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America's Most Endangered River

The Upper Delaware
Gas drilling cited as major threat

*  New York Will Probably Restart Review Process on Fracking
*  Nationwide Insurance: Fracking Damage Won't Be Covered
*  Highland is the latest town to ban fracking
*  Chesapeake settles lawsuit over contaminated water in Pa.
*  Second state judge says towns can ban hydrofracking

Pennsylvanians choose Delaware as  2011 River of the Year

Gas drilling makes the Susquehanna River #1 on 2011 most endangered rivers list

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Port Jervis, NY, 12771

Introduction

Port Jervis, New York, is located on the scenic upper Delaware river where the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey meet (see maps here ).

Claiming a population shown by the 2010 U.S. Census as slightly less than 9,000, this small city is further situated on the western border of Orange County, one of New York's original counties and whose founding dates back to 1683. 

The current city of Port Jervis was once part of the still surrounding Town of Deerpark which was itself established in 1798.   After incorporating as a village in 1853, and later being legally divided from the Town of Deerpark, in 1907 Port Jervis became a city.

On its New Jersey side, Port Jervis abuts Montague Township while its Pennsylvania neighbor across the Delaware River is Westfall Township.

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History

It is said that prior to the arrival of the first Europeans in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Port Jervis was known as "Magagkamack," which is a Lenni-Lenape (Delaware Indian) phrase that has been interpreted as "pumpkin field" or "land covered in grass."  It was in the general vicinity of Port Jervis that a sub-group of the Lenape, the Munsee, made their traditional seat of government.

Because of its location and waterways, which also includes the mouth of the Neversink river, Port Jervis has long been a transportation hub.

Begun in 1825, the Delaware and Hudson Canal was the nation's first million dollar private venture and it crossed Port Jervis as did what is sometimes described as the oldest 100 mile commercial road in America.  It is after John B. Jervis, one of the D & H Canal's principal engineers, that the city is named.    

Because mining and transportation of coal was the reason the D & H canal was built an accomplishment of the city's namesake related to that work was designing  the first steam engine locomotive  ever to run in the United States.  

Consistent with its geography and prominence in early 19th century transportation, Port Jervis also became an  important railroad center and still has one of the region's few remaining steam engine turntables.  

Perhaps the most famous of Port Jervis citizens was the acclaimed author of the Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane, who started school here at age six.  The inspiration for that novel and other of his works held associations to Port Jervis where he stayed with his brother William, wrote articles in the local newspaper, and would return for much of his adult life. 

      

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Useful Links 

Today, commuter rail service to points east and south, - including New York City - is provided by New Jersey Transit.  Additional connections can be made by Amtrak in Manhattan's Penn Station and through the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, of which Metro-North Railroad is part.   The following link provides the location of and directions to the Port Jervis train station.   Also see: Walking Directions from the New Jersey Transit Train Platform to Front Street, Sussex Street, and the Delaware River.

Transportation by CoachUSA|Shortline Bus  service is available with connections at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.   

Interstate Route 84 and New Jersey's Route 23 are found at the city's southeastern border.  

Likewise, both Stewart International Airport and the New York State Thruway (I-87) can be reached by a convenient 45 minute drive via Interstate Route 84.   

New York Route 17 (future I-86) also connects with the Interstate and lies approximately 30 minutes from Port Jervis.      

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Attractions

Photos of Some Port Jervis Area Attractions and a Map with Locations and Descriptions

About a 90 minute drive from New York City,  and within a day's ride of Philadelphia, PA, Atlantic City, NJ,  Washington, D.C., Boston, MA,  and Montreal, Canada, Port Jervis retains its rural quality.  

Attracted by the area's natural beauty, including the scenic "Hawk's Nest" section of New York Route 97, every year hundreds of thousands of visitors canoe and raft down the Delaware river.  This same region is a popular fishing spot and is graced with American Bald Eagles that can be observed from public viewing areas, particularly during the winter months. 

Walking Directions from the New Jersey Transit Train Platform to Front Street, Sussex Street, and the Delaware River.  

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Additional Information

The following additional Wikipedia.org information about Port Jervis and related areas is made available  under the terms and conditions of Creative Commons.

Port Jervis is a city in Orange County, New York. The population was 8,860 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.

The communities of Deerpark, Huguenot, Sparrowbush, and Greenville are adjacent to Port Jervis. The towns of Montague, New Jersey and Matamoras, Pennsylvania face the city across the respective state borders. Port Jervis is the home of the last stop on the 95-mile-long (151 km) Port Jervis Line, which is a commuter railroad line from Hoboken, New Jersey and New York City that is contracted to NJ Transit by the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company—the line itself continues on to Binghamton and Buffalo, but passenger service beyond Port Jervis was discontinued in 1966.

On June 2, 1892, Robert Lewis, an African American, was lynched on Main Street in Port Jervis after being accused of participation in an assault on a white woman. A grand jury indicated nine people in connection with the lynching.  This event would serve as inspiration for one-time Port Jervis resident and author Stephen Crane's 1898 novella The Monster.

Port Jervis grew steadily into the 1900s. On July 26, 1907, it became a city.

In the mid 1920's the Ku Klux Klan was active in the area, burning crosses on Point Peter, the mountain peak that overlooks Port Jervis.

As of the 2010 census information available in March 2011 there were 8,828 people reported living in Port Jervis which represented a decrease of 32 individuals or -.04% compared to a decade earlier.  The 2010 data showed the ethnic composition of the community was 6,735 White, non-Hispanic, 1,054 Hispanic, 654 Black, 117 Asian, and 800 categorized as other with 6,596 of those individual listed as adults and 2,232 as children.   2010 census figures noted 3,957 housing units and 387 vacant housing.

South of the Laurel Grove Cemetery, under the viaduct for Interstate 84, are two monuments that symbolically mark the boundaries between the states of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. 

The Tri-State Monument is a replacement for the original monument erected in 1774 that was important in resolving the New York - New Jersey Line War.

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Port Jervis Walks from the New Jersey Transit Train Platform (Go Back to Top of This Page)
When arriving at the Port Jervis train platform a fast food restaurant is located nearby.  If facing toward the train and tracks the Delaware River and State of Pennsylvania lie a few blocks away. Port Jervis like many other small communities has struggled under difficult economic conditions and all that comes with it.   Challenges continue to be met. Progress is shown by an expansion of the city's largest employer, improved quality of life, more recreation and hobbyist choices, broader public interest in Port Jervis, and commercial property renovation plans.                                               03 October  2013
Front Street	Sussex Street	The Delaware River
Front Street runs the length of the downtown Port Jervis retail business area.  Along this route is a unique gift store, antique dealers, a genuine barber shop, and restaurants.  If walking the full distance of the downtown area - about one-quarter mile - the historic Erie Depot stands at its far end.  A short distance further on is an art gallery. . . Directions and Map 1) After exiting the train platform turn to the right heading in the direction the train just came from. 2)  Walk the length of the platform and then about another 60 feet. 3)Pass through the opening on the left.  An orange street sculpture is there. 4) The street going left and right is Front Street.  Pike Street is straight ahead. 5) Move to the Front Street sidewalk, turn right and enjoy your walk.	Sussex Street is the financial and governmental area of Port Jervis.  Banks, the post office, and the municipal building are found here.  A walk to the top of Sussex Street arrives at Orange Square Veterans' Memorial Park originally built to honor veterans of the American Civil War.  Across Sussex Street from the park is a Methodist church and rectory associated with writer, poet, and correspondent, Stephen Crane. . Directions and Map 1) Follow steps 1 through 5 to Front Street.   2) Walk one block on right side of Front Street to Sussex Street and cross to the left.  At the corner there is a pillared building with a chime clock. The walk from this spot to the park at the top of the Sussex Street hill is about one-quarter mile.	The Delaware River serves as a dividing line between Port Jervis, NY, and Matamoras, PA.  The bridge crossing the river provides a scenic view of the valley and New Jersey where a stone monument can be seen on a mountain top.  Also in this area is an asphalt walking trail that follows the river to the city's West End Beach.  Directions and Map 1) After exiting the train platform turn to the right, heading back in the direction the train came from. 2)  Walk the length of the platform and then about another 60 feet. 3)Pass through the opening on the left. An orange street sculpture is there. 4) Use steps on immediate left leading to the train underpass tunnel. 5) Turn left and emerge on the distant end of of the tunnel.  This is Pike Street. 6) Proceed forward.  Continuing in this direction on Pike Street the bridge crossing the Delaware River is found.  Pennsylvania is on the far side. 7) If  going to the walking trail or West End Beach carefully cross Pike Street at the King Street intersection traffic light.   8) Walk three blocks on King Street to Avenue I and turn left. 9) Go to the end of Avenue I and cross Water Street.   The walking trail is at the top of the river bank.  For West End Beach, follow the trail to the right.

 

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