North Jersey was the site of some of the earliest European settlements in what would become the
United States of America. Its
colonial history started after
Henry Hudson sailed through
Newark Bay in 1609. Although Hudson was British, he worked for the
Netherlands, so he claimed the land for the Dutch as part of the provincial colony of
New Netherland, with original settlements centered in
Bergen in 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
New York City, and the
Continental Congress in
Philadelphia. Important materials necessary to the war effort were sometimes produced in North Jersey, and the
Continental Army made its home in North Jersey for part of the war.
George Washington, commanding general of the
Continental Army, maintained his headquarters at
Ford Mansion in
Morristown for part of the Revolutionary War, from December 1779 to June 1780. In the northwestern part of the state, iron mines and foundries supplied raw material for the Continental Army's guns and ammunition. The
American Industrial Revolution started by the founding of the North Jersey town of
Paterson. Today, the United States and the world enjoy the fruit born of seeds planted in North 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 manufacturers. 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, many of the engines and materials that would be used to colonize a continent were made here.
Thomas Edison installed one of the first hydroelectric power plants in the world, which still provides electricity today, using the Great Falls as an energy source. 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. ==Demographics==