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Jan 3, 1524
colonies
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. Although Hudson was British, he worked for the Netherlands, so he claimed the land for the Dutch. It was called New Netherlands. -
lightening bulb
•During the last quarter of the 19th century, Thomas Edison generated hundreds of inventions in his Menlo Park laboratory, including the phonograph, which recorded and played back sound, and an electric-powered railway. While most recognized for perfecting the incandescent light bulb using a bamboo filament and providing a system of distributing electricity on a mass scale, Edison was awarded more than a thousand patents during his lifetime on inventions large and small -
quarkers
Quakers' influence: The abolitionist movement was stronger in South Jersey, mainly because of the large Quaker population near Philadelphia which condemned the "peculiar institution" of slavery, Bilby said. -
sloiders
- Volunteer soldiers: Of the tens of thousands of New Jerseyans who served in the Union Army, only 900 were draftees, Bilby said. New Jersey was able to fill its required ranks through volunteer regiments before national conscription began in 1863.
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intresting facts
•One of the first Indian reservations in the United States was established in Burlington County in 1758 for the Lenni-Lenape tribe. The first and only reservation in New Jersey, the Brotherton Reserve was sold back to the state in 1801 by the remaining members of the tribe, who moved up north to join relatives in New Stockbridge, New York. -
business
. Big business: Although New Jerseyans opposed the South's secession, "New Jersey did a lot of business in the South," and did not want to be at : Although New Jerseyans opposed the South's secession, "New Jersey did a lot of business in the South," and did not want to be at war with that region, Bilby noted. Factories in the industrial cities of Newark and Paterson manufactured cheap clothing for use by slaves, so the abolitionist movement was not strong in northern New Jersey, Bilby said -
13 colonies
One of the original 13 colonies, New Jersey was an important battleground during the American Revolution. Located in the heart of the bustling Atlantic corridor and nestled between New York and Pennsylvania, New Jersey has the highest population density of any U.S. state. New Jersey was named for the island of Jersey in the English Channel. Its long and beautiful coastline has long made New Jersey a popular vacation destination, with over 50 seaside resort towns including Asbury Park, Atlantic C -
intresting facts
Capital: Trenton
Population: 8,791,894 (2010)
Size: 8,723 square miles
Nickname(s): Garden State
Motto: Liberty and Prosperity
Tree: Red Oak
Flower: Violet
Bird: Eastern Goldfinch -
bill of rights
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.
New Jersey grew and prospered during the early 1800s. New factories sprung up throughout the state. Paterson became a textile center and later became known for producing trains and silk. Trenton produced clay products, iron, and steel. Camden, E -
statehood
this is when they became a state and known for the war. when they got their independance. -
battle
- No fighting on Jersey soil: The bloody 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, where an estimated 51,000 soldiers died, was the closest the war ever got to New Jersey.
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civil war
No Civil War battles were fought in New Jersey, but between 65,000 and 80,000 soldiers from the state fought for the Union and were "highly commended," said Joseph G. Bilby, editor and author of 19 history books, including "New Jersey's Civil War Odyssey." "They stayed to the end," said Bilby, who serves on the New Jersey Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee and is assistant curator at the National Guard Museum in Sea Girt. Bilby talked with NJ Advance Media about the state's role in t -
intresting facts
•The first virtually complete dinosaur skeleton discovered in North America was unearthed in 1858 by William Parker Foulke in Haddonfield, New Jersey. The Hadrosaurus foulkii, as it was later named, proved that the existence of dinosaurs was real, and provided the shocking evidence that dinosaurs could be bipedal. In 1868, it became the first dinosaur skeleton in the world to be mounted on display. -
goverment
. No love for Lincoln: New Jersey did not vote for the Republican Abraham Lincoln either time he ran. It split its electoral votes with the Democrat Stephen Douglas in 1860 and the Democrat George McClellan in 1864, who was a general in the Union Army. -
womens rights
Women's role: New Jersey's women made their presence known on and off the battlefields, and included nurses like Cornelia Hancock, who was known as "America's Florence Nightingale," and Somerville native Arabella Wharton Griffith Barlow, who nursed her husband, a general, back to health and later died of typhus while tending to sick soldiers. -
flag
New Jersey's official state flag was adopted on March 26, 1896. The flag has a buff (light yellow-brown) background; this is the color of part of the uniform selected by General George Washington in 1779 for his New Jersey Continental Line. Part of the state seal (which was designed by Pierre Eugene de Simitiere in 1777) is in the center. In the center is a blue shield with three plows in it. On the sides of the shield are the goddess of liberty (holding a staff and the cap of freedom) and th -
1900's
The 1900s
Between 1900 and 1930, New Jersey's population more than doubled, and manufacturing became a $4 billion industry. Unfortunately, the Great Depression of the 1930s hit New Jersey hard, bringing massive unemployment. The state rebounded during World War II in the 1940s as New Jersey's electronics and chemical industries began large-scale operations.
In the mid-1900s, people began moving back into the rural areas from the overcrowded cities. A number of transportation projects helpe -
traffic
•Opening to traffic between New Jersey and New York on November 13, 1927, the Holland Tunnel became the first mechanically ventilated underwater tunnel. At its maximum depth, the tunnel lies roughly 93 feet beneath the Hudson River. -
control
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. The British didn't chase Washington across the Delaware River be
