A quaint and interesting landmark of lower Jersey City, for some
thirty years, was the windmill near the corner of Montgomery and Green
streets; to be exact, it stood upon a pier one hundred feet in length,
seventy-five feet north of Montgomery street, and fifty feet east of
Green street. According to the family traditions this mill, an exact
duplicate of one owned by himself in Derbyshire, England, was sent
by Mr. Edge, Sr., to his son Mr. Isaac Edge, soon after he settled
in Jersey City in 1806, in appreciation of his success in the New
World. Every part was marked to insure its proper erection. The motive
power was a windmill upon an octagonal stone tower seven stories in
height. The fans on the wings were originally of canvas, but these
were destroyed by a September gale in 1821, when Mr. Edge replaced
them with iron fans. It was quite a celebrated mill and considered the
best in America. It faithfully ground its grists until taken down in
1839 to make room for the New Jersey Railroad tracks; but its days of
usefulness were not over, it was removed to Town Harbor, L. I., from
there it was taken to Southold, L. I., where it continued to do good
work until destroyed by fire on June 25th, 1870.
In connection with the mill Mr. Edge started a bakery, which not only
supplied Jersey City people with their daily bread at twenty-five cents
a loaf, but ships also. The bakery stood on the southwest corner of
York and Green streets. It was burned in 1811, but Mr. Edge rebuilt
it and the building is still standing. The family still have in their
possession the ledger of the old mill and some of the entries are very
interesting. The accounts were kept in English currency until 1816.
In 1812 flour was sold at the mill for eighteen dollars per barrel.
Abraham Reynolds paid one pound, sixteen shillings to have forty-five
bushels of wheat ground and three shillings and six pence for its
ferriage across the river. The freight on three barrels of bread sent
to Sandy Hook was four pounds, four shillings, three pence. James
Parker received for his labor only five shillings a day, while Jabez
Spinning received thirteen shillings. Mr. Edge lived at the corner of
Green and York streets on the water front.
[Illustration: TOWN HALL AND SCHOOL.]