Hackensack

The Hackensack River flows south beside the Palisades and through a wide expanse of wetlands to Newark Bay. Its name comes from a Lenape expression interpreted as “flat confluence of streams” or “stony ground.” Herring, shad and striped bass ran in its waters, which were home to Lenape communities including the Hackensack and Tappan.

Dutch colonists called the valleys west of the Palisades Achter Kol, or “behind the ridge.” The passage led toward trapping grounds in the northern interior. Conflict with the Lenape hindered Dutch expansion into the river valley during the seventeenth century. In 1776 the wetlands helped shield George Washington's Continental Army as it withdrew after defeats east of the Hudson, and later protected its encampment in the hills near Morristown.