Lithograph of Prior's Mill
Source: H. Eaton Jersey City and its Historic Sites (1899),
Map detail circa 1873
In 1760, Jacob Prior constructed a tidewater mill at Mill Creek in the marshes that once separated Harsimus Island from the mainland. The filled-in area is now much of lower Jersey City. A road on Mill Creek, not far from Academy Street, gave access to barges that sailed their valuable cargo from the creek to New York Bay and beyond to New York markets.
The creek flowed into Communipaw Bay, where there was a large dam. Gates to the dam were built across Mill Creek and allowed water to enter with the incoming tide. The returning tidewater applied force against the gates, thereby closing them. The water accumulated in the dam flowed to the wheel of the mill. Enslaved Africans were used for the grinding of grain. The use of flood tide as an energy source for the millstones also meant that the mill operated throughout the day and night.
Prior's neighbor Cornelius Van Vorst built a ferry with a route from Paulus Hook Island to Cortland Street in New York City. It required the construction of an earthen causeway to connect with the road to Prior's Mill. The location of the mill overall made it accessible for farmers. They brought their corn and wheat to Prior's mill by either wagon or boat and their logs to be sawed for lumber. Prior's success and popularity allowed him to build a thatch roof home and a dock on the premises.
Prior's Mill is frequently mentioned in accounts of the area during the Revolutionary War. Although the patriots controlled the area of Mill Creek, it is reported that the British troops and the Continental army employed the mill's services to feed their soldiers. General George Washington, it is claimed, used the area behind the mill to watch the movement of the British navy in the Hudson River. He and General Hugh Mercer were said to be guests of Prior on occasion. Also, Major Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee of Virginia used the mill as a stop for his troops before his strategic attack on the British-held Fort Paulus Hook on August 1779.
In 1837, when Mill Creek was filled in for the construction of the New Jersey Railroad at Merseles Street, it negatively affected the mill's operation. The mill was razed the next year. Prior's house was razed in 1880.
Grundy, J. Owen. The History of Jersey City, 1609-1976. Jersey City, NJ: Progress Printing Co., Inc. 1976.
