New Jersey History |
Important to studying history is the land and location of events. Rutger's Cartography has provided a Great NJ Historical Maps resource page.
However, when I think of history, it includes people.
Prehistory Lenni-Lenape Indians Colonial NJ The Revolution 1800's Civil War
The Victorian Era 1900's WWI Great Depression WWII 1950's 1960's & 1970's
People were living on the land that would become New Jersey for at least 2800 years. Evidence of their pottery making can be found in archaeological remains found in the area. You can see some of these items by visiting the You can see some of these items by visiting the Prehistorical Museum in Greenwich NJ . They have provided a nice .pdf file, that shows an overview of their displays along with a map and schedule of their hours.
A well written history book is now online, the book is located on westjersey.org. SOUTH JERSEY HERITAGE: A Social, Economic and Cultural History |
When the Europeans arrived here the indigenous people living in the area were members of the Lenni-Lenape (called "The Delaware" by the Europeans). (follow the link to a page within this site)
As in all encounters with settlers and native peoples there are two or more sides to the story. While the settlers of New Jersey would not be considered to be terrific by today's standards, I think for their time period, they certainly were not as bad as most. (Hardly anything to be proud of, but something?)
I have gathered a pretty good set of links and sites that give many accounts. It, also, contains information on where the Lenni-Lenape are today.
The Village of Winakung in Waterloo Village at Stanhope NJ Winakung is a life-size Minisink Indian village carefully built on archaeological evidence and scholarly research.The Minisink were the people who inhabited northeastern New Jersey, |
A well written history book is now online, the book is located on westjersey.org. SOUTH JERSEY HERITAGE: A Social, Economic and Cultural History |
Cape May was actually discovered in 1609 by Sir Henry Hudson. However, in 1620, the same year the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, Captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey explored New Jersey and the Delaware Bay area. He declared the climate of these fruitful lands as good as his homeland of Holland and named Cape Mey for himself.
New Sweden Colonies coming soon
A quick concise story of the Swedish Colonies can be found at this link for the
Resource List of Colonial Historical Sites in New Jersey
The Legacy of the Early Founders of the New Haven Colony
who came to Newark, New Jersey in 1666
Picture of William Franklin - from Franklin Institute Page
Greenwich, an early seaport town and the location of the NJ Tea Party.
NJ in the American Revolution - follow this link to a page within this site that has an extensive list of links and stories.
A well written history book is now online, I will put links to the chapters in highlighted cells. The book is located on westjersey.org. SOUTH JERSEY HERITAGE: A Social, Economic and Cultural History |
Weehawken, New Jersey - Home of the Hamilton - Burr Duel - July 10? 1804
A well written history book is now online, the book is located on westjersey.org. SOUTH JERSEY HERITAGE: A Social, Economic and Cultural History
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During the Civil War, New Jersey stayed in the Union and sent it's sons to fight (follow this link to a separate page within this site) New Jersey in the Civil War
SOUTH JERSEY HERITAGE: A Social, Economic and Cultural History |
Grover Cleveland22nd President 1885-1889 |
Candidate in 3 Presidential elections. |
1890's
The Yellow Kid America's first comic Superstar
A well written history book is now online, the book is located on westjersey.org. SOUTH JERSEY HERITAGE: A Social, Economic and Cultural History |
Born in Virginia, but Governor of NJ in 1910. Twenty-Eighth President 1913-1921
Wilson won the 1912 election by a large margin of electoral votes. The Republican Party had been split and 2 candidates were nominated. Taft and Roosevelt. If the party had not split, would Wilson have been elected?? |
most comprehensive site I have found |
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Follow this new link to an excellent bio, Woodrow Wilson An interesting quote from the bio (see link, above.) "An appointment to the faculty at Bryn Mawr College in 1885 ushered in an unhappy experience; Wilson was not comfortable in a women’s institution..." Interesting to me, because he would later have a problem with the women seeking the right to vote.
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Bethlehem Loading Company
great pictures and account of this WW1 munitions factory complex
This site now includes an excellent slide show for those of you with high speed connection.
Lot's of talk about the U-boats with the new movie in the theatres. Read about the real thing.
Six ships sunk by the German U-151 June 2, 1918 be sure to also visit: & Carolina Dive Pictures
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America's First Defense Airport - Millville Army Air Field. 1941
The Millville Army Air Field Museum is dedicated to preserving the history of the first U.S. Army Base built for the defense of our country in 1941. It served as a training base for the famous P-47 'Thunderbolt' and P-40 'Warhawk' fighter plane
Return to 1943 (music and all)
The Internment Camps:
The story of the internment of the Japanese Americans has become well known.
I came across a site with copies of 1942 News-letters for Camp Harmony in Washington State. It gives an interesting perspective on life in an internment camp
Here in New Jersey, Seabrook Farms took advantage of the potential labor pool at the Japanese Internment camps and recruited people to voluntarily move here to live and work. (This is not the first time that Seabrook Farms has been a major part of the history of NJ and the rest of the country. Follow the link to read more about Seabrook Farms)
These were the challenging words of the employment manager from Seabrook Farms in New Jersey spoken at the Jerome Relocation Center in Arkansas in mid-April, 1944. He was the personal representative of the late Charles F. Seabrook, founder of the world's largest frozen foods industry |
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A great find: a summary and the hour long radio documentary online: |
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Less well known is the fact that Germans and Italians were, also, interned, but at a much, much smaller percentage of the population, then the Japanese.
A brief statement from The Handbook of Texas gives an overview of the more extensive groups of people that were involved in the internments. WORLD WAR II INTERNMENT CAMPS
Along with a series of articles about internments at Ellis Island, I found mention of a German Internment Camp at Gloucester City NJ.
I am trying to track down more information about this topic, please contact me, if you have any knowledge or any suggestions for getting information.
Atlantic Coast Shore Patrols:
I grew up in the Midwest and had no idea that there was so much German U-boat activity along the coast. From what I learned in school, I thought, that after Pearl Harbor, nothing had happened anywhere close to our shores.
In November 2000, there was a PBS special on the U-boat Click on the map above to find out about other famous U-boats |
World War II Time Line-New Jersey and the World
The Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II
June 23, 1967 This Day in Diplomacy: U.S.-Soviet Summit at Glassboro, New Jersey