YARDLEY-EWING FERRY
Scenario for the Development & Operation of the Yardley-Ewing Ferry
By Larry Hale - December 18, 2000
Undoubtedly the earliest settlers in our area had landing sites on both sides of the Delaware River, and some of these may have been used for ferries. Baker's Ferry a few miles up the river and also the ferry at Bristol had both already existed for many years. But the earliest ferry in the Yardley-Ewing area, for which we can find any mention, is for a ferry said to have been started in 1693 by Thomas the son of the William Yardley, both 1682 immigrants whose entire families completely died off by 1703 probably due to smallpox.
HEATH'S FERRY
The first ferry for which we have definite information is Heath's Ferry on the Jersey side, started perhaps shortly after 1700 when Heath purchased 400 acres of land in the vicinity of Lower Ferry Road. The Heath's Ferry landing on the Pennsylvania side is most likely to have been between the Borough Line and the Railroad Bridge on the Overton tract on lands never owned by Brock.
After Brock built the original Grist Mill on Brock's Creek, the village naturally developed at this location, and by 1721 the Yardley Ferry under Thomas Yardley (the 1704 immigrant) was operating just below the funeral home driveway. At that time there would have been two ferries serving Yardley-Ewing. One of these was the Yardley Ferry on the Pennsylvania side below the funeral home driveway. The other was Heath's Ferry just above Lower Ferry Road, which by 1713 was operated by Nathaniel Leonard and which by 1730 was known as Gould's Ferry. There also had to be a road on the Pennsylvania side serving Heath's Ferry. There is some indication of a former road on the Overton tract crossing the canal in the vicinity of the small white church on S. Canal Street. Another more likely possibility is that the original road followed a diagonal line along the ridgeline from Belville, and along Bell, straight to the mill.
It is now confirmed based on a circa 1778 map recently found by Bill O'Neal of Ewing Township that these early local ferries operating on the fast moving Delaware River were indeed "pole ferries." The ferry crossings followed a triangular pattern, with the ferry boat landing somewhat further downriver depending on the river level, i.e. the higher the level the swifter the current. If one imagines looking down on the scene from above, the ferry embarked from the upper end of the base of an imaginary triangle, landed at the vertex on the opposite shore, then returned to the lower end of the triangle's base, and was pulled back to the starting location by ropes and guided by poles. The most logical arrangement would be for the base of the triangle to be located on the owner's side of the river, and the evidence so far indicates this was the case for the 1721 Yardley Ferry. It embarked just below the funeral home driveway, landed on the Jersey side, then returned to a landing anywhere between College Avenue and White's Creek (located on the Hale property), and was towed upriver back to the embarkation point. The landing location depended partly on how fast the river was moving.
Heath's Ferry must have operated in a similar fashion at the Lower Ferry Road location, but with the base of the triangle on the New Jersey side and the vertex of the triangle on the Pennsylvania side. The location of the triangle for the initial Heath Ferry is not precisely known, but the ferry may have operated from the same general location as the ferry ramp shown on the 1778 map, with the base of the triangle straddling the ferry ramp just mentioned. The shoreline in front of the C. Wearts stone farmhouse has the appearance of a good landing site. The Wearts home was built much later by George Yardley, but he may well have taken advantage of the pre-existing Heath's Ferry Road somewhere in that vicinity. Due to the faster current opposite Letchworth, the upper leg of this triangle would have been more elongated than the lower side where the water near the railroad bridge was deeper and therefore the velocity was slower. The precise location of the Heath's Ferry landing on Overton has not yet been confirmed. It may have been either at the Yardley landing in front of the white house, or somewhere between there and the railroad, but I suspect it was closer to the railroad.
By 1730 Gould owned the ferry on the Jersey side at Lower Ferry Road. By 1732 Yardley owned all the lands along the river on the Pennsylvania side and was still operating the ferry at the 1721 location. A Ferry House & Tavern existed at the Belville site probably by 1742 when the first tavern license was issued, and might have been built as early as 1732 by Thomas Yardley, or possibly even earlier by Brock, or for that matter by Lambert. The actual date of construction of the Ferry Tavern is not yet known. The tavern was built at a location which is exactly half way between the Brock/Yardley landing and the lower end of the 1721 landing which was at the upper end of the Livezey stone wall which still exists... more precisely, at the lower end of the deep water zone between the two brick apartments just above the outlet of White's Creek. This makes sense because the remaining part of the overall landing area down to the Livezey stone wall is where White's Creek entered the river and is shallow. The tavern was therefore ideally positioned to serve ferry traffic moving in both directions. It was also close enough to pick up traffic from the ferry operated from the New Jersey side off of Lower Ferry Road.
In 1756 Thomas Yardley (the 1704 immigrant) died, and Thomas Yardley, Jr. owned the Yardley Ferry and all the lands along the river. In 1763, a new "Lower" Ferry Road was constructed on the Pennsylvania side presumably at least partly an attempt to capture some of the stagecoach traffic. The survey crew started the survey at the Yardley Ferry House, now proved to be the site of the Belville Home. The left side of the Belville Home photographed by Craven circa 1906 is undoubtedly the same stone ferry house that existed in 1763, and is likely the original ferry house. So we have these two ferry operations, one in Pennsylvania and one in New Jersey, with a tavern on the Pennsylvania side about half way between the two crossings.
We have thus far not been able to directly tie the 1721 ferry landing on the Jersey side to the road network on the Jersey side. But there is indication of a possible former ferry ramp shown on the [1882 rev:10/12/10] map of Ewing Township. It shows River Road turning abruptly and diagonally away from the river at a location midway between the 1721 Yardley ferry ramp and the Howell ferry ramp. It is possible the road was laid out this way due to an easement still in effect where a ferry ramp had been previously located. This is what happened on the Pennsylvania side when the 1794 River Road was surveyed at which time the ferry had been moved but the easement and presumably the ramp still existed.
The records clearly indicate that Gould's Ferry was continuously owned by Gould from 1730 to sometime beyond 1745, at which time Yardley appears to have owned the ferry formerly named Gould's Ferry up until sometime immediately prior to 1764 when he sold it back to a New Jersey owner named Howell. It was in 1763 that the new "Lower" Ferry Road was opened on the Pennsylvania side and we can only guess at the precise circumstances surrounding these dates. There is a reference in a June 8, 1770 deed which happens to be for General Dickinson's property in Trenton located on the road "that leads to the ferry called Yeardley's ferry" which we believe to be owned by Howell at that time.
This brings us to the American Revolution with Howell's Ferry the focal point of American General Dickinson's militia activity. The Yardley Ferry operation at the upper end of Yardley was still in operation in 1752, but it is believed to have been shut down possibly as early as 1763 or at least by the Revolution when special military passes were required to cross the river. Meanwhile at the lower location opposite Lower Ferry Road, Carrington's map and General Washington's orders, both point to the redoubt and presumably the cannon, as being located directly opposite Howell's Ferry. The Tavern was possibly shutdown since there is no further mention of it, and the last tavern license issued during this period was dated 1769 and there were no further licenses until one was issued in 1790 for the Afton Avenue location. There is no further mention of the Yardley Ferry House or Tavern, and the Ferry House may have been General Dickinson's headquarters in December 1776.
The circa 1778 [Erskine] map appears to confirm this part of the ferry scenario. If my theory about how these ferries logically operated is correct and taking into account the date, this map might reflect the situation just after the fighting in New Jersey particularly in December 1776 when the ferry was certainly controlled from the Pennsylvania side. The 1778 map is remarkable in that it includes a small detail of the actual ferry site at Lower Ferry Road. This map might be interpreted in a number of ways. However, if the relative dimensions and alignments of the crossing lines are accurate as they appear to be, then my interpretation would be as follows: 1) The main ferry ramp on the Jersey side is located near the small stream which served the Saw Mill, and would likely be on the Lower Ferry Road side of the stream. 2) The layout on the map appears to show a straight across ferry between Howell's Ferry ramp in line with both the Saw Mill on the Jersey side and the Yardley Easement on the Pennsylvania side, shown still existing on the 1794 Morrisville Road Survey ---this easement has been confirmed as the Ferry Ramp on the Pennsylvania side and is located almost directly in front of the white farm house inside the low lying apartment complex. 3) The upper end of the triangle's base on the Pennsylvania side is anchored at the ferry ramp in front of the white house. 4) The vertex on the Jersey side is located in the vicinity of the Railroad Bridge. It was probably somewhat further upriver than shown. 5) The lower landing on the Pennsylvania side is near the railroad bridge. It was probably somewhat further downriver than shown probably in line with the upriver side of the brick water pumping station. My guess ---and it's only a guess--- is that the straight line which appears perpendicular to the river on the 1778 map, indicates some sort of cable or rope operation, whereas the triangle shows the alternate method employed as a backup when the main system is down, or reflecting the earlier wartime operation. Or it may somehow indicate that there are two ferries. In summary the plan shows one line crossing perpendicular to the river and a triangle next to it. Presumably it would be easy enough the reverse the triangle, from an ownership on one side of the river to the other side if this was desired. We are still looking for an explanation of this triangle business and make an urgent appeal to anyone reading this to lend us a hand.
After the Revolution, Howell's Ferry may have remained active at the same site up until at least 1785, which is the last known date of the last Howell tavern license. The ferry operation and the tavern on the Pennsylvania side opposite Lower Ferry Road probably shut down by 1790. There is no mention of a ferry house or tavern at this location on the 1794 Morrisville Road survey. The same map shows Fleming's Tavern already existing at the Afton Avenue location. This is also in accord with a statement by Richard Green (refer to Hale Chronology) who was operating Green's Ferry. The final end came in 1796, when the Ferry Road on the Pennsylvania side opposite Lower Ferry Road was officially vacated.
In 1794 Richard Green says he now dwells "at what has been long known as Green's Ferry, and that traffic has increased since the ferry 1/2 mile below on the Pennsylvania side has shut down." Richard Green must now be operating a ferry and/or tavern at a location opposite Afton Avenue but we are not sure about the location "long known as Green's Ferry" to which he refers. We know that in 1876 there was a hotel, which would today be right in the middle of the modern highway. This hotel was situated right at the exit of both the covered bridge and the steel bridge. It was owned by Louis Schmidt around 1910. The location of the bridge is believed to have been the exact same location as the straight across ferry. It is possible ---based on the fairly recent 1785 date of the Howell Tavern License presumably at the Lower Ferry Road compared to the statement "long known as Green's Ferry" --- that Richard Green might have been operating a ferry at the location opposite Afton Avenue by a much earlier date, perhaps as early as the end of 1778 by which time the New Jersey Militia was firmly in control of the region.
In any event, by 1790 there was a full-fledged ferry operation at the Afton Avenue location. This fact shows up in numerous maps drawn during the 1807 to 1829 period. It is equally obvious that the 1721 location had been abandoned by this period. The ferry then operated at Afton Avenue for about 40 years. It was shifted several hundred feet downriver about 1832 when the covered bridge went under construction, and the ferry ramp at the downriver location remained as "the road down to the river" for the next 100 years, probably used mostly be fishermen. An alley is now known to have existed behind the homes along Afton Avenue and undoubtedly served the ferry traffic at least as long as the bridge was under construction. It tied into Afton Avenue at the parking lot next to Dr. Khalsa's Clinic. The location of the actual ferry ramp is described in early 1900s deeds involving the Charles E. Miller property at the corner of Ferry Street.
The Richard Green family who operated the ferry on the Jersey side at the location "long known as Green's Ferry" took over the entire operation of the ferry on the Pennsylvania side possibly some considerable years before 1794 and probably not later than 1797. They purchased the ferry and a large tract of land along the river from Thomas Yardley in 1800.
The Hale Chronology (23 pages) dated July 26, 1999 contains most of the detail information and cited references upon which the Pennsylvania part of the Ferry Scenario is based I cannot end this Scenario about the Yardley Ferry without noting that this is an ongoing process, and recalling once again the ground breaking work by Kathryn Ann Auerbach (provided by Vince Profy), without which I would not have started my investigation. I would also like to record my appreciation of the extensive document search exclusively carried out by Marie-Therese Hale. Each contributor plays an important role. For example, I was surprised by the prominence assigned to the name Green on the Ralph Thompson maps. But this is what led to an internet search for the name Green. In early January 2000, I was astounded to find a site under the name of William Green originating right across the Delaware River in Ewing Township, New Jersey! For several weeks I thought I was corresponding with someone named William (Bill) Green, but the actual person turned out to be Bill O'Neal (related to the Greens by marriage) who in his great narrative style had assumed the identity of the long deceased pioneer settler William Green himself. Bill in turn put me in touch with Keil Green who has now agreed to do look for any possible information related to the design of ferry crossings at the Library of Congress, and later with Heidi Herenza a historian in Ewing Township. Heidi and Bill came to our home in Yardley on October 27, 2000, and the three of us inspected the various ferry sites along the river. This accelerated the search on all sides, which in turn led to the finding of the 1782 [Rev 9/24/10] map by both Bill and Heidi. This map is a remarkable document. Heidi also provided a copy of the 1876 map of Ewing Township, and other information recounting conversations with Joseph Felcone, who had written an earlier history. I want to make special mention of the encouraging letters and information from historians Florence White in Lower Makefield Township and Annamae Bakun, President of the Yardley Historical Association, who put a copy of my writings into their library. As indicated above, this is an ongoing process.
EARLIER FERRIES
William Yardley's earliest landing (built in the 1680s) was likely located on his original grant, which was above the present day Yardley Borough. It would have been on the lower half of the Yardley frontage, below Slack's Islands and below the I-95 Delaware River Bridge, and across from Ewing Township' Upper Ferry Road. If a Yardley Ferry existed during that period, it would most likely have embarked from the present day "Yardley Boat Area," crossed to Upper Ferry Road, and returned to near the lower end of Yardley's original frontage located just above Yardley Borough. There is a road shown on the 1875 Lower Makefield map in this general location. This 1875 road is on a line from Prospect Farm, passing the old quarry next to the canal, crossing over the 1832 canal at the camel-back truss bridge, and meeting River Road near the ruins of the old stone barn on the Dr. Sommers property. The landing was likely about 200 feet below the ruins, and this would have allowing about 700 feet for the crossings from the Yardley Boat Area to Upper Ferry Road and back to Yardley's Landing.
John Brock had received a large land grant on the Pennsylvania side in 1681 with river frontage between Brock Creek and what is today the lower Yardley Borough line. His was one of 4 grants covering the overall frontage involved in our ferry scenario. Starting below the I-95 bridge and proceeding in a downriver direction the owners were... Yardley (1), Clowes (2), Brock (3), Overton (4), with all the activity being centered on Yardley and Brock, but mostly on Brock. Brock built the first grist mill along with it's hydraulic works, and he and/or his son certainly appear to have been well advanced in all activities by the time the young Thomas Yardley arrived in 1704. John Brock certainly had at least one landing. The lowest riverbank elevation and most ideal landing site along the Brock frontage was just below College Avenue, at the location later known as Janney's Landing. This landing or landings extended from just below College Avenue down to just below White's Creek (located just below the Metz red brick apartments), and is believed to have been the main landing site for the 1721 ferry. The road serving this landing has not been found on the ground. But the location of the Grist Mill, the fact that all the property line were on a sharp angle with the river, and the location of the ridge line, all suggest that this road followed an almost straight line from the ferry ramp below College Avenue, along the ridge line on Bell overlooking the funeral home property, and intercepting the 1721 ferry road in the vicinity of the end of present day Ferry Street. In 1713 the Brock's holdings along the river were purchased by the Lamberts, who then in 1715 also purchased the Overton tract so that the Brock and Lambert/Overton properties were merged.
John or Ralph Brock may have built a separate landing at the lower end of the original Brock frontage, which is the location of the known Yardley landing identified on the 1794 survey map and located precisely in front of the white farmhouse in the low lying apartment complex below Letchworth Avenue, at the location where the road takes a dip. The reasoning here is based on the location of this landing right up against Brock's lower property line which separated his land from Overton, a line which ceased to exist when Lambert purchased the Brock tract in 1715. In any event, the Brock land and the downriver Overton land had been merged before Yardley purchased the overall river frontage, and this landing location was definitely used by Yardley sometime after 1732 and prior to 1794. The 1778 map (discussed later) appears to show this site on the Pennsylvania side, lining up with the ferry operation on the Jersey side of the river, although the alignment needs to be further confirmed due to the small scale of the 1778 map. The landing just above the lower Brock line was definitely part of the ferry operation at least as early as 1763, and possibly as early as 1733.
There is also the possibility of some sort of early boat operation in front
of the Goodnow House, the large white house now known as "Riverside"
where there is a small relatively deep eddy protected by the stone shoreline
formed over the centuries below the former mouth of White's creek. This
possible site is about 800 feet upriver from the landing site in front of the
white farmhouse. I spoke to C. D. Brumbaugh who lived nearby in a house Mark
Dowdell built in 1925 ---now the Medical Center--- who was very familiar with
the entire river bank, and recounted that the river bank in front of Belville
was "very steep and high" with an "impossible river bank
approach" but that the Carter's property <
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