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Brief History

Back in the early 1900s Sewaren was a big beach resort.  You can sort of compare it with the Wildwood of today.  Sewaren had a little section called Boynton Beach, this is where the hotel was.  The hotel was located approximately on the corner of Ferry Street by the water and continued on into the Shell Tank Farm.  Where the shell tanks are located they used to have an Amusement Park, children were able to get in free on Thursdays.  Even further back in the shell tanks they use to have Summer Homes that they would rent out.  If you look at the image below you will see streets that do not exist today.  If you also look carefully, there was no Debra Place, it was originally called Central Avenue.  There is a Central Avenue today, but back then the Central Avenue that we know did not exist.  It was all farm land back there, they used to raise cattle and plant crops.

The History of Sewaren

Years ago Sewaren was identified as Pierce's Landing and Boynton Beach. Occasionally it was called Woodbridge Beach. A gentleman by the name of Casimer Boynton, father of the well-known Boynton Brothers, owned the large tract of land bordering the Arthur Kill or the Staten Island Sound, as it is also known. There was a gradually sloping shore that created an ideal bathing beach. The water in the sound was clean and people came from great distances to enjoy a refreshing salt-water plunge. Bathhouses were available for donning bathing togs and close by was a large picnic grove equipped with benches, tables and other facilities for the comfort of all-day guests. Boynton Beach was a popular family resort. The Jersey Central Railroad accommodated excursion parties from New York City and before the time of the railroad large ferry boats docked at the landing unloading crowds of folks who had come to spend the day bathing, fishing or just relaxing under the trees on an all day's picnic spree. Mr. Boynton rented boats and oars which many visitors used to row into the bay to lower their nets. In the vicinity there was another boathouse owned by Mr. R. 0. Acker, who also made a specialty of renting rowboats. He kept a sizeable fleet of one hundred or more, which were very popular with fishermen. Fish of various kinds were very plentiful off the shores of Boynton Beach. Therefore a day spent with tackle and bait proved a profitable, as well as an enjoyable, day's outing.

Salt Water Days were a house special

There were special days known as salt-water days set aside each summer in Sewaren. On these days the beach and the picnic groves were always packed with people. Although Mr. Acker and Mr. Boynton kept very many boats, there were days when those fishermen who weren't "early birds" were without an ability to enjoy their recreation.

How Did Sewaren Get Its Name?

Research has uncovered little more than legend or story to explain why this desirable section of Woodbridge Township is called "Sewaren". Some people are under the impression that the name Sewaren had an Indian origin. The author searched the archives of the historical societies in an effort to locate the source of this concept. Any statement, which might verify such a story, could not be found. However, the following tale proved interesting.

Following Henry Hudson's explorations in 1609 the Dutch had given the shores along the Atlantic Coast the name of Seawanhacky. It was made up of derivations of three Dutch words: "Zee meaning sea and "wan" meaning fan. "Hacky" means a place where shells are found. Therefore Seawanhacky means a place where many fan-shaped shells were plentiful and such was the case in Sewaren where the waters of the Arthur Kill lapped the shores of the area and the receding tide left a coverlet of various kinds of clam and oyster shells on the beach.

Another source of Sewaren's name is derived from the following story:

Mr. Boynton hired a man by the name of Mr. Warren as an employee at Boynton Beach. Apparently Mr. Warren possessed the "know how" necessary to get things done. Expressions frequently heard was "See Warren about that" and "I must see Warren first". A story was told in which a passenger getting off a train at the railroad station, said, "I have come to see Warren. Could one tell me where I might see Warren"? Some one jokingly repeated "He has come to see Warren. He has come to see Warren". As a result the railroad station became known as the place to "see Warren". Is this story true? The reader may draw his own conclusions. Nevertheless Sewaren is the name by which the community is known.

During the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first third of the twentieth century Sewaren was predominately a residential town in the country. However, since the coming of industries such as the Public Service generating station and various oil companies to Sewaren, as well as to Port Reading, Carteret and the opposite shores of Staten Island, the profile of this little waterfront community has changed. Today, the artery of the Arthur Kill is a constant thoroughfare for coal barges, huge oil freighters and steamships of an industrial nature. The waters are badly polluted and no longer fit for bathers or the habitats where fish might spawn. Nevertheless all may not be lost. A movement is being considered by the township's planning and development department to create a marina which, if successfully carried through, may help restore some of the community's identity as a recreational area in the future.