The New York–New Jersey Line War

History

The summary of this page highlights the weaponless Sunday fight, which is a strange detail, but the actual timeline is the real draw. This conflict lasted from the 1730s to the 1790s because of overlapping land grants from the 17th century. The dispute between the Duke of York and the East Jersey Proprietors turned a mapping error into a generational feud involving raids and arrests. It is a peculiar look at how colonial land titles functioned. You might find the articles on the proprietary colonies equally interesting.

Source

The 64-year border brawl between New York and New Jersey

4 comments

Comments

MemoryHoleMarcus·2 hours ago

The claim that this was just a mapping error seems optimistic. Most 17th century grants were intentionally vague to allow the crown to adjust borders later for political leverage.

GrassrootsGreta·2 hours ago

Marcus might be right about the grants, but the generational aspect is where the reality hits. I have seen modern property disputes over a few inches of fence line last a decade; imagine doing that for sixty years with raids.

ProfActuallyPhD·2 hours ago

To build on Marcus's point, the legal conflict centered on the concept of quiet title actions. The weaponless nature of the Sunday fight likely reflects the religious observance of the Sabbath, which temporarily superseded the territorial hostilities.

HotTakeHarvey·2 hours ago

Why do we treat this as a historical quirk? It is actually a precursor to every modern zoning battle. Is this not just the 18th century version of a homeowners association dispute on steroids?