Chronology: Chronology

English Control and Dutch Culture (1664-1775)

1664

• Directory-General Peter Stuyvesant surrendered New Netherlands to the English. Charles II and the Duke of York conveyed all the land between Delaware and the Hudson Rivers to John, Lord Berkeley, and Sir George Carteret as the proprietors of the colony of New Jersey. Philip Carteret was named the first proprietary governor of the colony.
• Sip Manor House was built by Nicholas Varleth at Newkirk Street and Bergen Avenue.

1668

• Governor Philip Carteret of New Jersey approved a new charter for the Town of Bergen.

1669

• The site of the Newkirk family homestead was granted by Governor Philip Carteret.

1680

• The Dutch Reformed Church congregation erected the Octagonal Church at the southeast corner of Bergen Avenue and Vroom Street. It replaced the original church building.

1682

• Bergen Township became the government seat of Bergen County (to the 1690s).

1690

• The Summit House was constructed by Matthias Newkirk.
• Cornelius Van Vorst purchased Paulus Hook property from Abraham Isaacsen Planck. This included almost half of present-day Jersey City.
• Elsworth Tavern, owned by Verdine Elsworth, opened. It overlooked the Hudson River at the present site of Grand and Hudson Street.

1740

• The John Van Vorst house was constructed on Palisade Avenue.

1760

• The first part of the Van Wagenen home (Apple Tree House) was constructed.
• Jacob Prior constructed a tidewater mill at Mill Creek (Prior's Mill).
• Retirement Hall was built by Captain Thomas Brown, a merchant and slave trader.

1762

• Eagle Tavern (later known as Tise Tavern) constructed on Bergen Avenue near Glenwood Avenue.

1764

• Ferry service established between Paulus Hook and New York City as part of a stage coach route to Philadelphia.

1773

• Second Bergen Church was built at the southwest corner of Bergen Avenue and Vroom Street.

The Revolutionary War Era (1776-1789)

1776

• General George Washington ordered the fortification of Paulus Hook, but it is taken by the British.
• Patriots abandon Paulus Hook and retreat to Bergen Township.
• Bergen Township fell to the British and was abandoned by patriots (October).

1779

• Major Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee of Virginia led a successful attack on the garrison at Paulus Hook (August 19th), held by the British since 1776, but failed to capture it from the British.
• The Van Vorst home at Harsimus was occupied by the British after the Battle of Paulus Hook.

1780

• Story of patriot Jane Tuers (home stood at southeast corner of Bergen Avenue and Mercer Street).
• Gen. George Washington met Major Gen. Marquis de Lafayette at the "Apple Tree House."

From Townships to Municipality (1790-1869)

1790

• The Columbian Academy was built on site of Martin Luther King Elementary School (Public School No. 11) on Beren Avenue.

1804

• The property of Cornelius Van Vorst was sold to the Associates of the Jersey Company who began the development of present-day Jersey City.
• Anthony Dey of New York acquired Paulus Hook with ferry privileges from Cornelius Van Vorst.
• Founding of Township of Van Vorst.

1812

• Robert Fulton purchased land on Steuben Street and Green and Morgan Streets for his shipyard, purchased in 1804. His steamboat "The Jersey" sailed to New York.

1815

• Isaac Edge windmill was built at foot of Montgomery Street.
• George Tise placed the cornerstone of the former Stuyvesant Tavern on the rear wall of his new tavern.

1816

• Col. Richard Varick built Prospect Hall overlooking the Hudson River.

1820

• Paulus Hook was incorporated as the City of Jersey in the County of Bergen by the New Jersey Legislature (January 28); five freeholders were chosen annually to constitute the Board of Selectmen of Jersey City.

1824

• Jersey City Glass Works (later P.C. Dummer & Company) was founded by George Dummer and Associates at Washington and Essex Street.

1825

• William Colgate established a factory at Harsimus.
• The Jersey Porcelain & Earthenware Company was founded by P.C. Dummer.

1827

• The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company was founded.

1829

• The second charter of incorporation (January 23) under the name "Jersey City." The recorded population is 1,357.
• Jersey City's volunteer fire department began and night watchmen (the first police force) were appointed for public safety.
• Harsimus Cemetery began at Newark Avenue.

1831

• St. Peter's R.C. Church founded (January 29). It was the first Roman Catholic parish in Jersey City and Hudson County. It was dedicated in 1839.

1833

• Treaty between New York and New Jersey to settle riparian rights to Hudson River.
• American Pottery Manufacturing Company founded by David Henderson.

1835

• Greek-revival Barrrow Mansion built in Van Vorst Historic District.
• Cornelius Van Vorst deeds 1.8 acres of his estate for a public park that is named for him. 

1836

• The Morris Canal, which opened in 1831, is extended through Jersey City to the Hudson River.
• The New Jersey Railroad cut through Bergen Hill near the present site of Journal Square and filled in much of Mill Creek.

1837

• Third charter of incorporation of Jersey City; it separated from Bergen Township and was granted its own mayor and city council.

1838

• Jersey City separated from Bergen Township and became an independent municipality; the Charter for the City of Jersey City was adopted (February 22); it permitted the election of a mayor and common council.
• Dudley Gregory became the first mayor of Jersey City.
• Buck's Hotel on York Street was used for the first meeting of the mayor and council (April 16).
• Beacon Racetrack opened in Jersey City Heights area.

1839

• The current Provident Savings Institution Bank is founded by Dudley S. Gregory. It was Jersey City's first banking firm.

1840

• The southern portion of Bergen County (Van Vorst Township/Harsimus) separated from northern Bergen County becoming Hudson County.

1840s

• New Jersey Railroad built depot on west side of Hudson Street North of Montgomery Avenue.

1841

• The Cunard Line began at the Jersey City docks. The "Hibernia" was docked in Jersey City in 1847. 
• The third and present building of the Old Bergen Church on Bergen Avenue is built.
• Township of Van Vorst (former Harsimus) is separated from Bergen Township and received a charter (March 11)
  to be an independent municipality (most of downtown Jersey City, excluding Paulus Hook). Ten years later, it joined the municipality of Jersey City.

1844

• The First Presbyterian Church building moved to Paulus Hook from New York City.

1845

• Old Hudson County Court House opened at Newark Avenue.
• The first gas street lamps are installed, the first at present Grove Street and Columbus

1847

• Dixon Crucible Company (Dixon Mills) relocated from Massachusetts to Jersey City.
• The first fire engine was purchased, and the Washington Fire Engine Company, the first fire firehouse built.
• The Cunard Steamship piers in the city were constructed.

1848

• New York Bay Cemetery laid out on the Jersey City Bergen Point Plank Road (now Garfield Avenue).
• The Jersey City population was recorded as 3,602.

1850s

• Erie-Lackawanna Railroad reached Jersey City as its eastern terminus.

1851

• In March, the Township of Van Vorst became part of Jersey City, becoming the Third and Fourth Wards.
• Horticulturalist Peter Henderson designed Victorian-style Van Vork Park.
• Construction for Reservoir 3 begun on Summit Avenue.
• Jersey City's population reaches approximately 12,000.

1852

• Town of Hudson separated from North Bergen and was chartered by the New Jersey Legislature in April.
• Gas street lamps were installed in the city.

1853

• The Associates of the Jersey Company sold their rights to the waterfront and ferry service to the New Jersey Railroad.
• Grace Church Van Vorst on Erie Street is consecrated.
• The use of gas lighting began in Jersey City on December 1st.

1854

• Hilton-Holden Homestead built at Clifton Place. It became part of the Underground Railroad.

1855

• Township of Bergen was chartered. It extended from present-day Journal Square to approximately Communipaw Avenue. It had a population of 4,792.
• City of Hudson was chartered in April; it had a population of approximately 3,000. The first mayor was Gen. E.R.V. Wright. It is popularly referred to as Jersey City Heights.

1856

• Keeney & Halladay laid out a grid for the Lafayette section of Jersey City.
• Hasbrouck Institute at Mercer Street is opened as a private school for young men. It moved to Crescent Avenue
  in 1893.

1857

• The Speer Cemetery on Vroom Street was made a public burial ground on the former DeMott estate.

1859

• The first police headquarters was constructed at Cooper's Alley and Gregory Street.

1861

• City Hall of Jersey City was constructed at Cooper Place.
• Central Railroad of New Jersey opened a station in Greenville.
• The Bergen Arches are completed

1863

• Greenville received charter, making it a separate town from Bergen.

1865

• North Baptist Church founded on Jersey Avenue.

1866

• Library Hall became the town hall of the Township of Bergen.
• Holy Name Cemetery on West Side Avenue began as a Roman Catholic burial ground.

1867

• The Evening Journal, Jersey City's first newspaper, began at Exchange Place.
• The Lincoln Association of Jersey City began tradition of commemorating the birth of Abraham Lincoln.

1868

• Township of Bergen was renamed Bergen City and John Hilton became its first mayor.
• Hudson City Savings Bank founded by Garret D. Van Reipen (second Mayor of Hudson City) at Five Corners location.

1870

• Jersey City, City of Bergen and Hudson City merged into one municipality called Jersey City.

New Industries and New Immigrants (1870-1912)

1870

• Jersey City was denied home rule; Hudson City, Bergen and Jersey City consolidated.
• The P. Lorillard Tobacco Company moved to Jersey City from New York.

1871

• The new charter of incorporation for the City of Jersey City. It included the cities of Bergen, Hudson City and Jersey City.
• Beginning of the city's first paid Fire Department.
• Pennsylvania Railroad began operations at Exchange Place and Harsimus Cove, making Jersey City its eastern terminus

1872

• Jersey City High School founded (origins of present-day Dickinson High School).
• William Dickinson became Superintendent of Schools. High School is later named for him.

1873

• Greenville merged with the municipality of Jersey City (August 11) completing the boundaries for Jersey City. 
• Alexander Hamilton (no relation to former Secretary of Treasury) fled to Mexico with the contents of the city treasury.

1874

• Hudson Dispatch began publication.

1876

• New Jersey legislature restored home rule to Jersey City with a new charter.
• Erminnie Smith started the Aesthetic Society.

1877

• St. Patrick's R.C. Church at corner of Bramhall Avenue and Grand Street began to serve the Irish immigrant community.

1878

• Saint Peter's Preparatory School and Saint. Peter's College (now Saint Peter's University) was founded.
• Telephone service began in the city.

1879

• E.F.C. Young elected president of the First National Bank of Jersey City.

1880s

• Central Railroad of New Jersey began development of railroad operation at Communipaw Cove.

1880

• Peter Woodland, a Hudson River Terminal worker, buried at Bayview-New York Bay Cemetery.

1881

• Armbruster's Greenville Schuetzen Park opened as an amusement park.

1884

• Flemish-Renaissance style Heppenheimer Mansion built on Jersey Avenue.
• The Academy of Music became Jersey City's first theater.
• Electric street lighting reportedly began in the city.

1886

• Erie Railroad began construction of a terminal in Pavonia.
• St. Joseph's Home founded at York Street.

1887

• Academy of Music was opened by Frank Henderson.
• Odd Volumes was ounded as a charter member of the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Club.

1889

• Present railroad terminal at Jersey City waterfront constructed by Central Railroad of New Jersey.

1890

• American Sugar Refining Company established at Washington Street.

1891

• St. Joseph's Home for Blind at Pavonia Avenue and St. Joseph's School for the Blind at Baldwin Avenue (now under the ministry of the York Street Project) were founded.

1892

• Electric trolley began operations in Jersey City.

1893

• Whittier House, a social settlement house, founded by Cornelia Foster Bradford at Grand Street.

1895

• Hudson County (now John F. Kennedy) Boulevard opened.
• Mary Philbrook, from Jersey City, is first woman in New Jersey admitted to the bar.
• Regiment Armory completed for the 4th Regiment of the New Jersey National Guard.

1896

• Jersey City's City Hall at Grove Street and Montgomery Avenue completed.

1899

• Pennsylvania Railroad began the marine freight terminal at Greenville yards.

1901

• Jersey City Free Public Library opened.

1903

• Publication of "The Housing Conditions of Jersey City" by Mary B. Sayles, a resident of Whittier House.

1904

• Jersey City High School opened; it was renamed Dickinson High School in 1913.

1905

• St. Mary's Residence at Washington Street opened to working women.

1906

• First Colgate Clock installed on Jersey City waterfront.
• Erie Railroad began construction of the Bergen Arches.
• Jersey City High School (now Dickinson High School) opened; it was renamed in 1913.

1907

• The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company Warehouse was developed in the cobblestone district.
• The Majestic Theater opened on Grove Street.

1908

• The first route of the Hudson Manhattan tubes (now PATH) opened under the Hudson River. The Powerhouse is activated to generate energy for the Hudson & Manhattan Tunnel (February 25).
• The Evening Journal was renamed the Jersey Journal.

1910

• Hudson River Railroad Tunnel opened.
• Brennan Hudson County Court House on Newark Avenue replaces old Hudson County Court House.

1911

• Hudson and Manhattan "Tube Trains" (now PATH) began service to New York.
• St. Ann's Home for Aged  (former Lembeck home) wa ounded at Old Bergen Avenue.

1912

• Fairmount Hotel Apartment completed.

1913

• Lincoln High School opened at Crescent Avenue.

Era of Mayor Frank Hague (1913-1949)

1913

• Lincoln High School opened at Crescent Avenue.
• Main Post Office opened at Washington Street.
• Jersey City adopted a commission form of government under the Walsh-Leavitt Commission Government Act of 1911. The voters elect a commission of five members from which one is chosen mayor. Mark Fagan was the first mayor under this plan. It replaced the aldermanic form of government.

1914

• Margaret S. Herbermann, MD was appointed the first woman surgeon to Jersey City Hospital, later the Jersey City Medical Center.

1916

• The "Black Tom" ammunition depot explosion occurred at the coast of Jersey City on July 30th.

1917

• Frank Hague elected mayor of Jersey City, beginning an era of political control in Hudson County.

1920s

• Headquarters for The Trust Company of New Jersey developed by William Heppenheimer.

1921

• School for Crippled Children opened at Clifton Place.
• Dempsey-Carpentier fight takes place at Boyle's Thirty Acres (July 2).

1924

• The Colgate Clock is installed at the Jersey City waterfront.
• The Hotel Plaza is built in the Journal Square area at Sip Avenue.

1925

• Mary T. Norton elected the first Congresswoman from Hudson County, representing Bayonne and Jersey City.

1927

• The Holland Tunnel opened as the first mechanically ventilated underwater tunnel.
• The Trust Company of New Jersey headquarters opened at Journal Square.
• The founding of the New Jersey State Normal School (now New Jersey City University) is approved by the state legislature.

1928

• The Stanley Theater opened at Journal Square.

1929

• The Loew's Jersey Theater opened at Journal Square.
• Replacement Colgate Clock installed at Jersey City Waterfront.
• The New Jersey State Normal School opened; it offered a three-year teacher training program for elementary, kindergarten-primary, and secondary teacher training.

1930s

• Founding of Snyder High School on Bergen Avenue.

1931

• Medical Center Complex and Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital opened.
• Dedication for the opening of A. Harry Moore School.
• Lena Edwards, MD, became a staff physician at the Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital.

1932

• Pulaski Memorial Skyway, connecting Jersey City and Newark, is opened.

1935

• The New Jersey State Normal School became the New Jersey State Teachers College (now New Jersey City University) and offered a four-year Bachelor of Science in Education degree.

1936

• New Jersey State Teachers College offered a degree program in Health Education and Nursing in cooperation with the Jersey City Medical Center.

1937

• Roosevelt Stadium opened at Droyers' Point under the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA).
• New Jersey National Guard Armory construction was completed under a federal WPA project.

1941

• Murdoch Hall constructed as part of the Medical Center Complex for the training of nurses.

1942

• Miss America Diner opened on Westside Avenue.

1944

• Fitzgerald-Holota Memorial Park dedicated at intersection of Grove Street and Newark Avenue.

1946

• Jackie Robinson broke the "color line" in professional baseball at Roosevelt Stadium.

1947

• Frank Hague retired as Mayor of Jersey City.

1949

• John V. Kenny brings an end to Hague regime.

1950

• Dedication of Statue of Christopher Columbus at Journal Square.

Challenges and Changes in the Post-War City (1950-1975)

1960

• Charter revision for Jersey City's municipal government.

1961

• Jersey City adopted Plan C under the Optional Municipal Charter Law (Chapter 210 of New Jersey Laws 1950). The voters citywide elect a mayor and three council members, and the voters of each ward (six) elect one council person. The council is headed by a council president chosen from its nine members. It replaced the commission form of government in place from 1913.

1962

• Father Divine purchase Fairmount Hotel for his Peace Mission Movement.
• Jersey City State College (now New Jersey City University) began during the administration of the A. Harry Moore School.

1964

• Lena Edwards, MD, received Presidential Medal of Freedom from Lyndon B. Johnson.

1969

• Dedication of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., School (Public School No. 11) at historic site of Bergen Columbian Academy.

1973

• Academic (McNair) High School opened.

1974

• Hudson County Community College began its development in Journal Square area.

Towards a Better Future (1976 - Present)

1976

• New Jersey and federal government agreed to preserve and develop former Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal site as Liberty State Park. It opened on Flag Day, June 14th.

1982

• The Kenmare High School opened at York Street.

1984

• Afro-American Historical and Cultural Society Museum opened at Greenville Branch of the Jersey City Free Public Library.

1989

• Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace initiated the York Street Project.

1991

• The Hudson Dispatch taken over by the Jersey Journal.

1993

• Liberty Science Center and Hall of Technology opened at Liberty State Park.
• Restoration of the Loew's Jersey Theater begun by Jersey City Economic Redevelopment Corporation and Friends of the Loew's.

1995

• Renovated Fairmount Hotel Apartments opened as a senior residence.

1998

• Jersey City State College is restructured and renamed New Jersey City University.
• Commemorative statue of Jackie Robinson placed in front of PATH terminal at Journal Square.

1999

• Christopher Columbus Square dedicated at Liberty State Park.

2000

• Hudson_Bergen Light Rail of NJ Transit opened between Bayonne and Jersey City.

2001

• Jersey City Museum (2001-2011) on Montgomery Street opened in a renovated warehouse.