North Jersey - History

History

Northern New Jersey was the site of some of the earliest European settlements in what would become the United States of America, first as part of the provincial colony of New Netherland, with original settlements were centered around Bergen (today's Hudson County). In 1664 the region became part of the Province of New Jersey.

During the American Revolutionary War, New Jersey was a strategic location between the capital of the fledgling United States, New York City, and the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Important materials necessary to the war effort were produced in northern New Jersey. The Continental Army made its home here during the war, and history from this period can be found in nearly every village and town in northern New Jersey. Battle fields, camps, skirmish sites, and headquarters can be found near Morristown and north in the Preakness Valley. In the northwestern part of the state, iron mines and foundries supplied raw material for guns and ammunition.

The Industrial Revolution in America started by the founding of the northern New Jersey town of Paterson. Today, the United States and the world enjoy the fruit born of seeds planted in northern New Jersey during the Industrial Revolution. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary for the Treasury and President of the Bank of New York during the end of the eighteenth century, selected the Great Falls area (also known as the Passaic Falls) for an ambitious experiment. He promoted the natural power of the Great Falls as an excellent location for textile mills and other manufacture.

Paterson attracted skilled craftsmen and engineers from Europe to run the mills and produced a large concentration of creative and able people. During the mid nineteenth century, the engines and materials to tame a continent were made here. Thomas Edison installed one of the first hydroelectric power plants in the world using the Great Falls as an energy source. This power plant still provides electricity today.

In West Orange, Edison created the first technical research and development facility with his "invention factory". Electric light, improved motion pictures, and sound recording, were among the hundreds of inventions produced here.