town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an o ...
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
, United States, from 1864 to June 1, 1925, when it merged with
West Hoboken
West Hoboken was a municipality that existed in Hudson County, New Jersey, from 1861 to 1925. It merged with Union Hill to form Union City on June 1, 1925.
The town is notable for being the first city in which Mallomars were sold.Barron, Jam ...
The area that became West Hoboken was originally inhabited by the Munsee-speaking branch of
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...
Native Americans,Karabin, Gerard "About UCNJ" City of Union City. Accessed November 26, 2010. who wandered in the vast woodland area encountered by
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States.
In 1607 and 16 ...
during the voyages he conducted from 1609 to 1610 for the Dutch. Hudson later claimed the area (which included the future
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
) and named it
New Netherland
New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva ...
. The portion of that land that included the future Hudson County was purchased from members of the
Hackensack tribe
Hackensack was the exonym given by the Dutch colonists to a band of the Lenape, or ''Lenni-Lenape'' ("original men"), a Native American tribe. The name is a Dutch derivation of the Lenape word for what is now the region of northeastern New Je ...
of the Lenni-Lenape in 1658 by New Netherland colony Director-General
Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Ne ...
,Lucio Fernandez and Gerard Karabin (2010). ''Union City in Pictures''. Book Press NY. pp. 11–13. and became part of Pavonia, New Netherland.Snyder, John P (1969) ''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968'' Bureau of Geology and Topography. Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 148. Accessed June 18, 2013. The boundaries of the purchase are described in the deed preserved in the New York State Archives, as well as the medium of exchange: "80 fathoms of wampum, 20 fathoms of cloth, 12 brass kettles, 6 guns, one double brass kettle, 2 blankets, and one half barrel of strong beer."
The relationship between the early Dutch settlers and Native Americans was marked by frequent armed conflict over land claims. In 1660, Peter Stuyvesant ordered the building of a fortified village called Bergen to protect the area. It was the first permanent European settlement in New Jersey, located in what is now the Journal Square area of
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark."350 years of history; Fair commemorates founding of Jersey City, will honor the oldest families in Hudson County" ''Hudson Reporter''. "Before there was a Jersey City or a Hudson County, the village of Bergen – the first European settlement in New Jersey, founded in 1660 by Dutch settler Peter Stuyvesant – had its origins in what is now the Journal Square area of Jersey City near Academy Street." In 1664, the British captured New Netherland from the Dutch, at which point the boundaries of Bergen Township encompassed what is now known as Hudson County. North of this was the unpopulated Bergen Woods, which would later be claimed by settlers, after whom a number of streets were named, such as Brown StreetHarvey, Cornelius Burnham (1900). ''Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey'' The New Jersey Genealogical Publishing Company. p. 20''Northern Part of the Town of Union'', 1873, Gleason's Old Maps,
East Templeton, Massachusetts
Templeton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,149 at the 2020 census. The town comprises four main villages: Templeton Center, East Templeton, Baldwinville, and Otter River.
Geography
According to ...
and Golden Lane, which still exist in Union City today.
The area that became Union Hill, however, was sparsely populated until the early 19th century. The British granted Bergen a new town charter in 1668. In 1682 they created
Bergen County
Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Passaic
Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69, ...
counties. Sparsely inhabited during the 17th and 18th centuries, the southeast section of Bergen County had grown by the early 19th century to the point where it was deemed necessary to designate it a separate county. The New Jersey legislature created Hudson County in 1840, and in 1843, it was divided into two townships: Old Bergen Township (which eventually became Jersey City) and North Bergen Township, which was gradually separated into Hudson County's municipalities of Hoboken (1849),
Weehawken
Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.
and Guttenberg (1859), and Union Township
(or simply Union,) (1864), though it was colloquially known as Union Hill. Union Hill was formed through the merger of a number of villages, such as Dalleytown, Buck's Corners and Cox's Corners. The largest of these villages, Union Hill, became the colloquial name for the merged town of Union itself. Union Hill was incorporated as a town by an Act of the
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...
on March 29, 1864, from part of Union Township. In 1866, part of North Bergen was added to it. The town was reincorporated on March 27, 1874. The northern section of Union Township was later incorporated as
West New York
West New York is a town in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 52,912. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates ...
in 1898.
Union Hill merged with West Hoboken to form Union City, which was incorporated on June 1, 1925.
One of Union City's schools,
Union Hill Middle School
Union Hill High School was a public high school serving students in grades 9–12 from Union City in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, operating as one of two high schools of the Union City Board of Education, an Abbott District. Th ...
recalls the name of the former town.
Commerce
The town's commercial district was
Bergen Turnpike
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
, at the border with West Hoboken. Intersecting Bergen Turnpike was
Bergenline Avenue
Bergenline Avenue is a major commercial district in the North Hudson section of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The north–south streets passes through Union City, West New York, Guttenberg, North Bergen. Its southern end is at Un ...
, a former cowpath that became another commercial venue after plans to lay street car tracks on Palisade Avenue, two blocks to the east, were changed due to the objections of an influential citizen named Henry Kohlmeier. Kohlmeier opposed the noise that such traffic would bring, and suggested moving the tracks to Bergenline Avenue. Bergenline continues as Union City's main commercial thoroughfare, today, and is the longest commercial avenue in New Jersey.Perez-Stable, Marifeli (December 3, 2009) "That other Cuban community" ''
The Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Paul Jappe (1898–1989), NFL player
*
Eugene Jolas
John George Eugène Jolas (October 26, 1894 – May 26, 1952) was a writer, translator and literary critic.
Early life
John George Eugène Jolas was born October 26, 1894, in Union Hill, New Jersey (what is today Union City, New Jersey). His p ...
(1894–1952),
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...
,
translator
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...
and
literary critic
Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. ...
*
Anne Ceridwen Rees
Anne Ceridwen Rees (July 9, 1874 – October 19, 1905) was a Welsh physician who practiced in New Jersey.
Early life
Anne Ceridwen Rees was born in Pentregwenlais, Carmarthenshire. Her parents were Edwin and Mary E. Rees; her mother was also kn ...
(1874–1905), Welsh medical doctor, practiced in Union HillD. R. Lewis "The Late Anne C. Rees, M. D. (Ceridwen)" ''The Cambrian'' 25(12)(December 1905): 543-544.
*Jules Couche (1847-1915), French inventor, U.S. patent holder, machinist and foreman of Simon Silk Mill in Union Hill.Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, September 26, 1905, p. 899
Bergen Turnpike
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
, the boundary between the two towns that were merged to form Union City