From 1659 to 1826, a small, rope-drawn ferry was used to cross the Hackensack River between what was once New Barbados, New Jersey, and the opposing shore. The town Little Ferry was named in honor of that long-used form of transportation when the borough formed in 1894. A bridge replaced the ferry in 1828, creating a toll road. Tracey’s Restaurant is located where one of the former tollhouses used to operate. When you drive to your Little Ferry hotel that you reserved with EasyToBook.com, it’s easy to marvel at what a job it must have been to operate that ‘little ferry’ by rope.
The town owes much of its history to the brick industry. On Riverside Avenue, two houses are noted for being associated with Depeyster and Stagg, the founders of the first ‘clay house.’ By 1882, Greensboro was home to the second largest brick industry in the nation. However, the industry died by 1956, and only the lakes in town are reminders of the former industry.