Editing Jersey City, New Jersey (section)

==History==
{{For timeline}}

===Lenape and New Netherland===
{{Main|Bergen, New Netherland}}

The land that is now Jersey City was inhabited by the [[Lenape]], a collection of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes (later called Delaware Indian). 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 (New Jersey)|Sandy Hook]], [[Harsimus Cove]] and [[Weehawken Cove]], and elsewhere along what was later named the [[North River (Hudson River)|North River]]. After spending nine days surveying the area and meeting its inhabitants, he sailed as far north as [[Albany, New York|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 [[Halve Maen|Half Moon]], and other modern vessels.<ref>[https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-njjec.html Jersey City, New Jersey (U.S.)], CRW Flags. Accessed November 13, 2019. "The three stripes of blue, white, and yellow are supposed to commemorate the colors of the Dutch, as Jersey City was located in the province of New Netherlands. However, the color yellow would more appropriately be orange, as blue, white, and orange were the colors in the Dutch national flag and its trading companies in the early 1600s. The sailing ship is the Half Moon, in which the explorer Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson River in 1609."</ref>

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 [[North River (Hudson River)|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, New Jersey|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/pavonia|title=Pavonia|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 9, 2025}}</ref> That year, a house was built at [[Communipaw]] for [[Jan Evertsen Bout]], superintendent of the colony, which had been named ''[[Pavonia, New Netherland|Pavonia]]'' (the [[Latin]]ized form of Pauw's name, which means "peacock" or "land of the peacock").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/stpetersuniversity|title=Saint Peter's University|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 17, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060618023232/http://www.nnp.org/newvtour/regions/Hudson/pavonia.html A Virtual Tour of New Netherland]}}, New Netherland Institute. Accessed May 10, 2006.</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/vanvorst1|title=Van Vorst Homestead Site|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 5, 2025}}</ref> Relations with the Lenape deteriorated, in part because Director-General [[Willem Kieft]] attempted to tax and drive out the Lenapes, which led to a series of raids and reprisals and the virtual destruction of the settlement on the west bank. During [[Kieft's War]], approximately 120 [[Lenape]]s were killed by the Dutch in a massacre ordered by Kieft at [[Pavonia, New Netherland|Pavonia]] on the night of February 25, 1643.<ref>Ellis, Edward Robb. [https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Epic_of_New_York_City.html?id=ODnnmcciMLgC ''The Epic of New York City''], p. 38. Old Town Books, 1966. {{ISBN|9780786714360}}.</ref> 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, [[Weehawken, New Jersey|Awiehaken]], [[Pamrapo]], and other lands "behind [[Kill van Kull]]". The village of [[Bergen, New Netherland|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 [[Surveying|surveyor]] of New Amsterdam.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jerseydigs.com/bergen-square-rich-history-journal-square-jsq/|title=Bergen Square: A Rich History in the Shadow of Journal Square
|website=jerseydigs.com|date=November 29, 2017|access-date=February 18, 2025}}</ref> The word ''berg'' taken from the Dutch means "hill", while ''bergen'' means "place of safety".<ref>{{cite book |last=Grundy |first=J. Owen |title=The History of Jersey City (1609–1976) |year=1975 |publisher=Walter E. Knight; Progress Printing Company |location=Jersey City |chapter=A Dutch Legacy |page=5}}</ref> The charter partially removed Bergen from the jurisdiction of New Amsterdam and put the surrounding settlements under its [[Bergen Township, New Jersey (1661–1862)|authority]]. As a result, it is regarded as the first permanent settlement and oldest municipality in what would become the state of New Jersey.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/bergen|title=Bergen Square|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 5, 2025}}</ref><ref>[http://www.cityofjerseycity.org/vanvorstfarmhouse.shtml Jersey City's Oldest House], Jersey City History. Accessed September 11, 2007.</ref> It is also the home of Public School No. 11, the nation's longest-continuous school site and the site of the first free and public school building in New Jersey,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/MLKPS11|title=Martin Luther King Jr., PS #11|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 5, 2025}}</ref> and [[Old Bergen Church]], 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),<ref name=NJCU>Karnoutsos, Carmela. [https://njcu.libguides.com/jerseycitypastandpresent/summithouse Summit House / Newkirk House] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602035913/https://njcu.libguides.com/jerseycitypastandpresent/summithouse |date=June 2, 2019 }}, Jersey City Past and Present, [[New Jersey City University]]. Accessed November 13, 2019. "At a high point with a view of the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers, the Summit House, previously owned by the Newkirk family, is considered one of Jersey City's oldest buildings. It stands on the east side of Summit Avenue north of Sip Avenue outside of the original boundaries of the historic village of Bergen which was once populated by Dutch settlers.... The date of purchase is not known, but the date for construction of the building is about 1690, and it is known that Newkirk died in 1705."</ref> the [[Van Vorst House|Van Vorst Farmhouse]] (1740),<ref>Karnoutsos, Carmela. [https://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/V_Pages/Van_Vorst_John.htm Van Vorst House 531 Palisade Avenue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923182911/https://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/V_Pages/Van_Vorst_John.htm |date=September 23, 2015 }}, Jersey City Past and Present, [[New Jersey City University]]. Accessed June 1, 2015.</ref><ref>[http://forgotten-ny.com/2008/02/the-heights-van-vorst-house/ Jersey City Heights/Van Vorst House], Forgotten New York, February 28, 2008. Accessed August 30, 2015.</ref><ref>Olszewski, Anthony. [http://www.cityofjerseycity.org/vanvorstfarmhouse.shtml From Before the Revolutionary War! Jersey City's Oldest House], Jersey City History, 2002. Accessed August 30, 2015.</ref> and the [[Van Wagenen House]] (1740).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.gov/dca/njht/funded/sitedetails/apple_tree_van_wagenen_house.html|title=Apple Tree/Van Wagenen House|publisher=New Jersey Historic Trust|access-date=October 27, 2017|archive-date=June 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616034152/http://www.nj.gov/dca/njht/funded/sitedetails/apple_tree_van_wagenen_house.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2017/02/end_in_sight_for_decade-long_renovation_of_histori.html|author=McDonald, Terrence T.|title=11-year restoration of historic Jersey City building may end soon|website=[[NJ.com]]|date=February 21, 2017|access-date=November 12, 2021|archive-date=March 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310014111/http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2017/02/end_in_sight_for_decade-long_renovation_of_histori.html}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/communipaw|title=Communipaw|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 3, 2025}}</ref>

====Province of New Jersey====
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]]. Under the [[Articles of Surrender of New Netherland|Articles of Capitulation]], the Dutch residents of Bergen were allowed to continue their way of life and worship. Later in 1664, [[James II of England|James]], the [[Duke of York]], granted the land between the Hudson and [[Delaware River]] to Sir [[George Carteret]] as a debt settlement. Carteret named the land ''[[Province of New Jersey|New Jersey]]'' after his homeland the [[Jersey|island of Jersey]]. The [[Concession and Agreement]] was issued soon after providing [[religious freedom]] and recognition of private property in the colony.<ref name=autogenerated7>{{cite web |url=http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/nj02.htm |title=The Avalon Project : The Concession and Agreement of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of New Caesarea, or New Jersey |publisher=Yale.edu |access-date=February 6, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518195544/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/nj02.htm |archive-date=2008-05-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In exchange, residents were required to pledge loyalty to their new government.<ref>''[[The New York Times]]''; October 7, 1910. The history of Bergen Village</ref>

Following the [[Treaty of Westminster (1674)|Treaty of Westminster]], New Jersey split into [[East Jersey]] and [[West Jersey]]. From 1674 to 1702, [[Bergen Township, New Jersey (1661–1862)|Bergen]] was part of East Jersey and became a town in [[Bergen County, New Jersey|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]]. Bergen was chosen as the [[county seat]] in 1710 and was re-established by [[royal charter]] on January 4, 1714.<ref name="Story"/>

===18th century===
By the 1760s, Paulus Hook was known for its convenient [[stagecoach]] and ferry services. In 1764, Cornelius Van Vorst (1728–1818) established the [[Jersey City Ferry|Paulus Hook Ferry]] (later called "Jersey City Ferry")<ref>History of the County of Hudson, New Jersey: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Charles Hardenburg Winfield, pg. 243-246, Kennard & Hay Stationery M'fg and Print. Company, 1874</ref> and operated the service from Paulus Hook to [[Cortlandt Street Ferry Depot|Cortlandt Street]].<ref>''Railroad Ferries of the Hudson: And Stories of a Deckhand'', by, Raymond J. Baxter, Arthur G. Adams, pg. 64 ,1999, Fordham University Press, 978-0823219544</ref> 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 (American Revolution)|patriot]] and in 1774 was appointed to one of the committees of correspondence, representing Bergen County and attended a meeting in [[New Brunswick, New Jersey|New Brunswick]] to elect delegates to the [[Second Continental Congress]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/vanvorst2|title=Van Vorst, Cornelius, 1728-1818|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 4, 2025}}</ref>

====American Revolution====
[[File:Paulus Hook Monument Jersey City July 2020 001.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Battle of Paulus Hook Monument]]
{{Further|Battle of Paulus Hook}}
In 1776, even before the [[American Revolutionary War|war]], General [[George Washington]] ordered [[Patriot (American Revolution)|American patriots]] to construct several [[fort]]s 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. After suffering defeats in [[New York City]], on September 23, 1776, the American patriots abandoned Paulus Hook, leaving the fort to become the first New Jersey territory invaded and occupied by the [[British Army during the American Revolutionary War|British]].

In mid-summer 1779, a 23-year-old [[Princeton University]] graduate, Major [[Light Horse Harry Lee|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 [[Hessian (soldiers)|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.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1879/08/20/81758040.pdf | work=The New York Times | title=Recalling Paulus Hook; Jersey City's Revolutionary Battle. Major Harry Lee's Dashing Exploit One Hundred Years Ago--His Attack Upon And Capture Of A British Garrison--Yesterday's Commemorative Exercises | date=August 20, 1879}}</ref> 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 [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]] in the village of [[Bergen, New Netherland|Bergen]] to discuss war strategy over lunch and to bait the British into attacking Bergen from New York. The meeting purportedly took place 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/appletree|title=Apple Tree House|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 5, 2025}}</ref>

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, New Jersey|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.<ref name="Tuers">{{cite web |url=https://njcu.libguides.com/tuers|title=Jane Tuers (Jannetje Van Reypen Tuers)|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 7, 2025}}</ref>

On November 22, 1783, the British evacuated Paulus Hook and sailed home<ref>{{cite book|last1=Farrier|first1=George H.|title=Memorial of the centennial celebration of the battle of Paulus Hook|location=Jersey City, NJ|publisher=M. Mullone|date=August 19, 1879|url=https://archive.org/details/memorialofcenten00farr_0/page/58 |page=58 |oclc=1742471}}</ref> three days before they left New York on [[Evacuation Day (New York)|Evacuation Day]]. While these events occupy a small portion of U.S. [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] history, they are important events in the [[history of New Jersey]] and [[New Jersey in the American Revolution|New Jersey's role in the American Revolution]] and hold an even greater significance in the history of the local neighborhoods. In 1903, a [[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 1924, 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/paulushook|title=Paulus (Powles) Hook|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 4, 2025}}</ref><ref name="Tuers"/>

On February 21, 1798, [[Bergen Township, New Jersey (1661–1862)|Bergen]] became a township by the [[New Jersey Legislature|New Jersey Legislature's]] [[Township Act of 1798]] as the first group of 104 townships in New Jersey.<ref name="Story"/>

===19th century===
In 1804, [[Alexander Hamilton]], now a private citizen, was focused on increasing manufacturing in the greater New York City area. To that end, he helped to create the "Associates of the Jersey Company" which would lay the groundwork for modern Jersey City through private development. While envisioning the future of Jersey City, Hamilton said: "One day, a great city shall rise on the western banks of the Hudson River."<ref name="Great City">{{cite web|url=https://jerseydigs.com/history-of-jersey-city-part-1/|title=Jersey City’s Journey Through History: Railroads, Rivalries, and Resilience|website=jerseydigs.com|date=January 20, 2025|access-date=February 5, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/2016/07/group_honors_founding_father_of_new_jersey_at_jers.html|title=Group honors Alexander Hamilton as 'founding father of N.J.' at Jersey City ceremony|publisher=The Jersey Journal|date=July 8, 2016|access-date=February 5, 2025}}</ref> The consortium of 35 investors behind the company were predominantly [[Federalism|Federalists]] who, like Hamilton, had been swept out of power in the election of 1800 by [[Thomas Jefferson]] and other [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republicans]]. Large tracts of land in [[Paulus Hook]] were purchased by the company with the titles owned by Anthony Dey, who was from a prominent old Dutch family, and his two cousins, Colonel [[Richard Varick]], the former mayor of New York City (1789–1801), and [[Jacob Radcliff]], a Justice of the [[New York Supreme Court]] who would later become mayor of New York City (twice) from 1810 to 1811 and again from 1815 to 1818. They laid out the city squares and streets that still characterize the neighborhood, giving them names also seen in [[Lower Manhattan]] or after war heroes (Grove, Varick, Mercer, Wayne, Monmouth and Montgomery among them).<ref>{{cite web|title=Associates of the Jersey Company, 1804 Jersey City's Founding Fathers|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/jerseycitypastandpresent/associatesofthejerseycompany|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602035903/https://njcu.libguides.com/jerseycitypastandpresent/associatesofthejerseycompany|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 2, 2019|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=18 April 2020}}</ref> John B. Coles, a former [[New York State Senate|New York State senator]] (1799–1802), purchased the area north of Paulus Hook known as [[Harsimus]] and laid out a grid plan centered around a park. Following Hamilton's death, Coles proposed naming the park in his honor as "[[Hamilton Park, Jersey City|Hamilton Park]]".<ref name="Hamilton Park">{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/hamilton|title=Hamilton Park|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 6, 2025}}</ref>

Despite Hamilton's untimely death in July 1804, the Association carried on with the New Jersey Legislature approving Hamilton's charter of incorporation on November 10, 1804. However, the enterprise was mired in a legal boundary dispute between New York City and the state of [[New Jersey]] over who owned the waterfront. This along with the associated press coverage discouraged investors who wanted lots on the waterfront for commercial purposes. The unresolved dispute would continue until the Treaty of 1834 where New York City formally ceded control of the Jersey City waterfront to New Jersey. Over that time though, the Jersey Company opened the city's first medical facility, known as the "[[pest house]]", in 1808<ref name="Medical Center">{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/medicalcenter|title=Jersey City Medical Center / The Beacon Apartments|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 10, 2025}}</ref> and applied to the [[New Jersey Legislature]] to incorporate the "Town of Jersey" in 1819. The legislature enacted "An Act to incorporate the City of Jersey, in the County of Bergen" on January 28, 1820. Under the provision, five freeholders (including Varick, Dey, and Radcliff) were to be chosen as "the Board of Selectmen of Jersey City", thereby establishing the first governing body of the emerging municipality. The city was reincorporated on January 23, 1829, and again on February 22, 1838, at which time it became completely independent of Bergen and was given its present name. On February 22, 1840, Jersey City became part of the newly created [[Hudson County]] which separated from Bergen County and annexed the former [[Essex County, New Jersey|Essex County]] land of [[West Hudson, New Jersey|New Barbadoes Neck]].<ref name=Story>Snyder, John P. [https://nj.gov/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf ''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968''], Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. pp. 146–147. Accessed May 29, 2024.</ref>

[[File:1847 Lower Manhattan map (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|1847 map of Paulus Hook and the Jersey City Ferry's route. Note the historic name of Pavonia.]]
In 1812, [[Robert Fulton]] began [[Steamboat|steam ferry]] service via "The Jersey" between Paulus Hook and Manhattan, eight years after building a [[shipyard]] at Greene and Morgan Streets.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sailthehudson.com/JCmain.htm|title=History Events of Jersey City|website=sailthehudson.com|access-date=February 17, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Over and Back: The History of Ferryboats in New York Harbor |last=Cudahy |first=Brian J. |year=1990 |publisher=Fordham University Press |location=New York |isbn=0-8232-1245-9 |pages=20–24, 360, 362 }}</ref> In 1834, the [[New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company]] opened the city's first rail line from Jersey City Ferry to Newark. From 1834 to 1836, the [[Morris Canal]] was extended from Newark to Jersey City and [[New York Harbor]] linking the Delaware River with the Hudson River. This extension connected Jersey City to [[Pennsylvania]]'s [[Lehigh Valley]] and New Jersey's interior providing a steady and easy supply of [[coal]] and [[anthracite pig iron]] for the growing iron industry and other developing industries adopting steam power in Jersey City and the region.

In 1839, [[Provident Bank of New Jersey|Provident Savings Institution]] was charted by the state as the first [[mutual savings bank]] in New Jersey and the first bank in Jersey City and Hudson County. Co-founded by the city's first mayor, [[Dudley S. Gregory]] (1838–1840), in the wake of the [[Panic of 1837]], there was a general mistrust of banks by the public. In response, the bank's charter established it as a "mutual savings bank" to assist the city's immigrant poor. In 1891, the bank headquarters became the temporary home of the first branch of the [[Jersey City Free Public Library]] until the Main Library branch opened in 1901.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/provident|title=The Provident Savings Institution of Jersey City|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 13, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/2014/02/provident_banks_175th_anniversary_continues_its_legacy_as_jersey_citys_hometown_bank.html#incart_river|title=Provident Bank's 175th anniversary continues its legacy as Jersey City's hometown bank|publisher=The Jersey Journal|date=February 5, 2014|access-date=February 13, 2025}}</ref>

On April 12, 1841, the New Jersey Legislature incorporated [[Van Vorst Township, New Jersey|Van Vorst Township]] from portions of Bergen. Land was donated by the Van Vorst family for a town square style park that became [[Van Vorst Park]]. The township was later annexed by Jersey City on March 18, 1851.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/vanvorsttownship|title=Van Vorst Township (1841-1851)|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 6, 2025}}</ref> From 1854 to 1874, the kitchen step of the Van Vorst Mansion, home of former mayor [[Cornelius Van Vorst]] (1860–1862), was known to be the slab of marble that was originally the base of the statue of [[George III of the United Kingdom|King George III]] that was toppled by the [[Sons of Liberty]] at [[Bowling Green (New York City)|Bowling Green]] in Lower Manhattan in 1776.<ref>{{cite news | title = The Statue That Was Made Into Bullets | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date = 1901-07-21 | page = SM6 | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1901/07/21/119079124.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/vanvorst3|title=Van Vorst Mansion (Wayne St.)|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 7, 2025}}</ref> Van Vorst also constructed the neighboring [[Barrow Mansion]] where his sister Eliza lived.

By mid century, Jersey City's rapidly urbanizing population began to encounter significant challenges gaining access to freshwater. In 1850, Jersey City Water Works engineer William S. Whitwell, proposed a three-reservoir complex in the [[The Heights, Jersey City|Jersey City Heights]] (then part of [[North Bergen, New Jersey|North Bergen]]) connected to a pumping station near the [[Passaic River]] in [[Belleville, New Jersey|Belleville]] by a massive underground [[Aqueduct (water supply)|aqueduct]] to deliver freshwater to the city. Reservoir No. 1 was built between 1851 and 1854 and [[Jersey City Reservoir No. 3|Reservoir No. 3]] was built between 1871 and 1874 under the direction of engineer John Culver. Reservoir No. 2 was never constructed and later became [[Pershing Field]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/reservoir3|title=Jersey City Water Works (Reservoir 3)|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 9, 2025}}</ref>

[[File:Panorama of Jersey City. (With details) (NYPL Hades-1090707-psnypl prn 1006) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|350px|Panorama of Jersey City in 1854]]
During the 19th century, former slaves reached Jersey City on one of the four main routes of the [[Underground Railroad]] that all converged in the city. On [[Bergen Hill, Jersey City|Bergen Hill]], the Hilton-Holden House, named after noted [[abolitionist]] and [[astronomer]] David Le Cain Holden, was a "[[safe house|station]]" for fugitive slaves to stop over and seek refuge and is one of the last remaining in the city.<ref>Zinsli, Christopher. [http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/2404933/article-Jersey-City-s-Underground-Railroad-history-Thousands-of-former-slaves-sought-freedom-by-passing-through-Jersey-City "Jersey City's Underground Railroad history: Thousands of former slaves sought freedom by passing through Jersey City"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402152637/http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/2404933/article-Jersey-City-s-Underground-Railroad-history-Thousands-of-former-slaves-sought-freedom-by-passing-through-Jersey-City |date=April 2, 2015}}, ''[[The Hudson Reporter]]'', March 23, 2007. Accessed April 1, 2015. "New Jersey alone had as many as four main routes, all of which converged in Jersey City.... As the last stop in New Jersey before fugitive slaves reached New York, Jersey City played an integral role – by some estimates, more than 60,000 escaped slaves traveled through Jersey City."</ref> Slaves would then be hidden in wagons en route to the Jersey City waterfront and Morris Canal Basin where abolitionists would hire ferry and coal boats to transport former slaves up to [[Canada]] or [[New England]] to freedom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hobokengirl.com/jersey-city-history-underground-railroad/|title=Jersey City: The Last Stop on The Underground Railroad|website=hobokengirl.com|date=June 28, 2022|access-date=February 3, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/hilton|title=Hilton Holden House|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 3, 2025}}</ref>

In 1868, the Jersey City Board of Alderman took over the pest house and renamed it "[[Jersey City Medical Center|Jersey City Charity Hospital]]" and operated it as a public medical facility, the first in the city and state, where physicians provided free medical care to city residents. In 1885, the hospital expanded to a new 200-bed facility on Bergen Hill to remove the hospital from the increasing industrial development at Paulus Hook.<ref name="Medical Center"/>

====Consolidation of Jersey City====
Soon after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the idea arose of uniting all of the towns of Hudson County east of the Hackensack River into one municipality. In 1868, a bill for submitting the question of consolidation of all of Hudson County to the voters was presented to the Board of Chosen Freeholders (now known as the [[Board of County Commissioners (New Jersey)|Board of County Commissioners]]). The bill was approved by the state legislature on April 2, 1869, with a special election to be held on October 5, 1869. An element of the bill provide that only contiguous towns could be consolidated. While a majority of the voters across the county approved the merger, the only municipalities that had approved the consolidation plan and that adjoined Jersey City were [[Hudson City, New Jersey|Hudson City]] and [[Bergen City, New Jersey|Bergen City]].<ref name="Merger">Winfield, Charles Hardenburg. [https://archive.org/details/historycountyhu00winfgoog/page/n305 <!-- pg=289 --> "History of the County of Hudson, New Jersey, from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time"], p. 289. Kennard & Hay Stationery M'fg and Print. Co., 1874. Accessed December 21, 2011.</ref> The consolidation began on March 17, 1870, taking effect on May 3, 1870.<ref>Staff. [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1870/04/25/80226366.pdf "The New Government of Jersey City – The Subordinate Offices"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 25, 1870. Accessed December 21, 2011. "The new City Government of Jersey City goes into operation on the first Tuesday in May."</ref> Three years later the present outline of Jersey City was completed when [[Greenville, Jersey City|Greenville]] agreed to merge into the Greater Jersey City.<ref name="Story" /><ref>''Municipal Incorporations of the State of New Jersey (according to Counties)'' prepared by the Division of Local Government, Department of the Treasury (New Jersey); December 1, 1958, p. 78 – Extinct List.</ref>

Following consolidation, the city's first university, [[Saint Peter's University|Saint Peter's College]], was charted in 1872 and classes began on September 2, 1878, in Paulus Hook. Decades later, it would adopt the [[Saint Peter's Peacocks|peacock]] as its mascot in partial reference to the original settling of the Jersey City area as "Pavonia", ''land of the peacock''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.saintpeters.edu/mission-and-history/|title=Mission and History|website=saintpeters.edu|access-date=February 17, 2025}}</ref>

On October 28, 1886, the [[Statue of Liberty]] was dedicated by [[Grover Cleveland|President Grover Cleveland]] just off the city's shores at [[Liberty Island|Bedloe's Island]] in New York Harbor. The statue would welcome millions of immigrants as they arrived by [[Passenger ship|ship]] at [[Ellis Island]] (opened in 1892) in the coming decades.

By the late 1880s, three passenger railroad terminals opened in Jersey City along the [[North River (Hudson River)|Hudson River]] ([[Pavonia Terminal]],<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1887/12/04/102976849.pdf "A Handsome Building: The Erie Railway's New Station at Jersey City."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 4, 1887. Accessed November 14, 2016.</ref> [[Exchange Place (PRR station)|Exchange Place]] and [[Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal|Communipaw]]) making Jersey City a terminus for the nation's rail network.<ref name="CRRNJ">[http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/liberty_state_park/liberty_crrnj.html Liberty State Park: CRRNJ], [[New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection]]. Accessed August 30, 2015.</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Port of New York. A History of the Rail and Terminal System from the Beginnings to Pennsylvania Station (Volume 1) |last=Condit |first=Carl |year=1980 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-11460-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/portofnewyork0000cond/page/46 46–52,152–168] |url=https://archive.org/details/portofnewyork0000cond/page/46}}</ref><ref name="Great City"/> Tens of millions, roughly two-thirds, of [[Immigration to the United States|immigrants]] that were processed at Ellis Island entered the United States through Communipaw Terminal to then settle in Jersey City and its neighboring municipalities or make their way westward.<ref name="CRRNJ" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/centralrailroad|title=Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 9, 2025}}</ref> The railroads transformed the geography of the city by building several [[List of bridges, tunnels, and cuts in Hudson County, New Jersey#Bergen Hill-Hudson Palisades|tunnels and cuts]], such as the [[Bergen Arches]], through the city and filling in the coves at Harsimus and Communipaw for the construction of several large freight rail yards along the waterfront.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/06/12/102040699.pdf "Finish Erie Tunnel in Jersey Heights"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 13, 1910. Accessed July 18, 2017.</ref><ref name="jclandmarks">[http://www.jclandmarks.org/history-bergenarches.shtml The Bergen Arches of the Erie Railroad] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230150759/http://www.jclandmarks.org/history-bergenarches.shtml |date=December 30, 2008}}, Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy. Accessed April 1, 2015.</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1873/08/08/79042686.pdf | work=The New York Times | title=New-Jersey | date=August 8, 1873}}</ref>

Jersey City became an important port, railroad and manufacturing city during the 19th and 20th centuries. Much like New York City, Jersey City has always been a destination for new immigrants to the United States. [[Germans|German]], [[Russians|Russian]], [[Poles (people)|Polish]], [[Scottish people|Scottish]], [[Irish ethnicity|Irish]] and [[Italians|Italian]] immigrants settled in local [[tenements]] and found work at the local docks, railroads and adjacent companies such as [[American Can Company|American Can]], [[Colgate-Palmolive|Colgate]], [[Chloro]], [[Lorillard Tobacco Company|Lorillard Tobacoo]] and [[Dixon Ticonderoga]].<ref name="Remaking"/> During this time, concern grew for the social issues of the city's immigrant poor. [[Cornelia Foster Bradford]] founded [[Whittier House (Jersey City, New Jersey)|Whittier House]] in Paulus Hook in 1894 as the first "[[Settlement movement|settlement house]]" in New Jersey. Whittier House led to several social reforms and city "firsts" such as free kindergarten, a dental clinic, a visiting nurse service, a milk and medical dispensary, diet kitchen for mothers and babies and a playground. Mary Buell Sayles, a settlement resident, wrote ''The Housing Conditions of Jersey City'' in 1902 about the lives of immigrants in and around Paulus Hook. In response, mayor [[Mark M. Fagan]] (1902–1907) created the Municipal Sanitary League and opened the city's first public bath house on Coles Street in 1904. That same year, the first "State Tenement House Commission" was formed and the New Jersey Legislature passed the "Tenement House Act".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/whittier|title=Whittier House|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 10, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://streettotheleft.weebly.com/coles-street-bathhouse.html|title=Coles Street Bathhouse|website=streettotheleft.weebly.com|access-date=February 10, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bgchc.org/mission-history|title=Our History|website=Boys and Girls Club of Hudson County|access-date=February 10, 2025}}</ref>

===20th century===
[[File:ExchangePlacePRRDepotColgateClock1920s.tiff|thumb|left|View of Exchange Place from the Hudson, 1920s]]
By the turn of the 20th century, the [[City Beautiful movement]] had spread throughout cities in the United States. Part of its mission was to preserve public space for recreational activities in urban industrial communities. The [[Hudson County Park System|Hudson County Parks Commission]] was created in 1892 to plan and develop a county wide park and boulevard system similar to those found in other cities. From 1892 to 1897, [[County Route 501 (New Jersey)|Hudson Boulevard]] (now John F. Kennedy Boulevard) was built to connect the future park system from [[Bayonne, New Jersey|Bayonne]] to [[North Bergen, New Jersey|North Bergen]] through Jersey City.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1891/03/29/106048569.pdf | work=The New York Times | title=Hudson County Is Awake; Vast Improvements Are Under Way And In Prospect. Evidences Of A Realization That She Has Not Kept Up With The Procession -- Parks, A Fine Driveway, And Rapid Transit | date=March 29, 1891|access-date=February 11, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title = The old and the New - The Opposition and the Proposed Route|journal =The New York Times|date = August 12, 1873| url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1873/08/12/105198282.pdf|access-date = February 11, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=August 30, 1896|title=Jersey City's Bicycle Parade: It Was Held Yesterday on the Hudson Boulevard and Was a Big Thing|page=6|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1896/08/30/archives/jersey-citys-bicycle-parade-it-was-held-yesterday-on-the-hudson.html|access-date=February 12, 2025}}</ref> In 1905, [[Lincoln Park (Jersey City)|Lincoln Park]] opened on the city's [[West Side, Jersey City|West Side]] as the largest park in Jersey City and the first and largest park in the county system. Designed by Daniel W. Langton and [[Charles N. Lowrie]], the {{convert|273.4|acre|ha|1}} park was mostly built on undeveloped [[wetlands]] and woodlands known as "Glendale Woods", stretching from the Boulevard to the [[Hackensack River]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/lincolnpark|title=Lincoln Park|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 12, 2025}}</ref> The Jersey City government was also inspired by the City Beautiful movement to build more open space creating [[Dr. Leonard J. Gordon Park]] in the Heights along Hudson Boulevard, Mary Benson Park in Downtown and Bayside Park in Greenville.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/gordon|title=Leonard J. Gordon Park|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 17, 2025}}</ref> The movement also inspired the construction of grand civic buildings in the city such as City Hall and the [[Hudson County Courthouse]].<ref name="Great City"/>

In 1908, the city's water supply was the first permanent [[Water chlorination|chlorinated]] disinfection system for drinking water in the United States. Devised by [[John L. Leal]] and designed by [[George W. Fuller]], the system was installed at the city's new [[Boonton Reservoir]], which replaced the Passaic River as the city's freshwater source in 1904.<ref>Leal, John L. (1909). "The Sterilization Plant of the Jersey City Water Supply Company at Boonton, N.J." ''Proceedings'' American Water Works Association. pp. 100–9.</ref> The [[PATH (rail system)|Hudson & Manhattan Railroad]] (now the PATH system) opened between 1908 and 1913 as New Jersey's first underground [[rapid transit]] system. For the first time, Jersey City and the rail terminals at [[Hoboken Terminal|Hoboken]], Pavonia and Exchange Place were directly linked with [[Midtown Manhattan|Midtown]] and [[Lower Manhattan|Lower]] Manhattan under the Hudson River, providing an alternative to transferring to the extensive ferry system.

In 1910, [[William L. Dickinson High School]] opened as the first purpose-built high school in Jersey City. The design of the school, built during the City Beautiful movement, is thought to have been inspired by that of the [[Louvre Colonnade]] and [[Buckingham Palace]]. The prominent hilltop location of the school has been an important location throughout the city's history. During the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], it was used as a lookout by General Washington and Marquis de Lafayette to observe British movements at the forts at Paulus Hook and in Lower Manhattan. After the start of the [[War of 1812]], the site assisted in defending New York Harbor with an [[arsenal]] built on the property's west side and with the east side serving as a troop campground. During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the arsenal served as barracks for [[Union army|Union soldiers]] and a hospital. The school was used as an army training facility during [[World War I]] and [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/dickinson|title=Dickinson High School|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 17, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/06/nyregion/once-upon-a-time-when-high-schools-were-palaces.html|title=Once Upon a Time, When High Schools Were Palaces|publisher=The New York Times|date=October 6, 1996|access-date=February 19, 2025}}</ref>

On July 30, 1916, the [[Black Tom explosion]] occurred killing 7 people, damaging the Statue of Liberty and causing millions of dollars in damage in Jersey City and throughout the New York metropolitan area. The explosion was an act of sabotage on American [[munitions]] by German spies of the [[Nachrichten-Abteilung|Office of Naval Intelligence]] to prevent the ammunition from being shipped to the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] for use during World War I. This event, coupled with the [[Sinking of the RMS Lusitania|torpedoing of the RMS Lusitania]], which killed 136 Americans in 1915, pushed the United States into entering the War in 1917.<ref>[https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2004/july/blacktom_073004 "A Byte Out of FBI History; 1916 'Black Tom' Bombing Propels Bureau Into National Security Arena"], [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], July 30, 2004. Accessed June 1, 2015.</ref><ref name="Great City"/>

====Mayor "Boss" Hague====
[[File:City of Jersey City Water Bond 1922.jpg|thumb|Water bond of the City of Jersey City, issued 1 September 1922, signed by Mayor Frank Hague]]
From 1917 to 1947, Jersey City was governed by Mayor [[Frank Hague]]. Originally elected as a candidate supporting reform in governance, his name is "synonymous with the early twentieth century urban American blend of political favoritism and social welfare known as [[bossism]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cityofjerseycity.org/hague/index.shtml|title=JerseyCityHistory.com - Jersey City Mayor Frank Hague}}</ref> Hague ran the city with an iron fist while, at the same time, molding governors, United States senators, and judges to his whims while also being a close political ally to [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. Boss Hague was known to be loud and vulgar, but dressed in a stylish manner, earning him the nickname "King Hanky-Panky".<ref>Alexander, Jack. [http://www.cityofjerseycity.org/hague/kinghankypanky/index.shtml "Boss Hague:King Hanky-Panky of Jersey"], copy of article from ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'', October 26, 1940, available at the City of Jersey City website. Accessed June 1, 2015.</ref> In his later years in office, Hague would often dismiss his enemies as "[[red (political adjective)|red]]s" or "[[commies]]". Hague lived like a millionaire, despite having an annual salary that never exceeded $8,500. He was able to maintain a fourteen-room [[duplex (building)|duplex]] apartment in Jersey City, a suite at the [[Plaza Hotel]] in Manhattan, and a palatial summer home in the [[Jersey Shore]] community of [[Deal, New Jersey|Deal]], and travel to Europe yearly in the royal suites of the best ocean liners.<ref name="time1">Staff. [http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,794736,00.html "Hague's End"], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', May 23, 1949. Accessed June 1, 2015.</ref><ref name=Hague>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/hague|title=Frank Hague, 1876-1956|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 11, 2025}}</ref>

Hague's time as mayor was also marked by his direct influence in the construction of several important infrastructure, educational, open space, healthcare and public works projects that became functional civic landmarks that define the city to this day. Some of these projects are the construction of [[Journal Square]] and its [[Loew's Jersey Theatre|theaters]], the [[Holland Tunnel]], the [[Wittpenn Bridge]], the design of [[New Jersey Route 139]], the [[Pulaski Skyway]], [[Lincoln High School (New Jersey)|Lincoln High School]], [[Henry Snyder High School|Snyder High School]], [[New Jersey City University#A. Harry Moore School|A. Harry Moore School]], [[New Jersey City University]], the Heights, Miller and Greenville branches of the [[Jersey City Free Public Library|library system]], [[Pershing Field]], Audubon Park, five [[public housing]] complexes, [[Harborside (Jersey City)|Harborside Terminal]], the Seventh [[Police precinct|Police Precinct]] and Criminal Court, the expansion of [[Jersey City Medical Center|Jersey City Hospital]] to [[The Beacon (Jersey City)|Jersey City Medical Center]], the [[Jersey City Armory]] and [[Roosevelt Stadium]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/2024/10/how-frank-hague-left-his-mark-on-jersey-city-legends-landmarks.html|title=How Mayor Frank Hague left his mark on Jersey City|publisher=The Jersey Journal|date=October 11, 2024|access-date=February 13, 2025}}</ref> Hague financed several of these projects with [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] funds secured by [[Member of congress|congresswoman]] [[Mary Teresa Norton]] (1925–1951),
the first woman elected to represent New Jersey or any state in [[Northeastern United States|the Northeast]].<ref name="Hague"/>

After Hague's retirement from politics, a series of mayors including [[John V. Kenny]], [[Thomas J. Whelan (mayor)|Thomas J. Whelan]] and [[Thomas F. X. Smith]] attempted to take control of Hague's organization, usually under the mantle of political reform. None were able to duplicate the level of power held by Hague,<ref name="Grundy" /> but the city and Hudson County remained notorious for political corruption for decades to come.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1893/10/22/109731533.pdf "Hudson County's Degradation. Where Official Corruption Runs Riot is Not Concealed."] ''The New York Times'', October 22, 1893</ref><ref>[[Charles Strum|Strum, Charles]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/19/nyregion/another-milepost-on-the-long-trail-of-corruption-in-hudson-county.html "Another Milepost on the Long Trail of Corruption in Hudson County"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 19, 1991. Accessed April 1, 2015.</ref><ref name="AnyRespect">Strunsky, Steve. [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/14/nyregion/why-can-t-hudson-county-get-any-respect-despite-soaring-towers-rising-property.html "Why Can't Hudson County Get Any Respect?; Despite Soaring Towers, Rising Property Values and Even a Light Rail, the Region Struggles to Polish Its Image"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 14, 2001. Accessed April 1, 2015.</ref>

====Post-World War II====
Following World War II, returning veterans created a [[Economic history of the United States#Housing|post-war economic boom]] and were beginning to buy homes in the suburbs with the assistance of the [[G.I. Bill]]. During the [[Great Depression]] and the war years, not much new housing was constructed, leaving cities with older and overcrowded housing stock. In response, Jersey City looked to build new housing on undeveloped tracts around the city. College Towers was built on the West Side as the first middle-income [[housing cooperative]] apartment complex in New Jersey in 1956. [[Country Village, Jersey City|Country Village]] was built in the 1960s as a middle-income "suburbia-in-the-city" planned community in the Greenville/West Side area to offer the "out of town" experience without leaving the city. The city had hoped that new residential neighborhoods and housing stock would keep the city's population stable.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/collegetowers|title=College Towers Apartments|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 20, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/countryvillage|title=Country Village|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 20, 2025}}</ref>

In 1951, [[Seton Hall University School of Law]] opened on the site of the former John Marshall Law School at 40 Journal Square and would relocate to Newark by the end of the year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://law.shu.edu/about/history.html|title=History of Seton Hall Law School|website=law.shu.edu|access-date=March 24, 2025}}</ref> From 1956 to 1968, Jersey City Medical Center was the home of the [[Seton Hall University|Seton Hall]] College of Medicine and Dentistry, the predecessor to the [[University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey]] (UMDNJ), which would relocate to Newark in 1969.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://njms.rutgers.edu/about_njms/timeline.php|title=Timeline|website=njms.rutgers.edu|access-date=February 18, 2025}}</ref>

In 1956, the [[New Jersey Turnpike#Extensions|Newark Bay (Hudson County) Extension]] [[Interstate 78 in New Jersey|(I-78)]] of the New Jersey Turnpike opened. As the first [[Limited-access road|limited-access]] section of I-78 to be built in the state, the extension connected Jersey City and the Holland Tunnel to the mainline of the Turnpike in Newark via the [[Newark Bay Bridge]] and at an estimated cost of $2,765 per foot, it was deemed the "world's most expensive road".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/jerseyjournal150/2017/04/worlds_most_expensive_road_opened_in_nj_in_1956.html|title='World's most expensive road' opened in N.J. in 1956|publisher=The Jersey Journal|date=April 24, 2017|access-date=February 13, 2025}}</ref> That same year, the standard shipping container [[Containerization|debuted]] along with the maiden voyage of the [[container ship]] [[SS Ideal X]] from [[Port Newark]] to the [[Port of Houston]]. These innovations changed forever the way the [[Maritime transport|maritime industry]] shipped goods by sea and led to the transformation of Port Newark into the leading container port in New York Harbor. As a result, the Jersey City waterfront, along with the other traditional waterfront port facilities in the harbor, quickly became antiquated and fell into a steep decline. Additionally, by the late 1960s, the rail terminals and associated ferry service that were so vital to the city's economic health had closed and were later abandoned after the host railroads declared bankruptcy.<ref name="Great City"/> In response to adapt to this economic shift, [[Port Jersey]] was created on [[Upper New York Bay]] adjacent to [[Greenville Yard]] between 1972 and 1976 as the city's own modern [[intermodal freight transport]] facility and container shipping terminal.

By the 1970s the city experienced a period of urban decline spurred on by [[deindustrialization]] that saw many of its wealthy residents [[White flight|leave for the suburbs]], due to rising crime, civil unrest, political corruption, and economic hardship. From 1950 to 1980, Jersey City lost 75,000 residents, and from 1975 to 1982, the city lost 5,000 jobs, or 9% of its workforce.<ref name="Remaking">[[Andrew Jacobs (journalist)|Jacobs, Andrew]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/30/nyregion/city-whose-time-has-come-again-after-years-deprivation-jersey-city-old.html "A City Whose Time Has Come Again; After Years of Deprivation, Jersey City, an Old Industrial Powerhouse, Is Remaking Itself"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 30, 2000. Accessed April 1, 2015.</ref>

In 1974, [[Hudson County Community College]] was established in [[Journal Square]] as one of two "contract" colleges in the United States and the first contract college in New Jersey to grant students occupational and career-oriented certificates and Associates in Applied Science degrees. Since then, the college has grown throughout the Journal Square and [[Bergen Square]] neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/hccc|title=Hudson County Community College|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=May 6, 2025}}</ref>

On [[Flag Day (United States)|Flag Day]] 1976, [[Liberty State Park]] opened on New York Harbor to coincide with the nation's [[United States Bicentennial|bicentennial]]. At {{convert|1,212|acre|ha|1}} with a two-mile waterfront walkway, it is the largest park in Jersey City and the largest urban park in New Jersey. The park was built on the site of the former railyards of the [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]] and [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]]. The idea for the park dated back to the late 1950s and its creation was advocated for and spearheaded by several Jersey City residents: Audrey Zapp, Theodore Conrad, Morris Pesin and [[J. Owen Grundy]]. Jersey City donated {{convert|156|acre|ha|1}} of land to the development of the park through their advocacy.<ref>{{cite news |last = Mohr |first = Charles |title = Ellis Isle Made National Shrine |newspaper = The New York Times |date = May 12, 1965 |url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1965/05/12/101546171.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0|access-date = February 13, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://njcu.libguides.com/libertypark|title=Liberty State Park|website=njcu.libguides.com|access-date=February 13, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/jerseyjournal150/2017/04/legendary_canoe_trip_liberty_state_park_vision_com.html|title=Liberty State Park vision came into focus during legendary canoe trip|publisher=The Jersey Jounral|date=April 24, 2017|access-date=February 13, 2025}}</ref> The [[Liberty Science Center]] opened in the park in 1993.

===Late 20th and early 21st centuries===
[[File:Newport, Jersey City waterfront, skyline.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Newport section of the Jersey City skyline along the Hudson River]]
Beginning in the 1980s, the restoration of [[Brownstone#Use in urban private residences|brownstones]] in neighborhoods such as [[Paulus Hook]], [[Van Vorst Park]], [[Hamilton Park, Jersey City|Hamilton Park]], [[Harsimus|Harsimus Cove]] and [[Bergen Hill, Jersey City|Bergen Hill]] along with the development of the waterfront previously occupied by railyards, factories and warehouses helped to stir the beginnings of an economic renaissance for Jersey City.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/21/archives/jersey-city-feels-effects-of-brownstone-revival.html|title=Jersey City Feels Effects of Brownstone Revival|publisher=The New York Times|date=April 21, 1975|access-date=February 24, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/20/realestate/in-the-region-new-jersey-new-rentals-to-blend-with-jersey-city-brownstones.html|title=In the Region /New Jersey; New Rentals to Blend With Jersey City Brownstones|publisher=The New York Times|date=June 20, 1999|access-date=February 24, 2025}}</ref> The rapid construction of numerous high-rise buildings, such as the [[Mixed-use development|mixed-use]] community of [[Newport, Jersey City|Newport]], increased the population and led to the development of the [[Exchange Place (Jersey City)|Exchange Place]] financial district, also known as "[[Wall Street West]]", one of the largest [[financial center]]s in the United States. Large financial institutions such as [[UBS]], [[Goldman Sachs]], [[Chase Bank]], [[Citibank]], and [[Merrill Lynch]] occupy prominent buildings on the Jersey City waterfront, some of which are among the [[List of tallest buildings in Jersey City|tallest buildings in New Jersey]]. With {{convert|18000000|sqft|m2}} of office space as of 2011, Jersey City has the nation's 12th-largest [[downtown]] and the state's largest office market.<ref name=Renaissance>[[Jerramiah Healy|Healy, Jerramiah]]. [http://www.njslom.org/featart0507.html "Renaissance on the Waterfront and Beyond: Jersey City's Reach for the Stars"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726101451/http://www.njslom.org/featart0507.html |date=July 26, 2011 }}. New Jersey State League of Municipalities.</ref> Since 1988, the [[New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection]] has mandated by law that developers building along the waterfront preserve and develop the [[Hudson River Waterfront Walkway]] to provide the public with access and recreation by creating a linear park along the Hudson River.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/15/realestate/a-river-walk-s-piecemeal-birth.html|title=A River Walk's Piecemeal Birth|publisher=The New York Times|date=August 15, 1999|access-date=February 21, 2025}}</ref>

Simultaneous to this building boom, new transit projects were prioritized. By the late 1980s, trans-Hudson ferry service was restored along the waterfront by [[NY Waterway]] with ferry terminals now at [[Paulus Hook Ferry Terminal|Paulus Hook]], [[Liberty Harbor]] and [[Port Liberté]]. From 1996 to 2011, [[NJ Transit]] constructed the [[Hudson-Bergen Light Rail]] as one of the largest [[public works]] projects in state history. The system was developed and extended throughout the city and its Downtown utilizing the former right-of-ways of the railroads that defined the city and county during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The system links Jersey City with its neighboring cities while connecting to several [[NJ Transit Bus Operations|NJ Transit bus lines]], [[PATH (rail system)|PATH]] stations and ferry terminals.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/R0100.pdf |title=Hudson-Bergen Light Rail schedule (PDF) |access-date=October 25, 2010 |archive-date=March 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331034056/http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/R0100.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====September 11, 2001====
{{Main|September 11 attacks}}
[[File:12.6.11DavidLemagnePanelS-29ByLuigiNovi7.jpg|thumb|right|Panel S-29 on the South Pool of the [[National September 11 Memorial & Museum|National 9/11 Memorial]] honors the JCFD.]]
Jersey City was directly affected by the September 11, 2001 attacks at the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] where 38 city residents lost their lives. One of the 38 victims was Joseph Lovero, a [[Jersey City Fire Department]] dispatcher, who was killed by a piece of falling debris while responding.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hudsoncountyview.com/those-lost-18-years-ago-honored-at-jersey-citys-annual-9-11-reflections-ceremony/|title=Those lost 18 years ago honored at Jersey City’s annual 9/11 Reflections Ceremony|website=hudsoncountyview.com|date=September 11, 2019|access-date=February 18, 2025}}</ref> The Jersey City Fire Department was the only New Jersey fire department to receive an official call for assistance from the [[New York City Fire Department]] that day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/news/2011/05/jersey_city_community_remember.html|title=Jersey City community remembers 9/11 on National Day of Prayer|publisher=The Star-Ledger|date=May 5, 2011|access-date=February 18, 2025}}</ref> Following the attacks, the Jersey City waterfront became the largest triage center in the area for survivors escaping Lower Manhattan by ferry during the "[[Maritime response following the September 11 attacks|9/11 Boatlift]]". In the days and weeks after, Jersey City became a staging area for rescue and aid workers headed to "[[World Trade Center site|Ground Zero]]" for rescue and recovery efforts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://connecticut.news12.com/jersey-city-marks-20th-anniversary-of-9-11-attacks-with-annual-remembrance-ceremony|title=Jersey City marks 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks with annual remembrance ceremony|website=connecticut.news12.com|date=September 11, 2021|access-date=February 18, 2025}}</ref> The collapse of the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|Twin Towers]] destroyed the [[World Trade Center station (PATH)|World Trade Center PATH station]] and the firefighting efforts flooded the [[Downtown Hudson Tubes|Downtown Hudson River tunnels]] and the [[Exchange Place station (PATH)|Exchange Place PATH station]] severing the [[PATH (rail system)#September 11, 2001, and recovery|rail connection]] between Jersey City and Lower Manhattan until 2003.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weiser |first=Benjamin |date=June 29, 2003 |title=Closed Since 9/11, a PATH Station Is Set to Reopen Today |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/29/nyregion/closed-since-9-11-a-path-station-is-set-to-reopen-today.html |access-date=February 18, 2025 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=November 24, 2003 |title=Again, Trains Put the World In Trade Center |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/24/nyregion/again-trains-put-the-world-in-trade-center.html |access-date=February 18, 2025|website=The New York Times}}</ref> Over the years several memorials have been erected along the waterfront including the ''[[Jersey City 9/11 Memorial]]'' and the official New Jersey state memorial ''[[Empty Sky (memorial)|Empty Sky]]''.

On November 19, 2015, while [[Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign|campaigning for president]] in [[Birmingham, Alabama]], [[Donald Trump]] falsely claimed a [[List of conspiracy theories promoted by Donald Trump#Claims of corrupt science, medicine, and statistics|conspiracy theory]] that he witnessed people celebrating the attacks in Jersey City on television. Trump said:
{{cquote|Hey, I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down. And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering,}}
Trump continued to repeat the conspiracy theory to multiple news outlets for weeks, later adding that the people were [[Muslims]], despite no confirmed reports, evidence or footage from that time being found to confirm his repeated falsehood.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/abc-news-footage-shows-911-celebrations/story?id=35534125|title=What ABC News Footage Shows of 9/11 Celebrations-ABC News archives search finds no video evidence of 9/11 mass celebrations in NJ|website=abcnews.go.com|date=December 4, 2015|access-date=February 19, 2025}}</ref>

====2010s–present====
Jersey City was heavily [[Effects of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey#Hudson Waterfront|impacted by Hurricane Sandy]] in October 2012 with extended power outages for multiple days, severe wind damage in several neighborhoods and extensive flooding throughout the city especially in Downtown, the Country Village neighborhood, the [[West Side, Jersey City|West Side]] and [[Liberty State Park]]. The flooding damaged the city's utility infrastructure and led to a days long shutdown of the PATH system, both of its [[Uptown Hudson Tubes|Hudson River]] [[Downtown Hudson Tubes|tunnels]] and the [[Holland Tunnel#21st century|Holland Tunnel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/2012/10/chaos_in_jersey_city_as_flood.html#incart_m-rpt-2|title=Chaos in Jersey City as flood waters rise, officials investigate reports of building collapses|publisher=The Jersey Journal|date=October 30, 2012|access-date=February 21, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/2012/10/jersey_city_recovers_after_hur.html|title=Jersey City recovers after Hurricane Sandy|publisher=The Jersey Journal|date=October 30, 2012|access-date=February 21, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/galleries/EHIQXBXPRZE5XH5UYPRBZMBP3I/|title=Looking back at Superstorm Sandy in Hudson County|website=nj.com|access-date=February 21, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/news/2012/11/path_service_to_midtown_manhat.html|title=PATH service to Midtown Manhattan returns Tuesday|publisher=The Star-Ledger|date=November 5, 2012|access-date=February 21, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://abc7ny.com/archive/8875980/|title=Holland Tunnel reopens Wednesday after Sandy|website=abc7ny.com|date=November 6, 2012|access-date=February 21, 2025}}</ref>

In October 2013, City Ordinance 13.097 passed requiring employers with ten or more employees to offer up to five [[sick leave|paid sick days]] a year. The bill impacts an estimated 30,000 workers at all businesses who employ workers who work at least 80 hours a calendar year in Jersey City.<ref>Murphy, Meredith R. [http://www.natlawreview.com/article/jersey-city-passes-paid-sick-leave-law "Jersey City Passes Paid Sick Leave Law"], ''[[The National Law Review]]'', October 16, 2013. Accessed April 1, 2015.</ref> The passage of the ordinance made Jersey City the first municipality in New Jersey and the sixth in the United States to guarantee paid sick leave.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://populardemocracy.org/news-article/news-and-publications-jersey-city-council-passes-earned-sick-days-bill-become-first-city-nj/|title=Jersey City Council Passes Earned Sick Days Bill To Become First City In NJ To Guarantee Sick Days|website=populardemocracy.org|access-date=February 21, 2025}}</ref>

From 2018 to 2023, Jersey City built a new municipal complex called Jackson Square in the [[Jackson Hill, Jersey City|Jackson Hill]] section of the [[Bergen-Lafayette, Jersey City|Bergen-Lafayette]] neighborhood. Planned since 2014, the city had previously rented office space throughout the city for its multiple agencies. The complex is made up of a City Hall Annex for several agencies, parking garage and public safety headquarters for the Jersey City Police and Fire Departments.<ref name="Annex"/><ref name="PSHQ"/>