Editing New Brunswick, New Jersey (section)

===Colonial and Early American periods===
Centrally located between [[New York City]] and [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]] along an early thoroughfare known as the [[King's Highway (Charleston to Boston)|''King's Highway'']] and situated along the [[Raritan River]], New Brunswick became an important hub for Colonial travelers and traders. New Brunswick was incorporated as a town in 1736 and chartered as a city in 1784.<ref name=Story/> It was incorporated into a town in 1798 as part of the [[Township Act of 1798]]. It was occupied by the [[United Kingdom|British]] in the winter of 1776–1777 during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]].<ref>[http://www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com/new_jersey_revolutionary_war_sites/towns/new_brunswick_nj_revolutionary_war_sites.htm Revolutionary War Sites in New Brunswick] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026040201/http://www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com/new_jersey_revolutionary_war_sites/towns/new_brunswick_nj_revolutionary_war_sites.htm |date=October 26, 2012 }}, Revolutionary War New Jersey. Accessed August 18, 2013.</ref>

The ''[[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]'' received one of its first public readings, by [[John Neilson (colonel)|Colonel John Neilson]] in New Brunswick on July 9, 1776, in the days following its promulgation by the [[Continental Congress]].<ref>Heintze, James R. [https://web.archive.org/web/20040615044959/http://www1.american.edu/heintze/declar.htm Declaration of Independence: First Public Readings], [[American University]], backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of June 15, 2004. Accessed December 11, 2019. "July 9 or 10 – New Brunswick, N.J. Col. John Neilson; ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine'', July 1892, 251."</ref><ref>Lee, Eunice. [http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/statue_of_new_brunswick_revolu.html "Statue of New Brunswick Revolutionary War figure planned"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407100129/http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/statue_of_new_brunswick_revolu.html |date=April 7, 2014 }}, ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', July 31, 2011. Accessed August 18, 2013. "New Brunswick Public Sculpture, a nonprofit, is commissioning a life-size bronze statue of Col. John Neilson, a New Jersey native who gave one of the earliest readings of the Declaration of Independence on July 9, 1776, while standing before a crowd in New Brunswick."</ref><ref>[https://www.cityofnewbrunswick.org/Did%20you%20know%20-%20Answer2%20Declaratin%20-%20FINAL.pdf Did You Know Answer 2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213213141/https://www.cityofnewbrunswick.org/Did%2520you%2520know%2520-%2520Answer2%2520Declaratin%2520-%2520FINAL.pdf |date=December 13, 2019 }}, City of New Brunswick. Accessed December 11, 2019. "The 3rd public reading of the Declaration of Independence took place outside a tavern on Albany Street on July 9, 1776. The document was en route from Philadelphia to New York when Col. John A. Neilson stood outside a tavern, atop a table, and read it to the townspeople!"</ref> A bronze statue marking the event was dedicated on July 9, 2017, in Monument Square, in front of the Heldrich Hotel.<ref>Makin, Cheryl. [https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/how-we-live/2017/07/10/revolutionary-moment-comes-life-241-years-later/463116001/ "Revolutionary moment comes to life, 241 years later"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930093746/https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/how-we-live/2017/07/10/revolutionary-moment-comes-life-241-years-later/463116001/ |date=September 30, 2020 }}, ''[[Courier News]]'', July 10, 2017. Accessed December 11, 2019. "Neilson was born March 11, 1745 in the city that now bears a street with his name, in addition to Neilson Hall on the Rutgers University campus and, as of Sunday, a sculpture depicting a defining moment in his life and the country's history. It also is the only statue depicting a reading of the Declaration of Independence in the U.S., Ritter said."</ref>

The Trustees of Queen's College (now [[Rutgers University]]), founded in 1766, voted by a margin of ten to seven in 1771 to locate the young college in New Brunswick, selecting the city over [[Hackensack, New Jersey|Hackensack]], in [[Bergen County, New Jersey]].<ref>[https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/scua/rutgers-historical-sketch-part-1 "A Historical Sketch of Rutgers University: Section 1"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213213212/https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/scua/rutgers-historical-sketch-part-1 |date=December 13, 2019 }}, [[Rutgers University Libraries]]. Accessed December 11, 2019. "With an adequate charter obtained and the governing board assembled, the trustees turned to select a site for Queen's College. The members were split on whether to locate the college in Hackensack or New Brunswick... The Reverend John H. Goetschius, an early advocate for the college, claimed that the academy he began in Hackensack served as an advantage for establishing the college in Bergen County. But the supporters of New Brunswick reminded their colleagues that the Reverend John Leydt of New Brunswick had joined with Hardenbergh and other members of that community to establish a Grammar school in 1768. Four years passed before the trustees met in May 1771 to present their subscriptions and choose the location for the college. A vote of ten to seven placed the college in New Brunswick."</ref> Classes began in 1771 with one instructor, one sophomore, [[Matthew Leydt]], and several freshmen at a tavern called the 'Sign of the Red Lion' on the corner of Albany and Neilson Streets (now the grounds of the [[Johnson & Johnson]] corporate headquarters); Leydt would become the university's first graduate in 1774 when he was the only member of the graduating class.<ref>[https://newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/about/our-history Our History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213213145/https://newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/about/our-history |date=December 13, 2019 }}, [[Rutgers University]]. Accessed December 11, 2019. "1771 – The first class is held A handful of students attend class at a converted tavern, the Sign of the Red Lion, at the corner of Albany and Neilson streets in New Brunswick. Today, original stones from the building are incorporated into a bench near the center of Voorhees Mall on the College Avenue Campus, a 40th reunion gift from the Class of 1939. 1774 – The first commencement Matthew Leydt is the only graduate in the first commencement class."</ref> The Sign of the Red Lion was purchased on behalf of Queens College in 1771, and later sold to the estate of [[Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh]] in 1791.<ref>Benedict, William H. [https://archive.org/details/proceedingsofnew03newj_0/page/n6 "Early Taverns in New Brunswick"], in ''Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society'', p. 136. [[New Jersey Historical Society]], 1918, Volume 3, Issue 3. Accessed December 11, 2019.</ref> Classes were held through the American Revolution in various taverns and boarding houses, and at a building known as ''College Hall'' on George Street, until [[Old Queens]] was completed and opened in 1811.<ref>[https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/scua/paths-to-historic-rutgers Paths to Historic Rutgers: A Self-Guided Tour] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830004026/https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/scua/paths-to-historic-rutgers |date=August 30, 2017 }}, [[Rutgers University Libraries]]. Accessed December 11, 2019. "Old Queen's, the home of the administrative officers of Rutgers University, was originally known as the Queens College building. Designed in 1808–09 by the noted architect, John McComb, who also designed City Hall in New York, the building is one of the finest examples of Federal architecture in the United States. When first occupied in 1811, Old Queens housed the academic work of the College, the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and the Rutgers Preparatory School, then known as the Grammar School."</ref><ref>Fuentes, Marisa; and White, Deborah.[https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1k3s9r0 ''Scarlet and Black: Slavery and Dispossession in Rutgers History''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213213144/https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1k3s9r0 |date=December 13, 2019 }}, [[Rutgers University Press]], 2016, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Accessed December 11, 2019.</ref> It remains the oldest building on the Rutgers University campus.<ref name=RT2009>[https://news.rutgers.edu/news-release/old-queens-reigns-rutgers-200-years/20090427 "Old Queens Reigns at Rutgers for 200 Years The university celebrates the state's oldest, intact higher education building"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213213145/https://news.rutgers.edu/news-release/old-queens-reigns-rutgers-200-years/20090427 |date=December 13, 2019 }}, ''Rutgers Today'', April 27, 2009. Accessed December 12, 2019. "The cornerstone of Old Queens was laid April 27, 1809. The building originally housed the university's preparatory school, college and theological seminary as well as residential units for faculty. Old Queens is now occupied by Rutgers’ central administrative offices."</ref> The Queen's College Grammar School (now [[Rutgers Preparatory School]]) was established also in 1766, and shared facilities with the college until 1830, when it located in a building (now known as [[Alexander Johnston Hall]]) across College Avenue from Old Queens.<ref>[https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/scua/paths-to-historic-rutgers#Johnston Paths to Historic Rutgers: A Self-Guided Tour – Alexander Johnston Hall] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830004026/https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/scua/paths-to-historic-rutgers#Johnston |date=August 30, 2017 }}, [[Rutgers University]]. Accessed August 29, 2017. "Alexander Johnston Hall was built by Nicholas Wyckoff in 1830 to provide a home for the Rutgers Preparatory School, which had shared space in Old Queens with the College and New Brunswick Theological Seminary since 1811."</ref> After Rutgers University became the state university of New Jersey in 1945,<ref>[http://www.rutgers.edu/about/history History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104235047/http://www.rutgers.edu/about/history |date=November 4, 2015 }}, [[Rutgers University]]. Accessed July 13, 2016. "In 1945 and 1956, state legislative acts designated Rutgers as The State University of New Jersey, a public institution."</ref> the Trustees of Rutgers divested itself of Rutgers Preparatory School, which relocated in 1957 to an estate purchased from [[Colgate-Palmolive]] in [[Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey|Franklin Township]] in neighboring [[Somerset County, New Jersey|Somerset County]].<ref>[http://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/21014/ Rutgers College Grammar School] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509055245/https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/21014/ |date=May 9, 2015 }}, Rutgers University Common Repository. Accessed August 18, 2013. "The Rutgers Preparatory School remained in New Brunswick until 1957, when it moved to its current location in Somerset, N.J."</ref>

The [[New Brunswick Theological Seminary]], founded in 1784 in [[New York (state)|New York]], moved to New Brunswick in 1810, sharing its quarters with the fledgling Queen's College. (Queen's closed from 1810 to 1825 due to financial problems, and reopened in 1825 as Rutgers College.)<ref name=NBTS>[http://www.nbts.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/2016-17_NBTS_Catalog.pdf ''2016–17 Academic Catalog''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829204718/http://www.nbts.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/2016-17_NBTS_Catalog.pdf |date=August 29, 2017 }}, [[New Brunswick Theological Seminary]]. Accessed August 29, 2017. "In 1796, the school moved to Brooklyn and in 1810 to New Brunswick, to serve better the church and its candidates for ministry. Since 1856, New Brunswick Seminary has carried on its life and work on its present New Brunswick campus."</ref> The Seminary, due to overcrowding and differences over the mission of Rutgers College as a secular institution, moved to a tract of land covering {{convert|7|acre}} located less than {{convert|1/2|mi}} to the west, which it still occupies, although the land is now in the middle of Rutgers University's [[College Avenue Campus]].<ref>Heyboer, Kelly. [https://www.nj.com/news/2013/09/new_brunswick_theological_seminary_sells_part_of_historic_campus_to_rutgers_for_a_fresh_start.html "New Brunswick Theological Seminary sells part of historic campus to Rutgers for a fresh start"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213213214/https://www.nj.com/news/2013/09/new_brunswick_theological_seminary_sells_part_of_historic_campus_to_rutgers_for_a_fresh_start.html |date=December 13, 2019 }}, NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], September 8, 2013, updated March 30, 2019. Accessed December 12, 2019. "In a complex deal that will transform part of downtown New Brunswick, the nation's oldest Protestant seminary is selling most of its hilltop campus to neighboring Rutgers University. The seminary is using the cash to build a new state-of-the-art building at the base of the hill on the corner of College Avenue. New Brunswick Theological Seminary officials say the radical decision to sell and demolish 10 buildings on one of New Jersey's most historic campuses is an answer to their prayers."</ref>

New Brunswick was formed by [[royal charter]] on December 30, 1730, within other townships in [[Middlesex County, New Jersey|Middlesex]] and [[Somerset County, New Jersey|Somerset]] counties and was reformed by royal charter with the same boundaries on February 12, 1763, at which time it was divided into north and south wards. New Brunswick was incorporated as a city by an act of the [[New Jersey Legislature]] on September 1, 1784.<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. p. 171. Accessed May 30, 2024.</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
Old Queens, New Brunswick, NJ - looking north, 2014.jpg|[[Old Queens]], the oldest building at Rutgers University
New Brunswick 393262530.jpg|Building the Streetcar line, {{circa|1885}}
Raritan River, New Brunswick, New Jersey (1903).jpeg|[[Albany Street Bridge]], 1903
Aero view of New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1910 (cropped).png|Aerial view of New Brunswick, 1910
</gallery>