In Search of the Mary Murray
By Mark Krajnak
14 Sep 2008
An old ferryboat that served the people of Staten Island from 1938 until its decommission in 1975 is being dismantled for scrap metal. I wanted to see it, and photograph it, before it's gone.
The Mary Murray has sat moored near East Brunswick Township, New Jersey, since the mid-1970s. If you've traveled along the New Jersey Turnpike near Exit 9, you may have seen it. But the only way to really see it now is to paddle to it. So one late-summer evening that had a bit of Fall in the air, my friend Brian and I decided to go in search of the Mary Murray.
We launched from the Middlesex County Boat Ramp in Highland Park, NJ, and began paddling up the Raritan River. I had never been on the Raritan so that was interesting in and of itself. While Route 1, and later the New Jersey Turnpike zoomed overhead, we were in a quieter world of marsh grass and wildlife.
After a few miles, though, we passed under the NJ Turnpike, rounded a corner and came up on the old girl. The Mary Murray, named for a Revolutionary War figure, has been moored on the Raritan for the better part of three decades, an unmistakable landmark for many. Now though, it is being taken apart for scrap metal.
Parked next to another fading vessel, an old luxury yacht, one can still envision the original mass of the ferryboat. It's Art Deco era columns are still visible and it's masthead still proudly still proclaims "Mary Murray," though through now-flaking paint. And in the quiet evening air, you an almost hear the conversations of the thousands of people the Mary Murray once carried.
The Mary Murray is quickly disappearing. I've been told that there is less of it then there was even a month ago as the take-down work continues. Still, I'm glad Brian and I got to see this piece of New Jersey history before it's gone. As we paddled back in the twilight, we knew that we had the photos - and the memories - of this late summer escape to help keep the memory of the Mary Murray alive.
