Search This Blog

Monday, March 07, 2011

1937: WHEN TRENTON WAS A SEAPORT


Many of the you't realize that Trenton once hosted ocean-going vessels at the Trenton Marine Terminal on Lamberton Street in South Trenton. The above photo shows a huge British cargo vessel being loaded with scrap iron and steel which is en route to Japan. The Marine Terminal is long gone. Over the years, attempts have been made to deepen the Delaware from Philadelphia up to Trenton, but the efforts have been abandoned. It is my assumption that the project was never attempted due to the expense. The deepening would have been a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project.
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wonder if this ship was bringing anything illicit into town? A few years before this photo, opium was found hidden in a hollowed out portion of the base of Raby Castle's mast.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Mack said...

Hi Tom:) I always heard it was Art Hollands dream to dredge the river and make the city a seaport, but the money could not be located on a county state or federal level to do it:)

Mike Kuzma said...

Tom: In addition to the "Marine Terminal" smaller ships, and barges would dock at the "Basin" located just below the Pennsylvania RR Bridge. These ships and barges hauled sand, and silicone for use in the famous Trenton "China" industry. These companies were lost to Ohio in the 1950's. As a kid in South Trenton, I swam and boated the Delaware from the RR bridge to "Duck Island" below the Marine Terminal. Does anyone out there other than me remember when the high retaining wall of stone was built on the Morrisville Side? This was done in the 30's, and I think as a WPA project. I attemped to post this a few days ago, but ran into problems. Regards Mike Kuzma

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wonder if this ship was bringing anything illicit into town? A few years before this photo, opium was found hidden in a hollowed out portion of the base of Raby Castle's mast.

Mack said...

Hi Tom:)
I always heard it was Art Hollands dream to dredge the river and make the city a seaport, but the money could not be located on a county state or federal level to do it:)

Mike Kuzma said...

Tom:

In addition to the "Marine Terminal" smaller ships, and barges would dock at the "Basin" located just below the Pennsylvania RR Bridge. These ships and barges hauled sand, and silicone for use in the famous Trenton "China" industry. These companies were lost to Ohio in the 1950's.
As a kid in South Trenton, I swam and boated the Delaware from the RR bridge to "Duck Island" below the Marine Terminal.
Does anyone out there other than me remember when the high retaining wall of stone was built on the Morrisville Side? This was done in the 30's, and I think as a WPA project. I attemped to post this a few days ago, but ran into problems.

Regards

Mike Kuzma