The New Jersey Blog

New Jersey is a state in the United States, more specifically in the Northeast Region. It borders three other states: Delaware to the Southwest, Pennsylvania to the West, and New York to the North and East (this was ratified by the New York-New Jersey Line War, which currently is the state's only straight border).

  Around 180 million years ago, when the Jurassic Period was around, New Jersey bordered North Africa. Because of the pressure the collision of North Africa and North America, the result ended in the formation of the Appalachian Mountains & Trails, which pass through New Jersey for 72 miles. Fast forwarding to 18,000 years ago, during the Ice Age, glaciers ended up reaching the state. After they retreated, the Passaic Lake (also known as Lake Passaic), was formed.

  The Dutch became the first Europeans to land in New Jersey in the 17th Century. The Dutch Colony known as New Netherland consisted of many parts of Middle Atlantic states. There was a European principle of land ownership which even though wasn't known by the Lenape, it was required by The West India Company policy for its colonists to purchase land they settle. The first to do this was Michael Pauw in 1630. He established a patronship known as Pavonia along the North River which is now known as Bergen County.

Eventually, Peter Minuit purchased lands along what is now known as The Delaware River which he called New Sweden. Then, the entire region became a territory belonging to England in July, 1664. You may also be wondering, why was New Jersey called New Jersey? Good question. Around the year of 1649, Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley of Stratton (English People from England) ultimately thought since they "owned" the territory, they could decide what the state would be called. Ultimately, they named the new territory after the Jersey Isles between England's mainland and France.

In 1702, East and West Jersey were united by Edward Hyde, who became the first governor of the English territory/colony. It eventually became a royal colony, but Britain believed Edward Hyde was an ineffective, inadequate, and corrupt ruler, which made them think he took bribes by speculating on land. In 1708, after being recalled to England, New Jersey started being ruled by neighboring New York, infuriating New Jersey settlers. They ended up accusing New York governors the Governors of Favoritism. Then, Judge Lewis Morris led the case for a seperate governor, appointing King George II in 1738.

  As stated earlier, New Jersey was one of the Thirteen Colonies revolting against the British rule in the American Revolution, also known as the Revolutionary War. The New Jersey Constitution of 1776 was passed on July 2, 1776, just two days before the Second Continental Congress declared American independence from Great Britain. When the Declaration of Independence was signed, many New Jersey representatives also signed it, including Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon (no not that John Witherspoon), Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, and  Abraham Clark.

During the American Revolutionary War, British and American armies crossed New Jersey numerous times, also due to reason that several pivotal battles took place in the state as well. Today, New Jersey is referred to as "The Crossroads of the American Revolution". The winter quarters of the Continental Army were established there by General George Washington (yes the same person who was the 1st president) in the town of Morristown, "The Military Capital of the American Revolution."

On the night of Christmas Day, 1776, the Continental Army led by George Washington crossed the Delaware River. After this event, they surprised and defeated the Hessian Troops (German soldiers under British command) in the Battle of Trenton. Slightly more than a week later after that victory, George Washington's troop achieved another important victory. They defeated General Cornwallis's troops in the Second Battle of Trenton. By doing so, the Americans made a surprise attack on Princeton (where many enemy forces lay), and successfully defeated British troops on January 3rd, 1777. 

On December 18th, 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the United States Constitution (after Delaware-1st, and Pennsylvania-2nd). The Constitution became very popular in New Jersey, as it prevented New Jersey and Pennsylvania from charging tariffs on goods imported from Europe. In short words, tariffs are basically taxes imposed by the government. New Jersey then became the first state in the newly formed Union to ratify the Bill of Rights on November 20th, 1789.

  As stated earlier, New Jersey is bordered by New York, Delaware, and Pennsylvania (well the Atlantic Ocean too but that's debatable). However, New Jersey also borders a variety of rivers on its borders too: The Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, and Arthur Kull (on the East), The Delaware River (no surprise there) and Delaware Bay (on the Southwest).

New Jersey is often described and divided into three groups: North, Central, and South. Many New Jersey residents do not consider Central Jersey (I'm actually from here) as a region, but others believe its a separate geographic and cultural area from the North and South. 

Within those 3 regions are five distinct areas: Northeastern New Jersey (lying close to Manhattan), Northwestern New Jersey (more of a woody, rural, and mountainous area), The Jersey Shore, (running along the Atlantic Coast in Central and South Jersey), The Delaware Valley (including the Southwestern counties of the state), and the Pine Barrens (a wooded area in the Southern interior of the state). 

The state has 21 counties, Burlington being the largest by area (just over 827 mi²⁾, and Bergen being the largest by population (over 900,000 people). The federal Office of Management and Budget divides New Jersey counties into seven Metro Statistical Areas, with 16 being included in the NYC or Pennsylvania metro areas, four being independent metro areas, and one (Warren County) being part of the Lehigh Valley (mostly in Pennsylvania) metro area. New Jersey is also located in the center of the Northeast Megalopolis, which is the most populous megalopolis located entirely in the united States.

 Extreme Points:

Northernmost Point- High Point in Montague Township, Sussex County

Southernmost Point- Cape May, Cape May County

Westernmost Point- Lower Penns Neck Township, Salem County

Easternmost Point- Shore Points, Atlantic Ocean (many counties)

Major New Jersey Rivers: Hudson, Delaware, Raritan, Passaic, Hackensack, Rahway, Rahway, Musconetcong, Mullica, Rancocas, Manasquan, Maurice, and Toms.

 Great Bay

 Delaware Water Gap

 Great Swamp 

National Wildlife Refuge

Highlands

Hudson Palisades

Jersey Shore

Meadowlands

Pine Barrens

Ramapo Mountain

South Mountain

Newark (282,529)

Jersey City (258,523)

Paterson (144,511)

Elizabeth (130,450)

Toms River (89,254)

Clifton (84,654)

Trenton (82,401)

Camden (73,236)

Passaic (69,245)

Union City (67,698)

  Before I put up the chart, I know you might be very surprised that English isn't on that list. However, these are the most spoken Non-English languages in the state. (According to 2010 census)

Spanish            14.59%

Chinese (including Cantonese and Mandarin)1.23%

Italian                1.06%

  This part will be a 2 in 1. I will give you the most beautiful towns and cities in the state as well as the most underrated.  And yes, there's a difference. All sources may vary, so I'm choosing a specific one. 

Most Underrated:                                                                 Most Beautiful:

1. Mount Tabor                                                                    1. Cape May

2. Mount Holly                                                                     2. Lambertville

3. Boonton                                                                           3. Collingswood

4. Bordentown                                                                     4. Allentown (Not the Pennsylvania one) 

5. Caldwell (Birthplace of President Grover Cleveland)      5. Spring Lake 

 6. Hopewell                                                                        6. Clinton

7. Newton                                                                            7. Frenchtown

8. Point Pleasant                                                                 8. Cranbury

9. Closter                                                                             9. Red Bank

10. Burlington                                                                      10.  Chester

I will give you two cities from the different categories to give you a glance of a few New Jersey cities. 

  New Jersey may be very overpopulated, but it's been ranked the 4th best state to live in. Here are a few quick stats:

AREA- 8,719 SQ. MI.

GDP- $635 Billion

COLLEGE EDUCATED- 47.7%

POPULATION- 8,882,190

CAPITAL- Trenton

The New Jersey Turnpike opened in 1951, allowing for speedy car travel between North Jersey eventually leading to New York, and south Jersey eventually leading to Philadelphia and Northern Delaware. In the early 2000's, two light rails were introduced: the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and the River Line which have both significantly contributed to urban revitalization in the 21st century, particularly in New Jersey,

Phil Murphy has been New Jersey's governor since 2018. As a governor, he is also an American financier, politician, and diplomat. He is serving as the 56th governor, succeeding Chris Christie in January of 2018.

Quick Facts:

Birthplace- Needham, MA

Education- Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Needham High School, and Harvard.

Party- Democratic

New Jersey does have a variety of imports, but here's a list of the main ones:

Imports:

Material:                            Value in USD:

1st                  Oil & Mineral Fuels           $20,467,719,424

2nd                Pharmaceuticals               $17,608,049,686

3rd                Electrical Machinery          $8,043,754,762

4th                Industrial Machinery           $6,730,419,031

  You may also be wondering about the safety of New Jersey. Well even though every place has violence, I am very proud to say that the state of New Jersey (population: around 9 mil in 2021) is the 4th safest state in the nation and also has the lowest poverty rate!!! So most areas are very safe.

I just thought it would be fun to include a jokes section, and all of these are about New Jersey!

Q: What do you call someone who dies because of a politically-inspired traffic jam?

A: A "corpus Christie"

Q: What did Delaware?

A: A New Jersey

Q: Why is New Jersey called the Garden state?

A: Because Oil, Petrolium, Nuclear, Land Fill, & Toxic Waste Didn't fit on a license plate!

Q: What's the difference between a Rider University sorority sister and a scarecrow?

A: One lives in a field and is stuffed with hay. The other frightens birds and small animals.

Q: If Mississippi bought Virginia a New Jersey, what would Delaware?

A: Idaho... Alaska!

Q: Where do fat cows go on vacation?

A: Moo Jersey

Q:  Why couldn't the baby Jesus be born in New Jersey?

A: Because they couldn't find 3 wise men or a virgin.

 Famous New Jersites

1. Bruce Willis

2. Cory Booker

3. Bill Bradley

4. Meryl Streep

5. John Travolta

6. Danny Devito

 - Johnson & Johnson 

 - Conduent

 - Merck & Co.

 - Bed Bath & Beyond  

- Toys R US (Closed Permanently) 

 - Automatic Data Processing 

- Newell Brands

- Becton Dickinson and Company

  In the end, New Jersey is a very diverse state. Even though people do bad talk about it, it has tons to offer. And I'm not just saying that because this is my home state. So what're you waiting for!?! Let's dive in to the state of New Jersey! Thank you for reading! :)