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city in New Jersey, United States
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Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. It is the county seat of Hudson County, the county's most populous city and its largest by area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 292,449, an increase of 44,852 (+18.1%) from the 2010 census count of 247,597. (The Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 302,013 for 2025.) As of 2020, more than 40 languages are spoken in over 52% of households, and 42.5% of residents were born outside the United States making the city the most ethnically diverse in the United States.
The third most-populous city in the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City is bounded on the east by the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay and on the west by the Hackensack River and Newark Bay. A port of entry, with 30.7 miles (49.4 km) of waterfront and extensive rail infrastructure and connectivity, the city is an important transportation terminus and distribution and manufacturing center for the Port of New York and New Jersey with Port Jersey as the city's intermodal freight transport facility and container shipping terminal. The Holland Tunnel, PATH rapid transit system, NJ Transit bus and NY Waterway ferry service connect across the Hudson River with Manhattan.
The area was settled by the Dutch in the 17th century as Pavonia and later established as Bergen, the first permanent settlement, local civil government and oldest municipality in what became the state of New Jersey. The area came under English control in 1664. Jersey City was incorporated in 1838 and annexed Van Vorst Township in 1851. On May 3, 1870, following a special election in 1869 with a majority of county support, Jersey City annexed Bergen City and Hudson City to form "Greater Jersey City" with Greenville Township joining in 1873. Jersey City grew into a busy port city on New York Harbor by the late 19th and early 20th century. Jersey City's official motto, displayed on the city seal and flag, is "Let Jersey Prosper" referencing its 19th-century border dispute with New York City.
Jersey City is home to several institutions of higher education such as Kean Jersey City, Saint Peter's University and Hudson County Community College. As the county seat, Jersey City is home to the Hudson County Courthouse and Frank J. Guarini Justice Complex. Cultural venues throughout the city include the Loew's Jersey Theatre, White Eagle Hall, the Liberty Science Center, Ellis Island, Mana Contemporary and the Museum of Jersey City History. Large parks in Jersey City are Liberty State Park, Lincoln Park and Berry Lane Park. Redevelopment of the Jersey City waterfront has made the city one of the largest hubs for banking and finance in the United States and has led to the district and city being nicknamed Wall Street West. Since the 1990s, Jersey City has been a destination for artists and hipsters. With the city's proximity and connections to Manhattan, its growing arts, culture, culinary and nightlife scene and its own finance and tech based economy, apartment rents in the city have grown to become some of the highest in the United States. In response, Jersey City has instituted zoning and legislation to require developers to include affordable housing units in their developments. In 2023 and 2025, Travel + Leisure ranked Jersey City as the best place to live in New Jersey.
The land that is now Jersey City was part of Lenapehoking and inhabited by the Lenape, a collection of Native American tribes (later called the Delaware Indian) that were part of the Algonquian nation. In 1609, Henry Hudson, seeking an alternate route to East Asia on behalf of the Dutch East India Company, anchored his small vessel Halve Maen (English: Half Moon) at Sandy Hook, Harsimus Cove and Weehawken Cove, and elsewhere along what was later named the North River. After spending nine days surveying the area and meeting its inhabitants, he sailed as far north as Albany and later claimed the region for the Netherlands. The contemporary flag of the city is a variation on the Prince's Flag from the Netherlands. The stripes are blue, white and yellow, with the center of the flag showing the city seal, depicting Hudson's ship, the Half Moon, and other modern vessels.
By 1621, the Dutch West India Company was organized to manage this new territory and in June 1623, New Netherland became a Dutch province, with headquarters in New Amsterdam. Michael Reyniersz Pauw received a land grant as patroon on the condition that he would establish a settlement of not fewer than fifty persons within four years. He chose the west bank of the Hudson River and purchased the land from the Lenape for 80 fathoms (146 m) of wampum, 20 fathoms (37 m) of cloth, 12 kettles, six guns, two blankets, one double kettle, and half a barrel of beer. This grant is dated November 22, 1630, and is the earliest known conveyance for what are now Hoboken and Jersey City. Pauw, however, was an absentee landlord who neglected to populate the area and was obliged to sell his holdings back to the Company in 1633. That year, a house was built at Communipaw for Jan Evertsen Bout, superintendent of the colony, which had been named Pavonia (the Latinized form of Pauw's name means "peacock" and Pavonia means "land of the peacock"). Shortly after, another house was built at Harsimus Cove in 1634 and became the home of Cornelius Henrick Van Vorst, who had succeeded Bout as superintendent, and whose family would become influential in the development of the city.
By the 1640s, relations with the Lenape deteriorated, in part because Director-General Willem Kieft attempted to drive out the Lenape through intimidation and taxation. During Kieft's War, approximately 120 Lenape were killed by the Dutch, including women and children, in a massacre ordered by Kieft at Pavonia on the night of February 25, 1643. The attack was ordered without the approval of his advisory council, against the wishes of the colonists and led to a series of raids and reprisals by the Lenape and the virtual destruction of the settlement on the west bank. On May 11, 1647, Peter Stuyvesant arrived in New Amsterdam to replace Kieft as Director-General of New Netherland. On September 15, 1655, Pavonia was attacked as part of a Munsee occupation of New Amsterdam called the Peach War that saw 40 colonists killed and over 100, mostly women and children, taken captive and held at Paulus Hook. They were later ransomed to New Amsterdam.
On January 10, 1658, Stuyvesant "re-purchased" the scattered communities of farmsteads that characterized the Dutch settlements of Pavonia: Communipaw, Harsimus, Paulus Hook, Hoebuck, Awiehaken, Pamrapo, and other lands "behind Kill van Kull". The village of Bergen (located inside a palisaded garrison) was established by the settlers who wished to return to the west bank of the Hudson on what is now Bergen Square in 1660, the first town square in North America, and officially chartered by Stuyvesant on September 5, 1661, as the state's first local civil government. The village was designed by Jacques Cortelyou, the first surveyor of New Amsterdam. The word berg taken from the Dutch means "hill", while bergen means "place of safety." The charter partially removed Bergen from the jurisdiction of New Amsterdam and put the surrounding settlements under its authority. As a result, it is regarded as the first permanent settlement and oldest municipality in what would become the state of New Jersey. It is also the home of Public School No. 11, the nation's longest-continuous school site and the site of the first free public school building in New Jersey. Furthermore, Old Bergen Church is the oldest continuous congregation in New Jersey. In addition, the oldest surviving houses in Jersey City are of Dutch origin including the Newkirk House (1690), the Van Vorst Farmhouse (1740), and the Van Wagenen House (1740).
In 1661, Communipaw Ferry began operation as the first ferry service between the village of Communipaw (Jersey City) and New Amsterdam (Manhattan) shortly after the village of Bergen was established.
On August 27, 1664, four English frigates sailed into New York Harbor and captured Fort Amsterdam, and by extension, all of New Netherland, a prelude to the Second Anglo-Dutch War, and renamed it New York. Under the Articles of Capitulation, the Dutch residents of Bergen were allowed to continue their way of life and worship. Later in 1664, the Duke of York (later James II), granted his new land between the Hudson River and Delaware River to Sir George Carteret in recognition of his loyalty to the Crown through the English Civil War. Carteret named the land New Jersey after his homeland, the Channel Island of Jersey. The Concession and Agreement was issued soon after providing religious freedom and recognition of private property in the colony. In exchange, residents were required to pledge loyalty to their new government and pay annual fees known as quit-rents. In 1668, the Bergen town charter was confirmed by Philip Carteret, the first English provincial Governor of New Jersey.
Following the Treaty of Westminster, New Jersey split into East Jersey and West Jersey. From 1674 to 1702, Bergen was part of East Jersey and became a town in Bergen County on March 7, 1683, one of the four newly independent counties in East Jersey. In 1702, New Jersey was reunified and became a royal colony. In 1710, by royal decree of Queen Anne of Great Britain, Bergen County was enlarged to include land that had been a part of Essex County. As a result, the village of Hackensack (in the newly formed New Barbados Township) was considered more accessible by the majority of the county's new inhabitants and became the new county seat. Bergen was later re-established by royal charter on January 4, 1714.
By the 1760s, Paulus Hook was known for its convenient stagecoach and ferry services. In 1764, Cornelius Van Vorst (1728–1818) established the Paulus Hook Ferry (later called "Jersey City Ferry") and operated the service from Paulus Hook to Cortlandt Street. To further attract patrons to his ferry landing, Van Vorst created a mile-long circular horse racing track that attracted tourists from both sides of the Hudson and built the Van Vorst Tavern near Grand and Hudson Streets as a one-story building with a Dutch roof and eaves and an overhanging porch that faced the river. To further ensure the profitability of his business ventures on the small island of Paulus Hook, he created an embankment road above the tidal marshes to the mainland. Ahead of the Revolutionary War, Van Vorst declared himself a patriot and in 1774 was appointed to one of the committees of correspondence, representing Bergen County and attended a meeting in New Brunswick to elect delegates to the Second Continental Congress.
In 1776, even before the war, General George Washington ordered American patriots to construct several forts to defend the western banks of the Hudson River, one of which was located at Paulus Hook. The fort was a naturally defensible position that guarded New York from British attack, guarded the Hudson River channel and the gateway to New Jersey. Following the defeat of General Washington and the Continental Army at the Battle of Brooklyn, the British took control of New York City on September 15, 1776 and turned their ships towards Paulus Hook. On September 23, the American patriots abandoned the fort and moved munitions and supplies to Bergen, leaving the fort to become the first New Jersey territory invaded and occupied by the British.
In mid-summer 1779, a 23-year-old Princeton University graduate, Major Henry Lee, recommended to General Washington a daring plan for the Continental Army to attack the fort, in what became known as the Battle of Paulus Hook. The assault was planned to begin shortly after midnight on August 19, 1779. Lee led a force of about 300 men, some of whom got lost during the march through the swampy, marshy land. The attack was late to start but the main contingent of the force was able to reach the fort's gate without being challenged. It is believed that the British mistook the approaching force for allied Hessians returning from patrol, though this has not been definitively documented.
The attacking Patriots succeeded in damaging the fort and took 158 British prisoners, but were unable to destroy the fort and spike its cannons. As daytime approached, Lee decided the prudent action was to have his Patriots withdraw before British forces from New York could cross the river. Paulus Hook remained in British hands until after the war but the battle was a small strategic victory for the forces of independence as it forced the British to abandon their plans for taking additional rebel positions in the New York area.
Later that August, General Washington met with the Marquis de Lafayette in the village of Bergen to discuss war strategy over lunch and to bait the British into attacking Bergen from New York. The meeting purportedly took place under an apple tree at the Van Wagenen House on Academy Street. Additionally, a nearby "point of rocks" at the east end of the street provided an ideal vantage point for military surveillance of the Hudson River.
One day in September 1780, a local Bergen farmer, Jane Tuers, was selling her goods in British-occupied Manhattan when she stopped in Fraunces Tavern and spoke with the owner, Samuel Fraunces. He informed Tuers that British soldiers were in his tavern toasting General Benedict Arnold, who was to deliver West Point to the British. Tuers returned to Bergen later that day and informed her brother Daniel Van Reypen about the conspiracy. Van Reypen, a staunch patriot, rode to Hackensack to meet with General Anthony Wayne who then sent Van Reypen to inform General Washington of the conspiracy. The information provided by Tuers confirmed what Washington had suspected of Arnold and led to the arrest, trial, conviction and hanging of co-conspirator John André for treason and stopped the plot to surrender West Point. Arnold would later defect to the British to escape prosecution.
On November 22, 1783, the British evacuated Paulus Hook and sailed home three days before they left New York on Evacuation Day. These events have been commemorated throughout the city. In the mid-1800s, Bergen named Lafayette Park in honor of Marquis de Lafayette, whose name is now synonymous with Communipaw. In 1903, an obelisk was erected at Paulus Hook Park at the intersection of Washington and Grand Streets, the site of the fort, to memorialize the Battle of Paulus Hook. In 1925, a plaque honoring Jane Tuer's heroism was installed at the site of her former home now Hudson Catholic Regional High School. In 2021, the restored Van Wagenen House was re-opened as the Museum of Jersey City History.
On February 21, 1798, Bergen became a township by the New Jersey Legislature's Township Act of 1798 as the first group of 104 townships in New Jersey.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Jersey City, New Jersey”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.