It all started when...

At the foot of Smith Street, the Perth Amboy city dock was the most prominent such wharf on the Arthur Kill in the 1700s.  Used for loading and unloading extensive cargo, the dock was a lifeline to the businesses that grew up in the area surrounding it. The site is also infamous for having been the point of entry for the numerous enslaved persons brought in through the city during the 18th century.  In the mid 1800s steamboats pulled up to the dock twice a day for fares to New York City and by 1863 regular ferry service had been established. For 100 years that service, most famously on a ferry called the Maid of Perth, ran between Perth Amboy and Tottenville in Staten Island and the current building was it's home from 1904.  After closing in 1963 the building fell into disrepair and was almost lost to time until in 1977 a group of citizens formed W.A.T.E.R. (Waterfront Association to Effect Restoration) with the purpose of restoring the slip to it's turn of the century beauty.  Having weathered time and harsh waterside conditions for almost a century, much of the structure had to be rebuilt and stabilized, but with the help of the US Navy Seabees, W.A.T.E.R. completed the task in 1998.  

Restored with the Ferry Slip, the adjacent ticket office dates to the lease Perth Amboy held with the Staten Island Railroad Company in 1867 and so has seen most of the history of the ferry here.

Recently, a maritime museum has found a home in the Ferry Slip, and during the warmer months concerts are held here on various Saturday evenings.