03/01/2026
Here is a link to a fun-to-look-at map titled “A Map Containing part of the Provinces of New York and New Jersey” (1780), which was compiled during the American Revolution.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3800.ar105300/?r=0.648,1.052,0.219,0.175,0
Before getting into some map details, it is important to discuss the map's origins and its significance.
The map was drawn from surveys compiled by Major Thomas Millidge of the 1st Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers, in 1780. A further notation at the lower right says, “This Map is Drawn For Oliver Delancey Esquire, Adjutant General of N. America and Major of the 17th Light Dragoons, By Andrew Skinner 1701.”
The 1st Battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers was a Loyalist provincial regiment operating in the New Jersey and New York area. Oliver De Lancey (this is the spelling used in references found on him) served as Adjutant General of British forces in North America and was responsible for issuing orders, coordinating troop movements, and overseeing administrative military operations. He was not a battlefield commander. This was likely a working military planning document, and not a commercial publication.
There are two dates, with “1780” at the top and “1701” at the bottom. This was common practice at that time. The 1780 date refers to when Millidge drew this version during the Revolutionary War, while the 1701 reference points to an earlier survey by Andrew Skinner, which provided a basis for the map.
The map only showed general areas and roads (though these roads were not named). A few individual homes are shown, likely the residences of people of note, such as William Livingston.
We can recognize many names on the map that are the same, such as Sandy Hook, Staten Island, Great Falls, etc. Other names we know but were spelled differently. The Passaic River was “Passaick” River. Hoboken was “Hoebuck.” Secaucus was “Seahacus.” Parsippany was “Parsapenny,” etc.
But now let's get closer to the Garfield area (even though it did not “exist” then). Below is an excerpt from the map. The circle shows the approximate location of Garfield today, situated between the Passaic and Saddle Rivers.
The only notation in our area is “Slatter Dam Hill,” which is what we call Belmont Hill today. Keeping in mind that since the basis for this map is up to 325 years old, it does not have the detail to show any nuances between Belmont Hill and the higher ground associated with parts of Harrison Avenue.
The only road is along the Passaic River, likely the ancestor of Dundee then River Drives. The arrow on the map is estimated to be today’s Broadway/Route 4 through Elmwood Park and Fair Lawn. This is based on the “Zabroskies” and the “Govenors Mills” being in that area (today’s “Easton Tower/Red Mill” historic site that was also the location of a grist mill operated by the Zabroskies/Zabriskies).
Back to the Slatter Dam - it was likely an early mill dam on the Passaic River, possibly near what we know today as the Dundee Dam. During the Revolutionary era, the river was being used for water power, and dams were often built to operate gristmills or sawmills. We believe that it was named for Colonel Henry Sloughter, who was an English Army officer and colonial administrator who briefly served as the governor of New York in 1691. Over the next century or more, the spelling morphed to several others (in this case, “Slatter”).
It is nice to see that even on a military map drawn for British officers, our little piece of New Jersey was already taking shape. The roads may have been little more than wagon tracks, but the place we now call Garfield was already there, tucked between two rivers and a rise of land the mapmakers called Slatter Dam Hill. It is a reminder that long before the mills, the neighborhoods, and the city charter, this area already had a story to tell.
