October 11

On the 11th in 1811, John Stevens’ steam-powered boat, the Juliana, went into service between New York, New York and Hoboken, New Jersey. This was the first steam-powered ferry service available to and from Manhattan.

Stevens was the owner of the land that is today occupied by Hoboken, New Jersey. He had bought it at public auction after it had been confiscated from a British loyalist during the Revolutionary War. In 1815, Stevens was granted the first railroad charter in the United States for the establishment of the New Jersey Railroad.