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Jan 1, 1524
New Jersey
Europeans called them the Delaware Indians. Around 1524, Giovanni de Verrazano became the first European to explore New Jersey. He sailed along the coast and anchored off Sandy Hook. The colonial history of New Jersey started after Henry Hudson sailed through Newark Bay in 1609. -
Hudson explores Newark Bay
The first people to live on the land now known as New Jersey were the Delaware Indians. They lived here starting at least 10,000 years ago. Anywhere from 8,000 to 20,000 Delaware Indians lived in the area when the first Europeans arrived. Their name means "original people" or "genuine people." They spoke an Algonquian dialect. -
Bergen, now Jersey City, becomes the first permanent town in New Jersey
Small trading colonies sprang up where the present towns of Hoboken and Jersey City are located. The Dutch, Swedes, and Finns were the first European settlers in New Jersey. Bergen, founded in 1660, was New Jersey's first permanent European settlement. -
Duke of York
The Founding of the Quaker colony of West Jersey. In the year 1664, the Duke of York, proprietary of the province of New York, assigned to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret the tract of country to the east of the Delaware River, and extending to the Hudson and the Atlantic. -
The British take control of New Jersey
In 1664 the Dutch lost New Netherlands when the British took control of the land and added it to their colonies. They divided the land in half and gave control to two proprietors: Sir George Carteret (who was in charge of the east side) and Lord John Berkley (who was in charge of the west side). The land was officially named New Jersey after the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel. Carteret had been governor of the Isle of Jersey. -
royal colony
Carteret and Berkeley began attracting people to the area by offering land and guaranteeing religious freedom. In return for the land, the settlers were supposed to pay a yearly tax called a quitrent. The quitrents proved hard to collect, which prompted the sale of the land to the Quakers in 1673. Upon the sale, New Jersey was divided in West Jersey and East Jersey. However, by 1702, the two divisions were united as the royal colony of New Jersey. -
revolutionary war battle
The coast of modern day wild wood crest in the location of the revolutionary war battle fought in cape may country. the area was known as turtle gut intent at time. Fought on June 29, 1776, the battle was an important early victory for the continental navy. -
War of Trenton
In November of 1776 the British gained control of New Jersey and forced Washington to flee into Pennsylvania. They thought no one would fight during winter, so the British and Hessian soldiers in New Jersey divided into camps to stay until spring. Trenton was considered the most desirable post, and it went to the Hessian soldiers as a reward for their good service. The Hessians used the Old Barracks in Trenton as a headquarters. -
New Jersey adopts its first state constitution
In 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the U.S. Constitution and the first state to sign the Bill of Rights. In 1790, Trenton officially became the state capital of New Jersey. William Livingston became New Jersey's first state governor. -
Another significant victory was gained at the Battle of Monmouth.
The Battle of Monmouth was a military conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its thirteen colonies in North America during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The year and date that the Battle of Monmouth took place on Sunday, June 28, 1778. The battlefield in which the British and American Forces fought during the Battle of Monmouth was located in Monmouth, New Jersey. -
bloody massacre
Beautiful long beach island was home to a bloody massacre back in 1782. John Bacon and his crew, colonists loyal to Britain, massacred 20 patriots militiamen as they slept -
New Jersey was the third state to ratify.
At the U.S. Constitutional Convention in 1787, the delegates from New Jersey sponsored the cause of the smaller states and carried the plan for equal representation in the Senate. New Jersey was the third state to ratify -
New Jersey became the third state
The U.S. Constitution and the first state to sign the Bill of Rights. In 1790, Trenton officially became the state capital of New Jersey. William Livingston became New Jersey's first state governor. New Jersey grew and prospered during the early 1800s. -
Prior to the Civil War
Prior to the Civil War an era of reform resulted in the framing of a new state constitution (1844) in which property qualifications for suffrage were abolished, provisions were made for the popular election of the governor and the assemblymen, and a balance of power and responsibility was established among the executive, legislative, and judicial departments. -
Seaside heights
Seaside heights may be the most resilient shore town of them. The boardwalk was rebuilt after a 1955 fire, hurricane sandy in 2012, and another fire in 2013. It has managed to bounce back every time.
