Jersey City, New Jersey

• 1. Lenape And Dutch Settlements

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  In 1609, Henry Hudson anchored his small vessel Halve Maen at Sandy Hook and Harsimus Cove. He spent nine days surveying the area and meeting its inhabitants before sailing north to Albany. The land belonged to the Lenape people, a collection of Native American tribes that were part of the Algonquian nation. By 1623, New Netherland became a Dutch province with headquarters in New Amsterdam. Michael Reyniersz Pauw received a land grant as patroon on the 22nd of November 1630. He purchased the land from the Lenape for 80 fathoms of wampum, 20 fathoms of cloth, 12 kettles, six guns, two blankets, one double kettle, and half a barrel of beer. Pauw chose the west bank of the Hudson River but neglected to populate the area within four years. He was obliged to sell his holdings back to the Company in 1633. A house was built at Communipaw for Jan Evertsen Bout, superintendent of the colony. Another house was built at Harsimus Cove in 1634 and became the home of Cornelius Henrick Van Vorst. Relations with the Lenape deteriorated during the 1640s due to Director-General Willem Kieft's intimidation tactics. On the 25th of February 1643, approximately 120 Lenape were killed by the Dutch in a massacre ordered by Kieft at Pavonia. The attack led to a series of raids and reprisals that virtually destroyed the settlement on the west bank. Peter Stuyvesant arrived in New Amsterdam on the 11th of May 1658 to replace Kieft as Director-General. On the 15th of September 1655, Pavonia was attacked as part of a Munsee occupation called the Peach War. Over 100 mostly women and children were taken captive and held at Paulus Hook before being ransomed. Stuyvesant re-purchased scattered communities of farmsteads on the 10th of January 1658. The village of Bergen was established by settlers who wished to return to the west bank of the Hudson on what is now Bergen Square in 1660. It was officially chartered by Stuyvesant on the 5th of September 1661 as the state's first local civil government. The village was designed by Jacques Cortelyou, the first surveyor of New Amsterdam.

• 2. Revolutionary War Battles

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  In 1776, General George Washington ordered American patriots to construct several forts to defend the western banks of the Hudson River. One fort was located at Paulus Hook. Following the defeat of General Washington at the Battle of Brooklyn, British forces took control of New York City on the 15th of September 1776. They turned their ships towards Paulus Hook and occupied it on September 23. The fort became the first New Jersey territory invaded and occupied by the British. In mid-summer 1779, Major Henry Lee recommended a daring plan for the Continental Army to attack the fort. The assault began shortly after midnight on the 19th of August 1779. Lee led a force of about 300 men through swampy marshland. Some got lost during the march but the main contingent reached the fort's gate without being challenged. The attacking Patriots damaged the fort and took 158 British prisoners. They were unable to destroy the fort or spike its cannons. Lee decided to withdraw before British forces from New York could cross the river. Later that August, General Washington met with the Marquis de Lafayette in the village of Bergen to discuss war strategy over lunch. The meeting purportedly took place under an apple tree at the Van Wagenen House on Academy Street. On the 1st of September 1780, Jane Tuers sold goods in British-occupied Manhattan. She stopped in Fraunces Tavern where Samuel Fraunces informed her that British soldiers were toasting General Benedict Arnold. Tuers returned to Bergen later that day and informed her brother Daniel Van Reypen about the conspiracy. Van Reypen rode to Hackensack to meet with General Anthony Wayne who sent him to inform General Washington. The information confirmed what Washington suspected and led to the arrest and hanging of John André for treason. On the 22nd of November 1783, the British evacuated Paulus Hook three days before they left New York. An obelisk was erected at Paulus Hook Park at the intersection of Washington and Grand Streets in 1903 to memorialize the battle. A plaque honoring Jane Tuer's heroism was installed at the site of her former home now Hudson Catholic Regional High School in 1925.

• 3. Industrialization And Consolidation

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  In 1804, Alexander Hamilton helped create the Associates of the Jersey Company to increase manufacturing in the greater New York City area. The consortium of 35 investors laid out city squares and streets including Grove, Varick, Mercer, Wayne, Monmouth and Montgomery. They purchased large tracts of land in Paulus Hook from Anthony Dey and his cousins Colonel Richard Varick and Jacob Radcliff. John B. Coles purchased the area north of Paulus Hook known as Harsimus and laid out a grid plan centered around Hamilton Park. The legislature approved Hamilton's charter on the 10th of November 1804. In 1812, Robert Fulton began steam ferry service via The Jersey between Paulus Hook and Manhattan. The New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company opened the city's first rail line from Jersey City Ferry to Newark in 1834. From 1834 to 1836, the Morris Canal connected the Delaware River with the Hudson River. This extension provided coal and anthracite pig iron for the growing iron industry. The city became an important port and railroad hub during the 19th century. Tens of millions of immigrants entered the United States through Communipaw Terminal after Ellis Island opened in 1892. Three passenger railroad terminals opened along the Hudson River by the late 1880s: Pavonia Terminal, Exchange Place and Communipaw. The consolidation of all towns east of the Hackensack River into one municipality began on the 17th of March 1870. It took effect on the 3rd of May 1870 when Jersey City annexed Bergen City and Hudson City. Greenville Township joined in 1873. Saint Peter's College was charted in 1872 and classes began on the 2nd of September 1878 in Paulus Hook. In 1850, engineer William S. Whitwell proposed a three-reservoir complex in Jersey City Heights. Reservoir No. 1 was built between 1851 and 1854. Reservoir No. 3 was built between 1871 and 1874 under John Culver. On the 2nd of May 1867, The Evening Journal was first published by U.S. Army Civil War veterans William Dunning and Z. K. Pangborn at Exchange Place.

• 4. Boss Hague Political Era

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  From 1917 to 1947, Jersey City was governed by mayor Frank Hague. He ran the city with an iron fist while molding governors, United States senators, and judges to his whims. Hague lived like a millionaire despite having an annual salary that never exceeded $8,500. He maintained a fourteen-room duplex apartment in Jersey City, a suite at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, and a palatial summer home in Deal. Hague financed several infrastructure projects with WPA funds secured by congresswoman Mary Teresa Norton. These projects included the Holland Tunnel, the Wittpenn Bridge, the Pulaski Skyway, Lincoln High School, Snyder High School, A. Harry Moore School, New Jersey City University, Pershing Field, Audubon Park, five public housing complexes, Harborside Terminal, the Seventh Police Precinct, and Roosevelt Stadium. Some of these landmarks define the city to this day. After Hague's retirement from politics, mayors John V. Kenny (1949, 1953), Thomas J. Whelan (1963, 1971) and Thomas F. X. Smith (1977, 1981) attempted to take control of his organization. None were able to duplicate the level of power held by Hague. The city and Hudson County remained notorious for political corruption for decades to come. Hague was known to be loud and vulgar but dressed in a stylish manner earning him the nickname King Hanky-Panky. In his later years he dismissed enemies as reds or commies.

• 5. Postwar Decline And Renaissance

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  Following World War II, returning veterans created an economic boom and began buying homes in suburbs with assistance from the G.I. Bill. College Towers was built on the West Side as the first middle-income housing cooperative apartment complex in New Jersey in 1956. Country Village was built in the 1960s as a suburbia-in-the-city planned community in Greenville. From 1950 to 1980, Jersey City lost 75,000 residents. Between 1975 and 1982, the city lost 5,000 jobs representing 9% of its workforce. By the late 1960s, rail terminals and ferry service vital to the economy had closed after host railroads declared bankruptcy. Port Jersey was created on Upper New York Bay adjacent to Greenville Yard between 1972 and 1976 as the city's modern intermodal freight transport facility. The Newark Bay Extension Interstate 78 opened in 1956 at an estimated cost of $2,765 per foot. It became known as the world's most expensive road. In August 1964, race riots occurred in the predominantly African American neighborhood of Lafayette. At least 46 people were injured, 52 arrested and 71 stores damaged by August 5. Beginning in the 1980s, restoration of brownstones in Paulus Hook and Van Vorst Park helped stir economic renaissance. Artists moved into former warehouses in the Powerhouse Arts District. Financial institutions such as UBS, Goldman Sachs, Chase Bank, Citibank, and Merrill Lynch occupy prominent buildings on the waterfront. From 1995 to 2003, Jersey City led the 100 largest cities in job growth and poverty reduction. The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail construction ran from 1996 to 2011 linking the city with neighbors.

• 6. Modern Demographics And Culture

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  As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 292,449. This represents an increase of 44,852 or 18.1% from the 2010 count of 247,597. With more than 40 languages spoken in over 52% of homes and 42.5% of residents born outside the United States, it is the most ethnically diverse city in the nation. Since the 1990s, Jersey City has been a destination for artists and hipsters. Apartment rents have grown to become some of the highest in the United States. In response, the city instituted zoning requiring developers to include affordable housing units. In 2023 and 2025, Travel + Leisure ranked Jersey City as the best place to live in New Jersey. Liberty State Park opened on Flag Day 1976 on New York Harbor. It features a two-mile waterfront walkway and is the largest urban park in New Jersey. The Liberty Science Center opened in the park in 1993. Cultural venues throughout the city include the Loew's Jersey Theatre, White Eagle Hall, the Ellis Island Museum, Mana Contemporary and the Museum of Jersey City History. Large parks include Lincoln Park and Berry Lane Park. On the 19th of November 2015, Donald Trump falsely claimed he witnessed thousands celebrating the September 11 attacks in Jersey City. Both Trump Plaza and Trump Bay Street were renamed in 2020 following council proposals to remove his name from buildings.