The Port of Hackensack is the seat of Bergen County in northeast New Jersey. On the shores of the Hackensack River, the Port of Hackensack is just 16 nautical miles upriver (24 kilometers or 15 miles north-northeast) from the Port of New York. The town green was used as a campground for troops on both sides of the American Revolution. The early Port of Hackensack had an economy based on boat-building, brick-making, and pottery. Today, the Port of Hackensack is home to a variety of manufacturers producing machinery, foundry products, plastics, electrical appliances, clothing, paper products, and processed foods. The 2010 US Census reported that over 43 thousand people live in the Port of Hackensack.

Before the Dutch came to establish a town there, the future Port of Hackensack was inhabited by the Lenni Lenape people that later came to be known as the Delaware. The Dutch began to settle there in the 1630s when the Dutch East India Company began to establish settlements west of the Hudson River across from New Amsterdam (which was renamed Manhattan). By 1667, the British had taken the area.

Hackensack village was part of the Township of New Barbadoes in 1710. Because it was centrally located in Bergen County, it was made the county seat. During the American Revolution, George Washington's headquarters were on the village green in the future Port of Hackensack as he retreated from Fort Lee in 1776. The British raided the Port of Hackensack in 1780, destroying the original courthouse.

In 1868, the New Jersey Legislature incorporated the Hackensack Improvement Commission and authorized it to develop sewers and other municipal improvements. In 1921, Hackensack was incorporated as a city.

The North Jersey Media Group owns, and the New Jersey Naval Museum Submarine Memorial Association operates the Ling Mooring Wharf in the Port of Hackensack to moor vessels on exhibit. At the rear of the wharf are a ticket office, a souvenir shop, and a parking lot. The Port of Hackensack's Ling Mooring Wharf has berthing distance of 95.1 meters (312 feet) with alongside depth of 4.6 meters (15 feet).

The New Jersey Naval Museum in the Port of Hackensack is devoted to preserving naval history in general and New Jersey's naval heritage. Its prominent feature is the USS Ling, a World War II submarine, where guided tours take visitors from bow to stern. The museum also has a Japanese suicide torpedo, a German Seehund, and a River Patrol Boat from the Vietnam War era.

The Port of Hackensack is not a popular tourist destination. It has a humid continental climate with warm to hot summers and cold winters. Temperatures in the Port of Hackensack range from an average high of about 25°C (78°F) in July and August to an average -0.5°C (31°F) in January. Humidity levels range from a high of 78% in September to a low of about 65% in April. The Port of Hackensack gets snowfall from November through April with the heaviest snows averaging almost nine inches (22 centimeters) in February.

Review and History    Satellite Map    Contact Information