Series 6: Brooklyn Waterfront and Ferries, 1816-1890, inclusive

This series provides rich documentation concerning the development of the Brooklyn waterfront and East River ferry service, especially with regard to the Union Ferry Company during the mid-nineteenth century. The series includes correspondence, legal agreements, leases, corporate formation documents, and court filings. In addition to substantial manuscript material, there is printed material, such as New York Supreme Court decisions, government committee reports, leases, and pamphlets. Much of the material concerns negotiations with New York City and Brooklyn municipal authorities over franchise and property rights. Overall, strategic business objectives are a focus of the series, rather than day-to-day operational or financial matters. Nonetheless, there is material on specific matters, including the 1852 strike of ferry pilots and the 1883 experiment to replace gas lighting with electric on a ferry. The Fulton Ferry, South Ferry and Hamilton Avenue Ferry are well represented in the series, along with reference to Manhattan locations, such as the Wall Street Ferry. The Atlantic Dock Company and Williamsburgh Ferry Company are also represented.

The series also includes an incomplete handwritten manuscript of Henry E. Pierrepont's Historical Sketch of the Fulton Ferry and its Associated Ferries, along with correspondence, notes and other materials compiled in connection with the history. The series includes maps, sketches, correspondence, legal agreements, and other documents concerning the bulkhead, docks, piers, and other structures on Pierreponts's waterfront property (also see Series 3 for maps and other related material).