Founding
city in and county seat of Union County, New Jersey, United States
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Elizabeth is a city in and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city retained its ranking as the state's fourth-most-populous city behind neighboring Newark, Jersey City and Paterson, with a population of 137,298, an increase of 12,329 (+9.9%) from the 2010 census count of 124,969, which in turn reflected an increase of 4,401 (3.7%) from the 120,568 counted in the 2000 census.
The Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 141,675 for 2025, making it the 199th-most populous city in the nation and the fifth-most populous municipality of any type in the state, falling behind Lakewood Township.
Elizabeth, originally called "Elizabethtown" and part of the Elizabethtown Tract, was founded in 1664 by English settlers. The town was not named for Queen Elizabeth I as many people may assume, but rather for Elizabeth, wife of Sir George Carteret, one of the two original Proprietors of the colony of New Jersey. She was the daughter of Philippe de Carteret II, 3rd Seigneur de Sark and Anne Dowse. The town served as the first capital of New Jersey.
During the American Revolutionary War, Elizabethtown was continually attacked by British forces based on Manhattan and Staten Island, culminating in the Battle of Springfield which decisively defeated British attempts to gain New Jersey. After independence, it was from Elizabethtown that George Washington embarked by boat to Manhattan for his 1789 inauguration. There are numerous memorials and monuments of the American Revolution in Elizabeth.
On March 13, 1855, the City of Elizabeth was created by an act of the New Jersey Legislature, combining and replacing both Elizabeth Borough (which dated back to 1740) and Elizabeth Township (which had been formed in 1693), subject to the results of a referendum held on March 27, 1855. On March 19, 1857, the city became part of the newly created Union County. Portions of the city were taken to form Linden Township on March 4, 1861.
The first major industry, the Singer Sewing Machine Company came to Elizabeth and employed as many as 2,000 people. In 1895, it saw one of the first car companies, when Electric Carriage and Wagon Company was founded to manufacture the Electrobat, joined soon by another electric car builder, Andrew L. Riker. The Electric Boat Company got its start building submarines for the United States Navy in Elizabeth, beginning with the launch of USS Holland (SS-1) in 1897. These pioneering naval craft (known as A-Class) were developed at Lewis Nixon's Crescent Shipyard in Elizabeth between the years 1896–1903. Elizabeth grew in parallel to its sister city of Newark for many years, but has been more successful in retaining a middle-class presence and was mostly spared riots in the 1960s.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 13.66 square miles (35.37 km2), including 12.32 square miles (31.91 km2) of land and 1.34 square miles (3.46 km2) of water (9.78%).
Elizabeth is bordered to the southwest by Linden, to the west by Roselle and Roselle Park, to the northwest by Union and Hillside, to the north by Newark (in Essex County). To the east the city is across Newark Bay from Bayonne in Hudson County and the Arthur Kill from Staten Island, New York.
The borders of Elizabeth, Bayonne and Staten Island meet at one point on Shooters Island, of which 7.5 acres (3.0 ha) of the island is owned by Elizabeth, though the island is managed by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
The Elizabeth River is a waterway that courses through the city for 4.2 miles (6.8 km) and is largely channelized, before draining into the Arthur Kill.
Midtown, also occasionally known as Uptown, is the main commercial district and a historic section as well. It includes the First Presbyterian Church and St. John's Episcopal Church, and its St. John's Episcopal Churchyard. The First Presbyterian Church was a battleground for the American Revolution. Located here are also the 1931 Art Deco Hersch Tower, the Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy, and the Ritz Theatre which has been operating since 1926. Midtown/Uptown includes the area once known as "Brittanville" which contained many English type gardens.
Bayway is located in the southern part of the city and borders the City of Linden. From U.S. Route 1&9 and Allen Street, between the Elizabeth River and the Arthur Kill, it has maintained a strong Polish community for years. Developed at the turn of the 20th century, many of the area residents once worked at the refinery which straddles both Elizabeth and Linden. There are unique ethnic restaurants, bars and stores along Bayway, and a variety of houses of worship. Housing styles are older and well maintained. There are many affordable two to four-family housing units and multiple apartment complexes. The western terminus of the Goethals Bridge, which spans the Arthur Kill to Staten Island can be found here. A small section of the neighborhood was isolated with both the completion of the Goethals Bridge in 1928 and the construction of the New Jersey Turnpike in the 1950s.
Downtown / E-Port (a.k.a. The Port and Elizabethport) is the oldest neighborhood in Elizabeth. It consists of a collection of old world Elizabethan, new American colonial-style houses and apartment buildings that stretch east of 7th Street to its shores. The name is derived from its dependence on businesses catering to seagoing ventures. It was a thriving center of commerce between the 1660s through the middle of the 20th century. This area has had a great deal of improvement since 2000. Many homes have been renovated or been replaced with new, more ornate structures. Federal housing projects that stood for decades along First Street have been demolished and replaced with low to moderate income housing. The waterfront is home to new town homes and two-family homes (duplexes).
The area was once three distinct neighborhoods: Buckeye, Diamondville, and New Mexico. It was the US home of the Singer Manufacturing Company, makers of Singer sewing machines, which constructed a 1,400,000-square-foot (130,000 m2) facility on a 32-acre (13 ha) site in 1873. Shortly after it opened, the factory manufactured the majority of all sewing machines worldwide. With 6,000 employees working there in the 1870s, it employed the largest number of workers at a single facility in 1873. The company moved out of Elizabeth in 1982.
Elizabeth Marina, which was once filled with trash and debris along its walkway, was also restored. It is the site of year-round celebrations from a Hispanic festival in late spring to the lighting of a Christmas tree in winter. Living conditions in this area continue to improve year after year. Historically, there were immigrant communities centered around Christian churches. The Slavic community was centered by Sts. Peter and Paul Byzantine, the Lithuanian community attended Sts. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic and the Polish community attended St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church which still stands. St. Patrick Church, originally Irish, dominates the 'Port; the cornerstone for the second and current building was laid in 1887.
Elmora is a middle/working-class neighborhood in the western part of Elizabeth. The main thoroughfare, Elmora Avenue, offers restaurants, shops and boutiques. Several high-rise building complexes, affording views of the New York City skyline, dot the edge of this neighborhood and are accessible to the Elizabeth station. The neighborhood area forms a "V" from its approximate borders of the Central Railroad tracks to Rahway Avenue.
The Elmora section of Elizabeth is home to a large Modern Orthodox community. The Jewish Educational Center of Elizabeth was founded in 1941 by a Latvian-born rabbi, Pinchas Mordechai Teitz, who arrived to lecture in to the city's then-small Orthodox community in the 1930s.
The northwestern part of Elmora is known as Elmora Hills. It is a strongly middle- to upper-middle-class neighborhood. Originally called Shearerville, the name Elmora came from the developers of the area, the El Mora Land Company. This area was annexed from Union Township, returning to Elizabeth in the early part of the 20th century. This was done to increase the city's tax base as major improvements to infrastructure were necessary at the time.
Frog Hollow is a small community of homes east of Atlantic Street, west of the Arthur Kill and south of Elizabeth Avenue. Its name is derived from the frogs that could be caught in its marshes as well as the oyster and fishing of the past. The area expanded east and includes the area formerly known as Helltown. Helltown included many of the docks and shipyards, as well as several drydocks. The area's developer was Edward N. Kellogg, who also laid out the neighborhood in Keighry Head. Frog Hollow contains older-style, more affordable homes, rentals, and some quality restaurants in a working-class community. The statue honoring former Mayor Mack on Elizabeth Avenue is a landmark in the community. Frog Hollow is also convenient to the Veteran's Memorial Waterfront Park.
Its name is attributed to James Keighry of the Isle of Kerry, Ireland. He owned a business facing the square formed at the junction of Jackson, Madison, Chestnut and Magnolia Avenues. The approximate borders of this neighborhood extended north from East Grand Street to Flora Street and from Walnut to Division Street. Developed by Edward N. Kellogg, many of the streets were named after family and friends. Keighry Head is located close to Midtown, containing affordable one and two-family homes, and apartment houses, convenient to the Midtown shopping district and transportation.
The North End, also known as "North Elizabeth", is a diverse working-class neighborhood. The borders are approximately the Arch north to the city line between North Broad Street and U.S. Route 1&9. It was developed mostly in the 1920s for workers in the Duesenberg automobile plant (later Durant Auto, Burry Biscuits and Interbake Foods). The area was heavily settled by the Irish and then Portuguese. The North End has easy access to New York City and Newark via its own NJ Transit train station, Routes 1 and 9 and the New Jersey Turnpike. The neighborhood also has Crane Square, the Historic Nugents Tavern, and Kellogg Park, and is near Newark Liberty International Airport. There is a current plan to develop the former Interbake Foods facility into shopping and residential townhouses and condominiums. This community contains many larger one and two-family homes that have been rebuilt over the past decade. North Elizabeth also features many well-kept apartment houses and condominium units on and around North Avenue that are home to professionals who work in New York or the area. The only Benedictine women's community in New Jersey is located at Saint Walburga Monastery on North Broad Street.
Peterstown (also known as "The Burg") is a middle/working-class neighborhood in the southeastern part of the city. Its borders run west of Atlantic Street to South Spring Street from 1st Avenue to the Elizabeth River. Its name is derived from John Peters, who owned most of the land with George Peters. They divided the land and developed it during the end of the 19th century. The area was once predominantly occupied by its earliest settlers, who were German, and during the 1920s was gentrified by newly immigrated Italians. Peterstown has clean, quiet streets and has many affordable housing opportunities with a "village" feel. The area contains the historic Union Square, which is home to produce stands, meat markets, fresh fish and poultry stores. Peterstown is also home of the DeCavalcante crime family, one of the most infamous Mafia families in the United States.
The Point, formally known as the Crossroads, is centrally located and defined by New Point Road and Division Street. It is close to Midtown and contains many new affordable two-family homes, apartment houses and is undergoing a transformation. The former Elizabeth General Hospital site is currently being demolished and awaiting a new development.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Elizabeth, New Jersey”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.