[3][4] The ferry takes its name for Pavonia, the first European settlement on the west bank of the Hudson first established in 1633 as part of New Netherland and later expanded to region known as Bergen.
He started a ferry which ran from Chambers Street (Manhattan) to the foot of Pavonia Avenue on the other side of the Hudson Waterfront.
The New York and Erie Railroad paid an annual rent of $9,050 to transport passengers back and forth.
[6] A January 18, 1903 letter from a Passaic, New Jersey reader to The New York Times, commented about the inadequacy of the boats of the Pavonia Ferry, which was then the property of the Erie Railroad.
"[7] The vessels then in use by the Erie Railroad, listed with first year of service, were: Pavonia (1861), Susquehanna (1865), Delaware (1868), Chatauqua (1868), Passaic (1869), Ridgewood (1873), Paterson (1886), and J.G.