New Jersey
New Jersey (often informally abbreviated to "Jersey") is a
state in the
Mid-Atlantic region of the
United States. It is the fourth smallest, tenth most populous, and is the most densely populated of the fifty states of the United States. The state is named after the island of
Jersey in the
English Channel. It is bordered on the north by
New York, on the east by the
Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by
Delaware, and on the west by
Pennsylvania. Parts of New Jersey lie within the
metropolitan areas of
New York,
Philadelphia, and the
Delaware Valley.
Inhabitated by
Native Americans for more than 11,000 years, the area was settled by the
Swedes and
Dutch. The British later seized control of the region, which was granted to Sir
George Carteret and
John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton as the colony of New Jersey. New Jersey was an important site during the
American Revolutionary War; several decisive battles were fought there. Later, working-class cities such as
Paterson helped to drive the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century. New Jersey's position at the center of the
BosWash megalopolis, between
Boston,
New York City,
Philadelphia,
Baltimore and
Washington, D.C., fueled its rapid growth through the
suburban boom of the 1950s and beyond.
 |
Map of New Jersey showing major transportation networks and cities |
New Jersey is bordered on the north and northeast by
New York; on the east by the
Atlantic Ocean; on the south and southwest by
Delaware; and on the west by
Pennsylvania. The western border of New Jersey is largely defined by the
Delaware River. Because of its dense population and because most communities of northern New Jersey do not have the widespread
reservoir system of neighboring Greater New York City, the slightest dry season leads to
drought warnings; but because there are many streams and rivers close to these communities, the slightest above average rainfall causes frequent flooding as many parts of Northern New Jersey is part of a
flood plain. It is also at the center of a the Boston to Washington megalopolis.
New Jersey is broadly divided into three geographic regions:
North Jersey,
Central Jersey, and
South Jersey. North Jersey lies within
New York City's general sphere of influence largely within the
New York metropolitan area, in which reside many residents commuting to the city to work. Central Jersey is a largely
suburban area. South Jersey is within
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's general sphere of influence, and most of it is included in the
Delaware Valley. Such geographic definitions are loosely defined, however, and there is often dispute over where one region begins and another ends. Some people do not consider Central Jersey to exist at all, but most believe it is a separate geographic and cultural area from the North and South.
Additionally, the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth & Tourism Commission divides the state into six distinct regions to facilitate the state's tourism industry. The regions are:
*
Gateway Region, encompassing
Hudson County,
Essex County,
Union County,
Middlesex County,
Bergen County, and
Passaic County.
*
Skylands Region, encompassing
Sussex County,
Morris County,
Warren County,
Hunterdon County, and
Somerset County.
*
Shore Region, encompassing
Monmouth County and
Ocean County.
*
Delaware River Region, encompassing
Mercer County,
Burlington County,
Camden County,
Gloucester County, and
Salem County.
*
Greater Atlantic City Region, encompassing
Atlantic County.
*
Southern Shore Region, encompassing
Cumberland County and
Cape May County.
High Point, in
Montague Township,
Sussex County, is the highest elevation, at 1,803
feet (550
m).
Major
rivers include the
Manasquan,
Maurice,
Mullica,
Passaic,
Hackensack,
Rahway,
Rancocas,
Raritan,
Musconetcong, and
Delaware rivers. The
Palisades are a line of steep cliffs on the lower west side of the
Hudson River.
Sandy Hook, along the eastern coast, is a popular recreational beach. It is a barrier spit and the extension of a barrier peninsula along the state's coast.
Areas managed by the
National Park Service include:
*
Appalachian National Scenic Trail*
Delaware National Scenic River*
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area*
Edison National Historic Site in
West Orange*
Ellis Island National Monument*
Gateway National Recreation Area in Monmouth County
*
Great Egg Harbor River*
Morristown National Historical Park in
Morristown*
New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route*
New Jersey Pinelands National ReserveProminent geographic features include:
*
Delaware Water Gap*
The Highlands*
New Jersey Meadowlands*
Pine Barrens*
South MountainNew Jersey has a
temperate climate, with warm/hot summers and cool/cold winters. During the
hurricane season, tropical
cyclones can hit New Jersey, though it is unusual for them to travel this far up the
east coast. During the winter months,
Nor'easters can dump up to two feet of snow at once.
Average high temperatures (in
°F) in New Jersey are:
*30 to 40 in January/February
*50 to 60 in March
*60 to 72 in April
*70 to 80 in May/June
*80 to 90 in July/August
*70 to 80 in September
*60 to 72 in October
*50 to 60 in November
*40 to 50 in December
The temperatures vary greatly from the northernmost part of New Jersey to the southernmost part of New Jersey. For example, these are the average high and low temperatures for
Cape May, NJ and
Sussex, NJ:
Cape May/Sussex Comparisons
*January 34/14 42/27
*February 38/16 43/28
Record temperatures have reached 20 to 30 degrees above average in each month.
Some claim there is evidence suggesting that people have inhabited New Jersey since 10,500 BC. This would have been a post
Ice age culture consisting of traveling hunters. However, the Europeans were the first to document the land. New Jersey's first European presence was not until the year 1497, when an English explorer named
John Cabot first saw New Jersey while sailing up the coast. "Florentine,
Giovanni da Verrazano, reportedly visited the coast in 1524" but neither of these men are considered New Jersey's discoverer (McCormick 3). Cabot failed to explore the land and Verrazano left no record supporting his claim.
Sir
Henry Hudson is the explorer generally credited with having discovered New Jersey in 1609. On
September 4,
1609 he dropped anchor in
Cape May and took a crew of 20 men for a week of exploration. He didn't leave any European culture behind, but he did document his discovery very well. New Jersey's first taste of European personality came from Captain
Cornelius Jacobsen Mey. In "1620 he sailed up the Delaware, and in 1624 he erected Fort Nassau at the Mouth of Timber Creek" (Pomfret 5b). He explored the greater Delaware Bay area and confirmed that the land was good for planting. He declared it as ready for colonization and named Cape May in his own honor.
Europeans agreed that the land was good for planting, but they felt discontent towards the inhabitants. The Lenni-Lenape tribe occupied New Jersey at this time. The Europeans found them strange and uncivilized; while in fact that couldn't have been further from the truth. The
Lenni-Lenape Native Americans tribe was part of the greater
Algonquin nation. The tribe was well organized into "three groups, which were geographic distributed" (Worton 27). These sub-tribes each had a sub-chief or sakima. The sub-tribes each had their respective names, "the Minsi, or the people of the stony country in the north; the Unami, or the people down the river in the central portion; and Unilachitgo or the people who leave near the ocean in the south" (ibid 27). The Unami sakima was normally thought to be the chief of the whole Lenni-Lenape tribe. The tribe was in fact so well organized that it had a network of trails resembling the locations of many of our modern-day highways. They were also the leading force of peace within the nation. The tribe was frequently asked to serve as intermediaries to settle inter-tribal conflicts.
It was their contact with the early Dutch traders that would be the beginning of the end for the Lenni-Lenape. In 1638, a company of
Swedes and ethnic
Finns, under the supervision of Dutch political and commercial interests, set sail for the New World. They sailed across the North Atlantic, south along the New Jersey Coast, then into the
Delaware Bay and up the Delaware River to Wilmington. They began to settle both sides of the Delaware at a site not far from what would become Salem. A fort named Old Fort Elfsborg became the central hub for trade. The Scandinavian influence prevails today as linguists theorize that certain speech patterns in Southern New Jersey area are traceable to the mixed and changing Swedish-English vocabulary.
Colonial era
Much of New Jersey was claimed by the
Dutch. The Dutch colony of
New Netherland consisted of parts of modern
New York (Nieuw Amsterdam) and New Jersey. Although the European principle of land ownership was not recognized by the Lenape, Dutch policy required formal purchase of all land settled upon, and the first such purchase was of
Manhattan, by
Peter Minuit.
The entire region became a territory of
England in 1664, when a British fleet under the command of Colonel
Richard Nicolls sailed into what is today
New York Harbor and took over the colony, against extremely little resistance.
During the
English Civil War the
Channel Isle of
Jersey remained loyal to the Crown and gave sanctuary to the King. It was from the Royal Square in St. Helier that
Charles II of England was first proclaimed King in 1649, following the execution of his father,
Charles I. The North American lands were divided by
Charles II, who gave his brother, the Duke of York (later
King James II) the region between
New England and
Maryland as a proprietary colony (as opposed to a royal colony). James then granted the land between the
Hudson River and the
Delaware River (the land that would become New Jersey) to two friends who had remained loyal through the
English Civil War:
Sir George Carteret and
Lord Berkeley of Stratton.
Settlement for the first 10 years of English rule was in the
Hudson River region and came primarily from New England. On
March 18,
1673, Berkeley sold his half of the colony to
Quakers in England (with
William Penn acting as trustee for a time), who settled the Delaware Valley region as a Quaker colony. New Jersey was governed as two distinct provinces,
West Jersey and
East Jersey, for the 28 years between 1674 and 1702. In 1702, the two provinces were united under a royal, rather than a proprietary, governor.
Revolutionary War era
New Jersey was one of the
thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the
American Revolution. The
New Jersey Constitution of 1776 was passed
July 2,
1776, just two days before the
Second Continental Congress declared American Independence from
Britain.
New Jersey representatives
Richard Stockton,
John Witherspoon,
Francis Hopkinson,
John Hart, and
Abraham Clark were among the men who signed the
United States Declaration of Independence. These men, just like all the others, took tremendous risks in order to fight for independence and all went on to serve their newly founded country for the rest of their lives. Distinguished lawyer Richard Stockton, New Jersey born and College of New Jersey graduate, sacrificed his royal judicial title and his considerable international economic interest in order to be an elected delegate for New Jersey at the General Congress. John Witherspoon was a Scottish immigrant. He came to New Jersey to serve as the sixth president of the College of New Jersey. He was a world renowned Presbyterian minister and became a leading member of the
Continental Congress. Witherspoon went on to become one of the leaders of the new national Presbyterian church. Francis Hopkinson was somewhat of a renaissances man for his time. He was articulate in several fields of the arts and a very impressive scientist. Perhaps the capstone of his career was being appointed by President George Washington to the federal bench. John Hart was prominent land owner and judge of the Hunterdon County court. Like Stockton, he sacrificed his high standing with the royal court and dedicated his life to the New Jersey Assembly. After signing the Declaration of Independence, he went on to become the speaker of the New Jersey Assembly. The last of the men was native to Elizabethtown, Abraham Clark. He was slightly different from his fellow New Jersey representatives. He jumped from job to job working as a farmer, surveyor, transporter, legal adviser, and finally politician. He was well liked in all these field and had become a prominent member of society, but he found his home in government. Upon this he had held numerous political positions at all the various levels of government.
It was an act of the Provincial Congress, which made itself into the state Legislature. To reassure neutrals, it provided that it would become void if New Jersey reached a reconciliation with Great Britain.
During the
American Revolutionary War, British and American armies crossed New Jersey numerous times and several pivotal battles took place in the state. Because of this, New Jersey today is often referred to as "The Crossroads of the Revolution."
On
Christmas Day,
1776, the
Continental Army under
George Washington crossed the
Delaware River and engaged the unprepared
Hessian troops in the
Battle of Trenton. Slightly more than a week after victory at
Trenton, on
January 3,
1777, the American forces gained an important victory by stopping Cornwallis's charges at the
Second Battle of Trenton. By evading Cornwallis's army, Washington made a surprise attack on
Princeton, and successfully defeated the British garrison there.
Later, American forces under Washington met the forces under General
Henry Clinton at the
Battle of Monmouth in an indecisive engagement. Washington attempted to take the British column by surprise; when the British army attempted to flank the Americans, the Americans retreated in disorder. The ranks were later reorganized and withstood the British charges.
In the summer of 1783, the
Continental Congress met in
Nassau Hall at
Princeton University, making
Princeton the nation's capital for four months. It was there that the Continental Congress learned of the signing of the
Treaty of Paris (1783), which ended the war.
New Jersey was the third state to ratify the
United States Constitution, which was overwhelmingly popular in New Jersey, as it prevented New York and Pennsylvania from charging and keeping tariffs on goods imported from Europe. In
November 20,
1789, the state became the first in the newly-formed Union to ratify the
Bill of Rights.
The 1776
New Jersey State Constitution gave the vote to "all inhabitants" who had a certain level of wealth. This included both women and blacks; although not married women, who could not own property. Both sides, in several elections, claimed that the other side had had unqualified women vote, and mocked them for use of "petticoat electors" (entitled to vote or not); on the other hand, both parties passed Voting Rights Acts. In 1807, the legislature passed a bill interpreting the constitution to mean universal
white male suffrage, excluding paupers. (This was less revolutionary than it sounds: the "constitution" was itself only an act of the legislature.)
[Klinghoffer and Elkis ("The Petticoat Electors: Women's Suffrage in New Jersey, 1776–1807." Journal of the Early Republic 12, no. 2 (1992): 159–193.)]Nineteenth century
On
February 15,
1804, New Jersey became the last northern state to abolish
slavery by enacting legislation that slowly phased out slavery. However, by the close of the
Civil War, about a dozen African-Americans in New Jersey were still apprenticed
freedmen. New Jersey initially refused to ratify the Constitutional Amendments banning slavery and granting rights to America's Black population.
Unlike the Revolutionary War, no Civil War battles took place within the state. However, throughout the course of the Civil War, over 80,000 enlisted in the Northern army to defeat the Southern rebels. In total, soldiers from New Jersey formed 4 militia regiments, 33 infantry regiments, 3 cavalry regiments, and 5 batteries of light artillery.
New Jersey was one of the few states to reject President
Abraham Lincoln twice in national elections, and sided with
Stephen Douglas and
George B. McClellan during their campaigns. McClellan later became governor. During the war, the state was led first by Republican Governor
Charles Smith Olden, then by Democrat
Joel Parker.
In 1844, the second
state constitution was ratified and brought into effect. Counties thereby became districts for the State Senate, and some realignment of boundaries (including the creation of
Mercer County) immediately followed. This provision was retained in the 1947 Constitution, but was overturned by the
Supreme Court of the United States in 1961.
While the Governorship was stronger than under the 1776 constitution (it could hardly be weaker), the 1844 created many offices that were not responsible to him, or to the people, and gave him a three-year term, but he could not succeed himself.
In the
Industrial Revolution, cities like
Paterson grew and prospered. Previously, the economy had been largely agrarian, which was problematically subject to crop failures and poor soil. This caused a shift to a more industrialized economy, one based on manufactured commodities such as
textiles and
silk. Inventor
Thomas Edison also became an important figure of the Industrial Revolution, having been granted 1,093 patents. Transportation was greatly improved as
locomotion and
steamboats were introduced to New Jersey.
Iron mining was also a prevalent industry during the middle to late 1800s. Mines such as Mt. Hope, Mine Hill and the Rockaway Valley Mines created a thriving industry, which spawned new towns and was one of the driving forces behind the need for the
Morris Canal.
Twentieth century
Through both World Wars, New Jersey was a center for war production, especially in naval construction. Battleships, cruisers, and destroyers were all made in this state. In addition,
Camp Kilmer,
Fort Dix (originally called "Camp Dix"), and
Camp Merritt were all constructed to help American soldiers through both World Wars. New Jersey also became a principal location for defense in the
Cold War. Fourteen
Nike Missile stations were constructed, especially for the defense of
New York City and
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. PT-109, commanded by Lt.(jg) John F. Kennedy, was built at the Elco Boatworks in Bayonne, and the aircraft carrier Enterprise (CV-6) was briefly docked at the Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne in the 1950s before she was sent to Japan to be scrapped.
New Jersey became a prosperous state through the
Roaring Twenties but fell in prosperity under the
Great Depression. Begging licenses were even offered to the unemployed by the state government in order to provide money for those who could not be helped by the exhausted state funds.
[Gerdes, Louise I. The 1930s, Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2000.] During this time period, the zeppelin
Hindenburg went up in flames over
Lakehurst.
In the 1960s, several
race riots sprang up in New Jersey, the first of which occurred in
Jersey City on
August 2,
1964. Several other riots ensued in 1967, in the cities of
Newark and
Plainfield.
Camden also dealt with race riots in 1971. The 1960s race riots in
Freehold are mentioned in the
Bruce Springsteen song "My Hometown."
| Historical population |
|---|
Census
year | Population |
|---|
|
| 1790 | 184,139 |
| 1800 | 211,149 |
| 1810 | 245,562 |
| 1820 | 277,575 |
| 1830 | 320,823 |
| 1840 | 373,306 |
| 1850 | 489,555 |
| 1860 | 672,035 |
| 1870 | 906,096 |
| 1880 | 1,131,116 |
| 1890 | 1,444,933 |
| 1900 | 1,883,669 |
| 1910 | 2,537,167 |
| 1920 | 3,155,900 |
| 1930 | 4,041,334 |
| 1940 | 4,160,165 |
| 1950 | 4,835,329 |
| 1960 | 6,066,782 |
| 1970 | 7,168,164 |
| 1980 | 7,364,823 |
| 1990 | 7,730,188 |
| 2000 | 8,414,350 |
State population
Residents of New Jersey are most commonly referred to as "New Jerseyans" or "New Jerseyites". The
United States Census Bureau, as of 2005, estimated New Jersey's population at 8,717,925, which represents an increase of 32,759, or 0.4%, from the prior year and an increase of 303,578, or 3.6%, since the last census in 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 220,220 people (that is 604,110 births minus 383,890 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 95,293 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 290,194 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 194,901 people. There are 1.6 million foreign-born living in the state (accounting for 19.2% of the population).
New Jersey is the tenth-most-populous state, but the most densely populated, at 1,134.4 residents per square mile (438.0 per km²), although the density varies widely across the state. It is also the wealthiest state in the United States as per the United States Census Bureau.
[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-P14&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-format=US-9]Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
The racial/ethnic makeup of New Jersey as of 2004 is:
[http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34000.html]*63.8%
White Non-Hispanic*14.5%
Black*14.9%
Hispanic*7.0%
Asian*0.3%
Native American*1.2%
Mixed raceNew Jersey is one of the most religiously and ethnically diverse states in the country. It has the second largest
Jewish population by percent (after
New York); the second largest
Muslim population by percent (after
Michigan); the third highest
Italian-American population by percent of any state according to the
2000 Census; and a large percentage of the population is
Black,
Hispanic,
Arab, and
Asian. It has the second highest
Indian American population of any state by absolute numbers.
[The Foreign Born from India in the United States, dated December 1, 2003][Race/ethnicity citation with state percentages (Adobe PDF)][Diversity index citation with state percentages (Microsoft Excel)][Ancestry citation with state percentages (Adobe PDF)]The five largest ancestry groups are:
Italian (17.9%),
Irish (15.9%),
African American (13.6%),
German (12.6%),
Polish (6.9%).
Newark and
Camden are two of the poorest cities in America, but New Jersey as a whole has the highest median household income among the states. This is largely because so much of New Jersey consists of suburbs, most of them affluent, of
New York City and
Philadelphia. New Jersey is also the most densely populated state in the nation, and the only state that has had every one of its counties deemed "urban" as defined by the
Census Bureau's
Combined Statistical Area.
[http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/metro-city/99mfips.txt] |
New Jersey population distribution |
The dominant race, ethnicity, or ancestry by county, according to the 2000 Census, are the following:
*Italian - Bergen, Morris, Somerset, Ocean, Monmouth
*Irish - Sussex
*Black - Essex, Union, Mercer, Hudson
*German - Warren, Hunterdon
*Polish/Slavic - Middlesex
*Puerto Rican/Hispanic - Hudson, Passaic
6.7% of its population were reported as under 5, 24.8% under 18, and 13.2% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.5% of the population.
Religion
The religious affiliations of adults of New Jersey are:
*
Christian – 77%
**
Roman Catholic – 39%
**
Protestant – 36%
***
Baptist – 9%
***
Methodist – 6%
***
Presbyterian – 4%
***Other Protestant or general Protestant – 17%
**Other Christian – 2%
*
Jewish – 6%
*
Muslim – 1%
*Other Religions (e.g. Hindu, Sikh) – 1%
*Non-Religious – 16%
The
Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that New Jersey's total state product in 2004 was $416 billion.
[Bureau of Economic Analysis] Its per capita personal income in 2004 was $41,636, 4
th in the U.S. and 126% of the national average of $33,041.
[Bureau of Economic Analysis] Its median household income is the highest in the nation with $55,146. It is ranked 2nd in the nation by the number of places with per capita incomes above national average with 76.4%. Nine of New Jersey's counties are in the wealthiest 100 of the country. Women in New Jersey earn the highest per capita income as stated in a 2002 article in the Newark
Star-Ledger.
Its agricultural outputs are nursery stock, horses, vegetables, fruits and nuts, seafood, and dairy products. In particular,
cranberries and
eggplant are two of the state's largest crops.
Hammonton in the southern part of the state is known as the
blueberry capital of the world. Its industrial outputs are pharmaceutical and chemical products, food processing, electric equipment, printing and publishing, and tourism. New Jersey's economy has a large base of industry and chemical manufacturing. Additionally, New Jersey is home to the largest petroleum containment system outside of the
Middle East.
New Jersey hosts several business headquarters. Fifty
Fortune 500 companies have headquarters in or conduct business from
Morris County alone. New Jersey is said to have the largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the world: nearly one hundred companies on the Fortune 500 list have headquarters or conduct business from New Jersey.
Paramus is noted for having one of the highest retail sales per person ratios in the nation. Several New Jersey counties such as Somerset (#7), Morris (10), Hunterdon (13), Bergen (21), Monmouth (42) counties have been ranked among the
highest-income counties in the United States. Four others are also in the top 100.
New Jersey's major industries are agriculture, tourism, nursery products, electronics, manufacturing equipment, pharmacuticals, etc. This diversity enables New Jersey to weather volatility in the national economy and contributes to New Jersey's low unemployment rate. New Jersey's geographical location between Philadelphia and New York City has helped New Jersey to grow and thrive since the time of its colonial origin in 1702. Another of New Jersey's great strengths is its large and well-educated labor pool that supports the myriad of industries that exist today. The
Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal is the world's largest container port.
Newark Liberty International Airport is ranked seventh among the nation's busiest airports and among the top 20 busiest airports in the world.
Six Flags Great Adventure in
Jackson is one of the largest theme parks in the world. It is home to the largest wild safari outside Africa and is now home to the world's tallest, fastest rollercoaster,
Kingda Ka. As of 2001, New Jersey makes $30 billion each year from tourism, as stated in the
Star-Ledger article "The Best Of New Jersey". New Jersey is one of the top ten most visited states in the nation.
New Jersey has seven tax brackets for determining
income tax rates. The rates range from 1.4 percent to 8.97 percent. The
sales tax rate is 7 percent, applicable to all retail sales unless specifically exempt by law. Exemptions include most food items for at-home preparation, medicines, clothing, footwear, and disposable paper products for use in the home. All
real property located in the state is subject to
property tax unless specifically exempted by statute. New Jersey does not assess an intangible personal property tax, but it does impose an
inheritance tax.
Oil Refineries
New Jersey is infamous for its abundance of oil refineries. The smell given off by the refineries is common to motorists who travel the
New Jersey Turnpike. This is a list of the major oil refineries in the state:
*
Bayway Refinery (
ConocoPhillips),
Linden, New Jersey 230,000 barrels per day (bpd)
*
Eagle Point Refinery (
Sunoco),
Westville, New Jersey 145,000 bpd
*
Paulsboro Asphalt Refinery (
Citgo),
Paulsboro, New Jersey 51,000 bpd
*
Paulsboro Refinery (
Valero),
Paulsboro, New Jersey 160,000 bpd
*
Perth Amboy Refinery (
Chevron),
Perth Amboy, New Jersey 80,000 bpd
*
Port Reading Refinery (
Hess),
Port Reading, New Jersey 62,000 bpd
Roadways
The
New Jersey Turnpike is one of the best-known and most-trafficked roadways in the
United States. This
toll road carries interstate traffic between
Delaware and
New York. Commonly referred to as simply "the Turnpike," it is known for its numerous rest-areas named after prominent New Jerseyans as diverse as inventor
Thomas Edison;
United States Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton;
United States Presidents Grover Cleveland and
Woodrow Wilson; writers
James Fenimore Cooper,
Joyce Kilmer, and
Walt Whitman; patriot
Molly Pitcher; Red Cross advocate
Clara Barton; and football coach
Vince Lombardi.
The
Garden State Parkway, or simply "the Parkway", carries more in-state traffic and runs from the town of
Montvale along New Jersey's northern border to its southernmost tip at
Cape May for 172.4 miles. It is the trunk that connects the New York metropolitan area to Atlantic City.
Other expressways in New Jersey include the
Atlantic City Expressway, the
Palisades Interstate Parkway,
Interstate 76,
Interstate 78,
Interstate 80,
Interstate 195,
Interstate 280,
Interstate 287, and
Interstate 295.
New Jersey has
interstate compacts with all three neighboring states. The
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the
Delaware River Port Authority (with Pennsylvania), and the
Delaware River and Bay Authority (with Delaware) operate most of the major transportation routes into and out of New Jersey. Bridge tolls are collected in one direction only — it is free to cross into New Jersey, but motorists must pay when exiting the state. The Washington Crossing and
Scudders Falls (on I-95) bridges near Trenton, as well as Trenton's
Calhoun Street and
Bridge Street ("Trenton Makes") bridges, are toll-free.
Airports
Newark Liberty International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the United States. Operated by the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the other two major
airports in the
New York City region (
John F. Kennedy International Airport and
LaGuardia Airport), it is one of the main airports serving the New York City area.
Continental Airlines is the facility's largest tenant, operating an entire terminal at Newark, which it uses as one of its primary
hubs.
United Airlines and
FedEx operate cargo hubs. The adjacent
Newark Airport railroad station provides access to the trains of
Amtrak and
New Jersey Transit along the
Northeast Corridor Line.
Two smaller commercial airports,
Atlantic City International Airport and
Trenton-Mercer Airport, also operate in other parts of New Jersey.
Teterboro Airport, in
Bergen County, is a
general aviation airport popular with private and corporate aircraft, due to its proximity to New York City.
Rail and bus
The
New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) operates extensive rail and bus service throughout the state. NJ Transit is a state-run corporation that began with the consolidation of several private bus companies in North Jersey. In the early 1980s, it acquired the commuter train operations of
Conrail that connect towns in northern and central New Jersey to
New York City. NJ Transit has eight lines that run throughout different parts of the state. Most of the trains start at various points in the state and most end at either
Pennsylvania Station, in
New York City, or
Hoboken Terminal in
Hoboken. NJ Transit began service between
Atlantic City and
Lindenwold in 1989 and extended it to
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, in the 1990s. This is the only mass transit line that is based entirely in
South Jersey, and the only one that connects Philadelphia and Atlantic City.
NJ Transit also operates three light rail systems in the state. The
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail connects
Bayonne to
North Bergen, with planned expansion into
Bergen County communities. The
Newark City Subway is the only
subway system in the state. Its Main Line connects
Newark Penn Station with Grove St. station in
Bloomfield. The Broad Street Line of the subway, the first component of the
Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link, is scheduled to open in the summer of 2006. The last of the three light rail lines is the
River LINE which connects
Trenton and
Camden.
The
PATH links
North Jersey and
New York City. The PATH operates four lines that connect various points of North Jersey and New York. The lines all start in either
Hudson County or
Essex County, New Jersey and end either at the
World Trade Center station or at
33rd Street in
Midtown Manhattan.
Amtrak also operates numerous long-distance passenger trains in New Jersey to and from neighboring states and around the country. In addition to the Newark Airport connection, other major Amtrak railway stations include
Trenton Rail Station,
Metropark, and the grand historic
Newark Penn Station.
SEPTA also has two lines that operate into New Jersey. The
R7 lines terminates at the Trenton Rail Station, and the
R3 lines terminates at the
West Trenton Rail Station in
Ewing.
Some private bus carriers still remain in New Jersey. Most of these carriers operate with state funding to offset losses and state owned buses are provided to these carriers of which
Coach USA companies make up the bulk. Other carriers include private charter and tour bus operators that take gamblers from other parts of New Jersey,
New York City,
Philadelphia, and
Delaware to the casino resorts of
Atlantic City.
Private Bus Carriers
*
Academy*
Bergen Avenue IBOA*
Broadway IBOA*
Coach USA Properties including
Red & Tan*
DeCamp*
Greyhound-
provides interstate service*
Lakeland Bus Lines*
MARTZ-
does not receive state funding or buses*
Montgomery & West Side IBOA*
Trans-Bridge Lines=Carriers providing contract service to NJ Transit
=
* #22 Hillside Corp. & Academy Express (Academy)
* Community Transportation (Coach USA)
*
Connex*
PABCO Transit* Red & Tan (Coach USA)
Jon Corzine (
Democrat) is the
governor. The
Governor of New Jersey is considered one of the most powerful governors in the nation, as it is currently the only state-wide elected office in the state and appoints many government officials. Formerly, an acting governor was even more powerful as he simultaneously served as president of the senate, thus directing the half the legislative and all of the executive process.
Richard Codey was the last to serve that way as the result of a constitutional amendment approved by the voters in 2005.
The governor's mansion is
Drumthwacket, located in
Princeton Township.
New Jersey is one of the few states that has no
Lieutenant Governor. The first
Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey will take office in January, 2010 and will be elected conjointly with the
Governor of New Jersey. The position was created as the result of a
Constitutional amendment to the
New Jersey State Constitution passed by the voters on
November 8,
2005 and effective as of
January 17,
2006.
The current version of the
New Jersey State Constitution was adopted in 1947. It provides for a
bicameral Legislature consisting of a
Senate of 40 members and an
Assembly of 80 members. Each of the 40 legislative districts elects one Senator and two Assembly members. Assembly members are elected by the people for a two-year term in all odd-numbered years; Senators are elected in the years ending in 1, 3, and 7 and thus serve either four or two year terms. See
for the constitutionThe
New Jersey Supreme Court [Supreme Court of New Jersey] consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. All are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of a majority of the membership of the state senate. Justices serve an initial seven-year term, after which they can be reappointed to serve until age 70.
On
July 1,
2006, at 9:30 am, the government of New Jersey
closed down amid a budget dispute between Governor Jon Corzine and Assembly Democrats over a rise in the state's sales tax from 6% to 7% in order to fill a budget gap. The closure immediately shut down most government services, including road construction and the state lottery, and caused a temporary layoff of 45,000 state employees. Governor Corzine announced that state parks, state-run beaches, and casinos in
Atlantic City (regulated by the state government's
New Jersey Casino Control Commission) would close by the morning of
July 5,
2006, if no budget agreement had passed by then, due to the lack of state monitors from NJCCC, which is required to be present at casinos by law. New Jersey law provides for essential services, such as state police and emergency services, to remain running regardless of the lack of a budget. However, all payments would be delayed until the annual appropriation bill was passed.
[http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/01/nj.budget.ap/index.html] Finally, the Governor and lawmakers reached an agreement to end this government shutdown on
July 6,
2006. This agreement includes a hike in New Jersey's current 6% sales tax to 7% which will generate 1.1 billion dollars in revenue; half of this $1.1 billion will be used to lower property taxes, which are among the highest in the nation.
[New Jersey Reaches Budget Deal After Six-Day Shutdown]Counties
New Jersey is broken up into 21 counties, most of which are vestiges of the colonial area, and the remaining were partitioned from existing counties in the 1800s. New Jersey is the only state in the nation where elected county officials are called "
Freeholders," governing each county as part of its own
Board of Chosen Freeholders. The number of freeholders in each county is determined by referendum, and cannot exceed nine members.
Depending on the county, the
executive and
legislative functions may be performed by the Board of Chosen Freeholders or split into separate branches of government. In some counties, members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders perform both legislative and executive functions on a commission basis, with each Freeholder assigned responsibility for a department or group of departments. In other counties (
Atlantic,
Bergen,
Essex,
Hudson and
Mercer), there is a directly-elected
County Executive who performs the executive functions while the Board of Chosen Freeholders retains a legislative and oversight role. In counties without an Executive, a County Administrator (or County Manager) may be hired to perform day-to-day administration of county functions.
Municipalities
New Jersey has 566
municipalities; until recently, 567 (
Pahaquarry Township was absorbed by
Hardwick Township in 1997). Unlike other states, all of its municipalities are incorporated entities with fixed boundaries, and no local government can simply absorb land from another.
Types of government
When the types of government were devised in the nineteenth century, the intention was that
cities would be large built-up areas, with progressively smaller
boroughs,
towns, and
villages; the rural areas in between would be relatively large
townships. This is still often true, although
Shrewsbury Township has been divided over the years; today it is less than a square mile, consisting only of a single housing development. Some townships—notably
Middletown,
Brick,
Hamilton, and
Dover (which includes
Toms River)—have, without changing their boundaries, become large stretches of
suburbia, as populous as cities, often focused around shopping centers and highways rather than traditional downtowns and main streets.
As with
Toms River, many locations in New Jersey are simply neighborhoods, with no exact boundaries; often the cluster of houses, the traditional neighborhood, the postal district, and the
Census designated place will differ.
The
Federal Government has often failed to understand that a New Jersey township is just another municipality, and some municipalities have changed forms to become the
Township of the Borough of Verona or the
Township of South Orange Village to receive more Federal aid.
Forms of government
The five types of municipality differ mostly in name. Originally, each type had its own form of government but more modern forms are available to any municipality, even though the original type is retained in its formal name. Only boroughs can have the "borough form" of government.
Starting in the 1900s, largely driven by reform-minded goals, a series of six modern forms of government was implemented. This began with the
Walsh Act, enacted in 1911, which provided for a 3- or 5-member commission elected on a non-partisan basis. This was followed by the
1923 Municipal Manager Law, which offered a non-partisan council, provided for a weak mayor elected by and from the members of the council, and introduced
Council-Manager government with an (ideally apolitical) appointed manager responsible for day-to-day administration of municipal affairs.
The
Faulkner Act, originally enacted in 1950 and substantially amended in 1981, offers four basic plans:
Mayor-Council,
Council-Manager,
Small Municipality, and
Mayor-Council-Administrator. The act provides many choices for communities with a preference for a strong executive and professional management of municipal affairs and offers great flexibility in allowing municipalities to select the characteristics of its government: the number of seats on the Council; seats selected at-large, by wards, or through a combination of both; staggered or concurrent terms of office; and a mayor chosen by the Council or elected directly by voters. Most large municipalities and a majority of New Jersey's residents are governed by municipalities with Faulkner Act charters.
While municipalities retain their types of government, they may have changed to one of the modern forms of government, or further in the past to one of the other traditional forms, leading to municipalities with formal names quite baffling to the general public. For example, though there are four municipalities with the
village type of government,
Loch Arbour is the only one remaining with the village form of government. The three other villages—
Ridgefield Park (now with a Walsh Act form),
Ridgewood (now with a Faulkner Act Council-Manager charter), and most confusingly,
South Orange (now the Township of South Orange Village) —have all migrated to other non-village forms.
Politics
New Jersey is a politically competitive state; the governorship alternated between the parties from the election of
Richard J. Hughes in 1961 until Democrat
Jon Corzine was elected to replace a Democrat in 2005; the legislature has also switched hands, and one house was evenly divided from 1999–2001. Three of the last five gubernatorial elections have been close. The Congressional seats have also been as evenly divided as thirteen seats can be.
In national elections, the state now leans towards the national
Democratic Party. It was, however, a
Republican stronghold for years in the past, having given comfortable margins of victory to the Republican candidate in the close elections of
1948,
1968, and
1976. New Jersey was a crucial
swing state in the elections of
1960,
1968, and
1992. In national elections, the state has given large victories to Democrats since the 1990's. The last elected Republican to hold a Senate seat from New Jersey was
Clifford P. Case in 1979. (
Nicholas F. Brady was appointed a U.S. Senator by Governor
Thomas Kean in 1982 after
Harrison A. Williams resigned the Senate seat following the
Abscam investigations.)
The state's Democratic strongholds include
Mercer County around
Trenton and
Princeton;
Essex County and
Hudson County, the state's two most urban counties, around the state's two largest cities,
Newark and
Jersey City;
Camden County and most of the other urban communities just outside of
Philadelphia and
New York; and more suburban northern counties in New York's orbit, such as
Union County and
Middlesex County.
The more suburban northwestern and southeastern counties of the state are reliably Republican: Republicans have strong backing along the coast in
Ocean County and in the mountainous northwestern part of the state, especially
Sussex County,
Morris County, and
Warren County.
Somerset County and
Hunterdon County, other suburban counties in the region, are also Republican in local elections but can be competitive in national races. In the 2004 General Election, Bush received about 51% in Somerset and 56% in Hunterdon, while up in rural Republican Sussex County, Bush won with 64% of the vote.
About half of the counties in New Jersey, however, are considered swing counties, but some go more one way than others. For an example,
Bergen County, which leans Republican in the northern half of the county, is mostly Democratic in the more populated southern parts, causing it to usually vote slightly Democratic (same with
Passaic County, with a highly populated Hispanic Democratic south and a rural, Republican north), other "swing" counties like
Cape May County tend to go Republican, as they also have population in conservative areas.
Socially, New Jersey is considered one of the highly liberal and progressive states in the nation. Polls indicate 2/3rds of the population are self-described as
pro-choice and a majority support
gay marriage.
[SurveyUSA Pro-Life vs. Pro Choice Sorted by State][Garden State Equalty Poll Results from surveys done April 12 - April 14, 2005]Major cities (and their populations):
Large cities (100,000 or greater)
For its overall population and nation-leading density, New Jersey has a relative paucity of classic large cities. As of the
United States 2000 Census, only four municipalities had populations in excess of 100,000. With the 2004 Census estimate, Woodbridge has surpassed Edison in population, as both joined the 100,000 club.
*
Newark: 273,546 (Census Estimate 2004: 280,451)
*
Jersey City: 240,055 (Census Estimate 2004: 239,079)
*
Paterson: 149,222 (Census Estimate 2004: 150,869)
*
Elizabeth: 120,568 (Census Estimate 2004: 124,724)
*
Edison 97,687 (Census Estimate 2004: 100,142)
*
Woodbridge Township: 97,203 (Census Estimate 2004: 100,775)
Towns and small cities (60,000 up to 100,000)
*
Dover Township: 89,706 (Census Estimate 2004: 94,320) - the Census 2000 total includes the population of
Toms River, a
census-designated place within Dover Township. Toms River had a 2000 census population of 86,327. Dover Township is not to be confused with the town of
Dover, which is in Morris County.
*
Hamilton Township (Mercer County): 87,109
*
Trenton: 85,403
*
Camden: 79,904
*
Clifton: 78,672
*
Brick Township: 76,119
*
Cherry Hill Township: 69,965
*
East Orange: 69,824
*
Passaic: 67,861
*
Union City: 67,088
*
Middletown Township: 66,327
*
Gloucester Township: 64,350
*
Bayonne: 61,842
*
Irvington: 60,695
*
Old Bridge Township 60,456
*
Lakewood Township 60,352
Other (less than 60,000)
The following communities are other notable places in New Jersey with under 60,000 people.
*
Asbury Park*
Atlantic City*
Cape May*
East Brunswick*
Egg Harbor Township*
Englewood*
Evesham Township*
Ewing*
Fort Lee*
Hackensack*
Hackettstown*
Haddonfield*
Hillsborough*
Hoboken*
Holmdel*
Jackson*
Lambertville*
Livingston*
Long Branch*
Montclair*
Moorestown*
Morristown*
New Brunswick*
The Oranges**
Orange**
East Orange**
South Orange**
West Orange*
Piscataway*
Plainfield*
Point Pleasant*
Princeton**
Princeton Borough**
Princeton Township*
Red Bank*
Ridgewood*
Teaneck*
Tenafly*
Union*
Wayne Township*
Wildwood*
WillingboroWealth of municipalities
Wealth of municipalities by
per capita income:
1 Mantoloking, New Jersey $114,017
2 Saddle River, New Jersey $85,934
3 Far Hills, New Jersey $81,535
4 Essex Fells, New Jersey $77,434
5 Alpine, New Jersey $76,995
6 Millburn, New Jersey $76,796
7 Rumson, New Jersey $73,692
8 Harding Township, New Jersey $72,689
9 Teterboro, New Jersey $72,613
10 Bernardsville, New Jersey $69,854
| 693 Newark, New Jersey $13,009
694 Laurel Lake, New Jersey $12,965
695 Passaic, New Jersey $12,874
696 Seabrook Farms, New Jersey $12,499
697 McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey $12,364
698 New Hanover Township, New Jersey $12,140
699 Lakewood, New Jersey $11,802
700 Bridgeton, New Jersey $10,917
701 Fort Dix, New Jersey $10,543
702 Camden, New Jersey $9,815
|
Although some problems exist in certain inner city neighborhoods, New Jersey overall is considered to have one of the best public education systems in the United States. 54% of high school graduates continue on to college or university, which is tied with
Massachusetts for the second highest rate in the nation (
North Dakota holds first place at 59%). New Jersey also has the highest average scores for advanced placement testing in public schools in the nation. Secretary of Education Rick Rosenberg, appointed by Governor
Jon Corzine, has created the Education Advancement Initiative (EAI) to increase College admission rates by 10% for New Jersey's High School students, decrease drop out rates by 15%, and increase the amount of money devoted to schools by 10%. Rosenberg was since forced to retract this plan when publicly criticized for taking the money out of healthcare to fund this initiative.
New Jersey is home to more scientists and engineers than any other state. [
1]
Colleges and universities
*Assumption College for Sisters, Mendham
*Berkeley College, various campuses
*Bloomfield College, Bloomfield
*Caldwell College, Caldwell
*Centenary College, Hackettstown
*The College of New Jersey, Ewing Township
*College of Saint Elizabeth, Morristown-Florham Park
*DeVry University, North Brunswick
*Drew University, Madison
*Fairleigh Dickinson University, Florham Park-Madison & Teaneck-Hackensack campuses
*Felician College, Rutherford & Lodi campuses
*Georgian Court University, Lakewood
*Kean University, Union-Elizabeth
*Monmouth University, West Long Branch
*Montclair State University, Montclair
*New Jersey City University, Jersey City
*New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark
*Princeton University, Princeton
*Rabbinical College of America, Morristown, New Jersey
*Ramapo College, Mahwah
*Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Pomona, New Jersey
*Rider University, Lawrenceville | *Rowan University, Glassboro
**Rowan University, Camden Campus
*Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
**Rutgers, New Brunswick/Piscataway Campus
**Rutgers, Camden Campus
**Rutgers, Newark Campus
*Saint Peter's College, Jersey City
*Seton Hall University, South Orange
**Seton Hall University School of Law, Newark
*Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken
*Thomas Edison State College, Trenton
*University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
**Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Newark, Piscataway, & Stratford campuses
**New Jersey Medical School, Newark
**New Jersey Dental School, Newark
**Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, Piscataway, & Camden campuses
**School of Health Related Professions, Newark, Piscataway, Scotch Plains, & Stratford campuses
**School of Nursing, Newark, Piscataway, Stratford, Mahwah, Glassboro, & Edison campuses
**School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford
**School of Public Health, Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Stratford/Camden campuses
*William Paterson University, Wayne |
In addition to the above institutions, there are 19
county colleges, serving the 21 counties in the state.
*
Atlantic Cape Community College,
Mays Landing*
Bergen Community College,
Paramus*
Brookdale Community College,
Lincroft - the community college of
Monmouth County*
Burlington County College,
Pemberton*
Camden County College,
Blackwood,
Camden and
Cherry Hill*
County College of Morris,
Randolph*
Cumberland County College,
Vineland*
Essex County College,
Newark &
West Caldwell campuses
*
Gloucester County College,
Sewell*
Hudson County Community College,
Jersey City*
Mercer County Community College,
West Windsor*
Middlesex County College,
Edison*
Ocean County College,
Toms River*
Passaic County Community College,
Paterson-
Wanaque-
Wayne*
Raritan Valley Community College,
North Branch*
Salem Community College,
Carneys Point*
Sussex County Community College,
Newton*
Union County College,
Cranford,
Elizabeth, and
Plainfield*
Warren County Community College,
WashingtonNew Jersey currently has four
major professional sports league teams playing in the state, although the
Major League Soccer team and two
National Football League teams identify as being from New York. It is currently the most populous state without a team in each of the major leagues, although this is largely due to the close proximity of New York City and Philadelphia. It is also the most populous state without a
Major League Baseball team, though most residents support the
New York Yankees,
New York Mets, or
Philadelphia Phillies.
The state's four major professional sports teams play at the
Meadowlands Sports Complex in
East Rutherford. The Devils and Nets play in
Continental Airlines Arena, and the Giants and Jets play in
Giants Stadium. The Meadowlands and its sports venues are widely considered to be outdated by today's professional sports standards. This led to the Devils announcement that they will be leaving the Meadowlands upon the completion of their new
arena in
Newark in 2007. The Nets also have plans to leave the Meadowlands for
Brooklyn as soon as a new arena for them is completed. The Giants and Jets though announced in 2005 that they will be staying in the Meadowlands, and a new stadium for both teams should be ready by the 2010 season. The new stadium is part of the
Xanadu Project taking shape at the sports complex. The Xanadu Project, when completed in 2007, will be the largest retail and entertainment complex in New Jersey.
The sports complex is also home to the
Meadowlands Racetrack one of three major
horse racing tracks in the state. The Meadowlands Racetrack along with
Freehold Raceway in
Freehold are two of the major
harness racing tracks in
North America.
Monmouth Park Racetrack in
Oceanport, is also a popular spot for
thoroughbred racing in New Jersey and the northeast. It will host the Breeders Cup in 2007, and its turf course was recently renovated in preparation.
*The
USS New Jersey, one of the most decorated vessels in the
United States Navy, was named in honor of this state and is now a
tourist attraction in
Camden.
*The official nickname is the "Garden State."
*New Jersey is the birthplace of many modern inventions such as:
FM radio, the motion picture camera, the
lithium battery, the
light bulb,
transistors, and the electric train. Other New Jersey creations include: the drive-in movie, the cultivated
blueberry, cranberry sauce, the postcard, the
boardwalk, the zipper, the
phonograph,
saltwater taffy, the dirigible[
2], the
first use of a
submarine in warfare, and the ice cream cone.
*The first officially recorded
baseball game in history was played at the Elysian Fields,
Hoboken, New Jersey, with the New York Base Ball Club defeating the
New York Knickerbockers with a score of 23-1.
Alexander Cartwright formalized the
rules and
umpired.
*The properties in the United States version of the board game
Monopoly are named after the streets of
Atlantic City.
*The four-mile long
Boardwalk in
Atlantic City was the world's first boardwalk and is still its largest.
*The
Lindbergh kidnapping drama unfolded in New Jersey in 1932.
*New Jersey was the national pioneer of
Megan's Law sex offender registries, following the 1994 rape and murder of
Megan Kanka.
*New Jersey has more
horses per square mile than any other state. The
United States Equestrian Team now is headquartered in
Gladstone after being founded in
Morristown.
*The book
Jaws by
Peter Benchley, which inspired the classic film of the same name, was based on a series of actual
shark attacks during the summer of 1916 that took place in
Matawan and elsewhere off the
Jersey Shore.
*New Jersey is home to the second largest waterfall east of the
Mississippi River: the
Great Passaic Falls in
Paterson. Only
Niagara Falls is larger.
*
Diners are common in New Jersey. The state is home to many diner manufacturers and has more diners than any other state: over 600. Due to the state's small size, New Jersey has more diners per square mile than any other state in America and World.
*
Ben Shahn settled in
Roosevelt, New Jersey, and did most of his work there.
*Sculptor
Jim Gary grew up in
Colts Neck Township where he also opened his gallery,
Iron Butterfly, before moving it to
Red Bank. Jim Gary was the only living
sculptor ever invited to have a solo show at the
Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History.
*New Jersey is one of only two states (along with
Oregon) where self-service filling of gasoline is prohibited.
State symbols
Music
New Jersey has long been an important area for both
rock and
rap music. Some prominent musicians from or with significant connections to New Jersey are:
*
Frank Sinatra, the only child of working-class
Italian-American immigrants, was born
December 12,
1915 in a tenement at 415 Monroe St. in
Hoboken. He sang with a neighborhood vocal group, the Hoboken Four, and appeared in neighborhood theater amateur shows before he became an entertainment legend as an
Academy Award winning actor and one of the most famous male vocalists of all time. Some of his greatest hits include "Strangers In The Night," "My Way," "Luck Be A Lady," and "New York, New York."
* Four of five band members of rock group
My Chemical Romance hail from New Jersey. The band frequently speak about their home state, and guitarist
Frank Iero can be seen on occasion wearing a guitar strap with the letter NJ encircled in a heart.
*
Bruce Springsteen, who has sung of New Jersey life on most of his albums, hails from
Freehold and is the most popular rock musician to ever come out of the state. Some of his songs that represent New Jersey life are "Born To Run", "Spirit In The Night", "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)", "Thunder Road", "Atlantic City", and "Jungleland".
*
Jon Bon Jovi, who hails from
Sayreville, reached fame in the 1980's with hard rock outfit
Bon Jovi. The band has also written many songs about life in New Jersey including "Livin' On A Prayer" and even named one of his albums after the state (see
New Jersey)
*
Dionne Warwick was born in
East Orange and has had a long career, including nearly 60 charted hits, from "Do You Know The Way to San Jose?" (winning the first of her five
Grammys), "Alfie," "I'll Never Fall In Love Again," and "That's What Friends Are For." She is a cousin of Whitney Houston.
*
Whitney Houston was born in the city of
Newark but grew up in neighboring
East Orange. She had a successful solo career in the 1980's and 1990's and is best known for her cover of
Dolly Parton's "
I Will Always Love You", which set new records for sales and weeks at number one. Houston has sold well over 180 million records internationally. Her mother is
Cissy Houston, winner of two Grammys in her own right.
* Legendary
jazz pianist and
bandleader Count Basie, was born in
Red Bank in 1904. In the 1960s, he collaborated on several albums with fellow New Jersey native
Frank Sinatra. There is a theater in Red Bank named in his honor.
*
Asbury Park is home of
The Stone Pony, where
Bruce Springsteen and
Bon Jovi frequented early in their careers and is still considered by many to be a "Mecca" for up-and-coming
Jersey Shore musicians.
*Former Fugee
Lauryn Hill is a
South Orange resident and is hip-hop's best-selling solo female artist. Her 1998 debut album,
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, sold 10 million copies internationally.
*
Irvington's
Queen Latifah was the first female rapper to succeed in music, film, and television.
*All members of
The Sugarhill Gang were born in
Englewood. The group wrote the single
Rapper's Delight which many credit as the first
hip hop single. The terms rap and rapper are originated from this song.
*
Princeton record exchange, the Northeast's largest independent record store, was founded in 1980 and is located in
Princeton, New Jersey. They have been featured in the
New York Times and in
Billboard Magazine, and have been praised by
LCD Soundsystem in
Wired Magazine. On a note of trivia, they have employed Micky of
Ween before the band's rise to fame.
*The
Broadway musical Jersey Boys is based on the lives of the members of the
Four Seasons, three of whose members were born in New Jersey (
Tommy DeVito,
Frankie Valli, and
Nick Massi)
Television and film
*Motion picture technology was invented in New Jersey, by Thomas Edison. The early work was done at his West Orange laboratory. His "Black Maria" was the first motion picture studio.
*More recent motion pictures and televisions shows also have been set in New Jersey. The popular television drama
The Sopranos depicts the life of a New Jersey
organized crime family and is filmed on location at various places throughout the state. "
The Family Man," starring
Nicholas Cage was filmed in
Teaneck in 2000. The
1979 film
The Amityville Horror was filmed in
Toms River.
*Daddy Warbucks' mansion from the movie "Annie" was built in 1929 by Hubert Parson, the president of F.W. Woolworth. He called it Shadow Lawn. Now it is Woodrow Wilson Hall, owned by Monmouth University at West Long Branch, NJ.
*Although not credited, at least one scene from
The Godfather (
1972) was filmed in New Jersey. The scene with Clemenza's famous line, "Leave the gun. Take the cannolis," was filmed in the marsh along the
Hudson River in
Jersey City, just west of the
Statue of Liberty, in what is now
Liberty State Park.
*The 2004
Sundance Film Festival favorite
Garden State (starring
Zach Braff and
Natalie Portman) was shot on location in
Morris Township around
Morristown
