boost the economy. A world of opportunities and advantages rests in these new parks, which benefit not just our urban centers but all of New Jersey.”

During the American Revolution, New Bridge Landing was a strategic river crossing that served as a battleground, intelligence-gathering post, encampment and military headquarters. In 1776 during the retreat of the Continental Army from New York, the original bridge was burned after General George Washington successfully led his troops to safety across it. For more than a century after the war, the Landing was a major commercial center where sloops and coastal schooners unloaded manufactured goods and took on cargoes of produce from area farms.

“For hundreds of years, people have been coming to the river on this spot and now they have a great reason to continue,” said Captain Bill Sheehan during a recent visit to the park. “This place celebrates the river just by being here.”