Minkakwa, Kewan, and Pamrapo What became Greenville was the territory of the
Hackensack and
Raritan Indians at the time of European contact in the 17th century. They called the area on
Bergen Neck Minkakwa (alternatively spelled
Minelque and
Minackqua) meaning "a place of good crossing". This is likely so because it was the most convenient pass between the two bays on either side of the neck. Interpreted as "place where the coves meet", in this case where they are closest to each, it describes a spot advantageous for
portage. The area was first settled by
New Netherlanders in 1647. The Caven Point settlement on the west shore of the
Upper New York Bay between
Pamrapo and
Communipaw was part of
Pavonia, which, upon receiving its municipal charter in 1661 was renamed
Bergen. The name
Caven is an
anglicisation of the Dutch word
Kewan, which in turn was a "
Batavianized" derivative of an
Algonquian word meaning "peninsula".
Bergen, Greenville, Jersey During the British and early American colonial era the area was part of
Bergen Township. The 19th century
Jersey City and Bergen Point Plank Road (today's Garfield Avenue) ran through Greenville (from
Paulus Hook to
Bergen Point). Greenville became part of the newly formed Hudson County in 1840. The town grew as a fashionable suburb of New York City.
Greenville Township was incorporated as a
township by an Act of the
New Jersey Legislature on April 14, 1863, from portions of
Bergen Town. It was absorbed into Jersey City on February 4, 1873, ending its life as an independent municipality. Armbruster's Greenville Schuetzen Park on Hudson Boulevard opened in the 1870s.
20th century Greenville was settled by many working-class Irish Catholic families, as well as other ethnic groups. The area's demographics changed dramatically starting in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, with the decline of factories and the collapse of the independent railroad lines. The neighborhood east of Kennedy Boulevard was later settled by African Americans, while that west of Kennedy Boulevard is more diverse with a sizable
Filipino population. Greenville also has a sizable Hispanic and
Egyptian population, and many of the older Irish residents still remain in the neighborhood.
21st century In 2005,
Jersey City enacted a curfew for business owners on some of Greenville, including Martin Luther King Drive and Ocean Avenue. On the
West Side of Greenville,
New Jersey City University unveiled plans for a $350 million expansion into the West Side neighborhood surrounding the university, including a performance art building with two theaters, retail stores, a restaurant, and student housing. During the 2010s Greenville underwent a revitalization, with the return of long-term residents and businesses. The section around
Jackson Hill has seen considerable local and federal infrastructure spending. The area is considered, relative to
Manhattan,
Brooklyn and
Queens, to be an affordable part of the New York City region. A number of
Ultra-Orthodox Jews and young Jewish and Hispanic families have purchased homes and built a growing community in Greenville. Since the mid-2010s Jersey City has experienced a rise in
Hasidic Orthodox Jews, who are moving to Greenville from
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, attracted by the relatively low housing price. While the relationship between the local
African American community and the Orthodox Jewish community is good, there have been complaints that Jewish buyers solicited them to sell their houses, prompting the city council to pass a no-knock ordinance that barred investors from going door-to-door. A
kosher market in the community was the site of a
shootout in the
2019 Jersey City shooting. Increasing
gentrification continues to make Greenville more
multicultural.{{cite web | url = https://hudsoncountychronicles.com/gentrification-in-the-making-for-years-in-jersey-city-it-might-have-sa-p570-166.htm | publisher = Hudson County Chronicles | title = Gentrification In The Making For 40 Years In Jersey City & It Might Have Saved The City ==Public transportation==