Staten Island Ferry Through the Years Since the 1600s, ferries have operated from Staten Island to Brooklyn, Manhattan and New Jersey. The first ferries were rowboats, although sailboats were used at times. The early 1800s saw flat-bottomed sloops moving farm animals and produce, as well as people. In 1817, Daniel D. Tompkins, who later became Governor of New York (and Vice President of the U.S.), began steamboat service between Whitehall Street in New York and Staten Island with his ferryboat the Nautilus. Team ferries propelled by horses also existed, but eventually they were replaced by the steam engine. Since the early 1960s diesel engines have powered the Staten Island ferryboats. In 1886, transportation was improved when Erastus Wiman developed a hub connecting ferries and railroad after obtaining the options for the property from George Law whom he canonized by naming the area around the Ferry Terminal "Saint George." It 1905, New York City took over the Staten Island Ferry introducing five new boats named after each of the City's boroughs and set the fare of 5 cents. Like then, the trip takes 25 minutes across the 5.2 miles (8.37 kilometers) of Upper New York Bay between the St. George Terminal in Staten Island and the Whitehall Terminal in lower Manhattan. Over time the boats were replaced and in 1997 the fare was abolished making the ride on the world famous Staten Island Ferry one of the very few free New York experiences.......