Editing Secaucus, New Jersey (section)

==History==
''Sikakes'', once an island, was part of the territory purchased by [[Director-General of New Netherland]], [[Peter Stuyvesant]] in 1658.<ref name=NYT2003/> The territory was part of what is considered to be the oldest municipality in the state of [[New Jersey]] which was first chartered in 1660 as [[Bergen, New Netherland|Bergen]]<ref>[http://www.njcu.edu/Programs/jchistory/Pages/B_Pages/Bergen_Township.htm "NJCU: Jersey City A to Z: Bergen with map"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915040457/http://www.njcu.edu/Programs/jchistory/Pages/B_Pages/Bergen_Township.htm |date=September 15, 2008 }}. [[New Jersey City University]]. Accessed February 19, 2014.</ref> in the province of [[New Netherland]] and, in 1683, became [[Bergen Township, New Jersey (1661–1862)|Bergen Township]].

Settlement had begun by at least 1733 by the Smith family, whose namesake [[Abel I. Smith Burial Ground]] is part of the lore of Secaucus.<ref>Greene, Richard Henry, et al. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sdgUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA12 ''The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume 53''], p. 12. [[New York Genealogical and Biographical Society]], 1922. Accessed November 14, 2019. "Abel Smith took up land on Great Neck (Great Neck was also a part of Hempstead) prior to and during 1710 (H.T.R., II, 422-23) and removed there and lived on a large farm or 'plantation'.... In 1733 he and Deborah sold their farm on Great Neck to the first wife In 1733 he and Deborah sold their farm on Great Neck to Henry Allen for 1650 and removed to Secaucus, Bergen County, in New 'East Jersey' (near the present Jersey City) where he bought a large tract of land and built a mansion. 'This Jersey land has since its purchase been continuously possessed and occupied by the direct descendants of Abel Smith up to the present day.'"</ref>

Secaucus was originally formed as a [[borough (New Jersey)|borough]] by an act of the [[New Jersey Legislature]] on March 12, 1900, from portions of [[North Bergen, New Jersey|North Bergen]].<ref name=Story/><ref>Honeyman, Abraham Van Doren. [https://books.google.com/books?id=nOkkAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA255 ''Index-analysis of the Statutes of New Jersey, 1896–1909: Together with References to All Acts, and Parts of Acts, in the 'General Statutes' and Pamphlet Laws Expressly Repealed: and the Statutory Crimes of New Jersey During the Same Period''], p. 255. New Jersey Law Journal Publishing Company, 1910. Accessed October 2, 2015.</ref> On June 7, 1917, Secaucus was incorporated as a town, replacing Secaucus borough, based on the results of a referendum held on June 5, 1917.<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, 1969. Trenton, New Jersey. p. 147. Accessed May 30, 2024.</ref>

Secaucus was originally an agricultural community specializing in flowers. It later became known for its [[pig farm]]s in the first half of the 20th century. In the early 1900s the town was home to approximately 55 pig farms, which reached a peak of nearly 250,000 pigs in [[World War II]], outnumbering humans 16 to 1.<ref name=NYT1975>[[Joan Riddell Cook|Cook, Joan]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/29/archives/pigless-secaucus-75-points-with-pride.html "Pigless Secaucus, 75, Points With Pride"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 29, 1975. Accessed November 14, 2022. "Actually, its swineries reached their peak during World War II, when the community's 55 farms boasted a total population of 250,000 pigs, dining on a trans‐Hudson line of garbage imported from Manhattan's hotels, restaurants and nightclubs.... The first heat came from a 1947 local ordinance that prohibited, new farms within the town borders. Then, in the early nineteen‐fifties, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority purchased 11 of the 55 farms for a highway right‐of-way. Some of the rest of the farms faded away, and the last few were put out of business by court order 18 years ago."</ref> These farms served the meat demands of Newark and New York, and made the farmers wealthy. Many of them were local politicians, most notably pork peddler [[Henry B. Krajewski]], who ran for New Jersey senator, three times for governor and twice for U.S. President.<ref name=UCReporter11.16.14>Schwartz, Art. [http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/24584671/article-Local-mayor-to-magazine--Pig-joke-not-amusing--Asks-students-to-respond-to-New-Yorker-piece-- "Local mayor to magazine: Pig joke not amusing; Asks students to respond to New Yorker piece"], ''[[The Hudson Reporter]]'', February 16, 2014. Accessed September 1, 2014.</ref><ref name="Mullins">Mullins, Michael D. [https://archive.hudsonreporter.com/2008/01/08/redevelopment-was-the-word-in-07-major-projects-renovations-continue-despite-national-real-estate-downturn/ "'Redevelopment' was the word in '07 Major projects, renovations continue despite national real estate downturn"], ''[[The Hudson Reporter]]'', January 8, 2008. Accessed November 14, 2019. "Once home to pig farms, this town on the Hackensack River now has its own major train station (Secaucus Transfer Station) and several massive developments under way."</ref> The town's pig farms, [[rendering (industrial)|rendering]] plants, and junk yards gave the town a reputation for being one of the most odorous in the [[New York metropolitan area]].<ref name=UCReporter11.16.14/><ref>Staff. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090209171234/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,857290,00.html "New Jersey: Moonbeam McSwine's Fate], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', August 11, 1952. Accessed September 1, 2014.</ref> An ordinance passed in 1947 prohibited new farms, and in the 1950s the pig farms began to dwindle, partially after 11 of the farms were acquired for construction of the [[New Jersey Turnpike]], which would carry tourists who would not appreciate the odor; the last farms were shut down by court order in the late 1950s.<ref name=NYT1975/><ref name=UCReporter11.16.14/>

In 1963, debris from the demolition of [[Pennsylvania Station (New York City)|Pennsylvania Station]] was dumped in the Secaucus Meadowlands. In later decades Secaucus became more of a [[commuter town]]. In a non-binding referendum in 1969, 90% of voters in Secaucus chose to leave Hudson County and join Bergen County, as that county was more similar in character and had lower taxes.  However, only the state has the authority to change county lines, so it never came to fruition.<ref>Bonamo, Mark J. [https://archive.hudsonreporter.com/2006/08/01/the-lost-cause-secaucus-residents-remember-attempt-to-secede-from-hudson-county/ "The lost cause; Secaucus residents remember attempt to secede from Hudson County"], ''[[The Hudson Reporter]]'', August 1, 2006. Accessed November 14, 2019. "Encouraged by this success, Amico began to look across the Hackensack River. 'The makeup of Secaucus is very much unlike most of Hudson County,' he said. 'It's much more like Bergen County. We did some analysis about what taxes were like in other counties, and Bergen County had the lowest. Bergen County would have accepted us back in 1969.... We had a non-binding resolution that approved secession by 90 percent.'"</ref> Today it remains the most [[suburban]] town in Hudson County.<ref name="Mullins"/> Despite being geographically located within Hudson County, Secaucus Public Library is a member of the [[Bergen County Cooperative Library System]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tapinto.net/towns/hasbrouck-heights-slash-wood-ridge-slash-teterboro/sections/news/articles/a-funding-dispute-turns-eyes-towards-bccls|title=A Funding Dispute Turns Eyes Towards BCCLS |date=July 6, 2019|website=tapinto.net}}</ref>

On February 9, 1996, two [[NJ Transit]] [[1996 Secaucus train collision|commuter trains collided]] at Bergen Junction in Secaucus when a train operating on the [[Bergen Line]] ran a signal and sideswiped a train running on the [[Main Line (NJ Transit)|Main Line]]. The accident occurred during the morning rush hour just south of the current [[Secaucus Junction]] station. With three fatalities, the incident is NJ Transit's deadliest accident and was the first to involve fatalities of the passenger and crew on NJ Transit.<ref>Higgs, Larry. [http://www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf/2017/11/the_deadliest_train_crashes_in_new_jersey_history.html "The deadliest train crashes in New Jersey history"], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], November 27, 2017. Accessed February 16, 2018. "Two NJ Transit commuter trains sideswiped each other in Secaucus on the morning of Feb. 9, 1996, killing three people and injuring 168 of the 400 passengers. The near head-on collision happened after a Bergen Line train to Hoboken went through a stop signal and hit a Main Line train en route from Hoboken, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report on the crash."</ref>

''[[New Jersey Monthly]]'' magazine ranked Secaucus as its 182nd best place to live in its 2010 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey, after ranking the borough 11th in its 2008 rankings.<ref>[https://app.box.com/shared/hy2cteosya "Top Towns 2010"], ''[[New Jersey Monthly]]'', February 11, 2010. Accessed November 20, 2013.</ref>