Bergen-Lafayette, Jersey City - Communipaw-Lafayette

Communipaw-Lafayette

Lafayette Park gives its name to the lower, or eastern, portion of the district closet to Downtown Jersey City. It is likely named for the Marquis de Lafayette, who was stationed in Bergen in 1799, and later re-visited in 1824 A city square similar to Van Vorst Park and Hamilton Park the buildings surrounding it were constructed in different periods. Before land-filling in the early twentieth century this area was located on the Upper New York Bay. The Hackensack Indian village of Communipaw and the 16th century New Netherland plantation of Jan Everts Bout, site of the Pavonia Massacre, were located here. Whitlock Cordage is an intact complex of industrial buildings built in the Lafayette section along the banks of the Morris Canal. The Housing Trust of America purchased the property to preserve the structures as affordable housing. Parts of the neighborhood are part of the Communipaw-Lafayette Historic District.