Inspiration of names
This post was originally published in December 2016.
Before North and South Jersey, the state was divided into East and West. Many of the county names before the American Revolution have Dutch, British and Quaker roots — a reflection of the early settlers, according to Maxine Lurie, emerita and adjunct professor in Seton Hall University's History Department. But, after the Revolution, Lurie said counties were named instead after bodies of water, important towns and Revolutionary War heroes.
The Atlantic County Jail and Courthouse at Mays Landing, courtesy of Rutgers University Libraries System
Atlantic County
Named after the ocean on which it borders, Atlantic County was established from a portion of Gloucester County in 1837. It was one of the seven counties created during a 20-year period that brought the final county total to 21.
File Photo
Bergen County
Established in 1683 and settled by the Dutch in the early 1600s, Bergen County was named after Bergen, North Holland. This area was home to New Jersey's first permanent settlement.
In 1640, David Pietersen de Vries, a Dutch explorer, founded the first colony in present-day Bergen County. Three years later the colony was destroyed by the Hackensack and Tappan Native Americans.
Rutgers University Libraries System
Burlington County
Named after Bridlington, a town in England, Burlington County was established in 1694. It was one of the first two counties created in West Jersey and had extended all the way to present-day Hunterdon County. Burlington City also became the capital of West Jersey at one point.
File Photo
Camden County
Established in 1844, Camden County was named after Earl of Camden Charles Pratt, a member of English parliament who supported the cause of the colonists leading up to American Revolution and opposed England's tax on them, according to Bonny Beth Elwell, library director at the Camden County Historical Society.
The Cape May County Historical Society
Cape May County
Established in 1694, Cape May County was named after Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, a 17th-century Dutch explorer who surveyed the coast from Cape Cod to the Delaware River. Mey named the land after himself and built Fort Nassau on present-day Timber Creek in Gloucester years earlier. (Mey sounded like May.)
The Cumberland County Historical Society
Cumberland Countyv
Created in 1748 from the western side of Salem County, Cumberland County was named after Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. The name was given by the royal colonial governor, Jonathan Belcher. William Augustus became a controversial figure — revered by the English but deplored by the Scots for his brutal tactics during the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
Essex County
Though settlement began around 1666, Essex County was officially established by the East Jersey Legislature in 1683, making it one of the four original counties in East Jersey. It was named after Essex, England. During the American Revolution, the county was one of the most prosperous in the state.
The Gloucester County Historical Society
Gloucester County
Established in 1694, Gloucester County was named for the city of Gloucester, England. The original county boundaries stretched from the Delaware River to the Atlantic Ocean, and the first courthouse was in Gloucester City with the second located in Woodbury, according to Barbara Price, library coordinator at the Gloucester County Historical Society.
"Imagine the arduous trip our ancestors from along the seashore made just to record a deed or to appear in court," Price said. "It was probably a two-day trip with stops at an inn for sleeping and stabling horses. These are things we take for granted today."
The Jersey City Free Public Library
Hudson County
Hudson County was created in 1840 from portions of south Bergen County. It was named for English explorer Henry Hudson, who in 1609 landed on the shores of present-day Hoboken. Today, Hudson County remains geographically the smallest yet most densely populated county in the state.
Hunterdon County
Created in 1714 from a portion of Burlington County, Hunterdon was named after New Jersey colonial Governor Robert Hunter and the hometown in which he grew up — Hunterston, in Ayrshire, Scotland. Hunter served as the colonial governor from 1710 to 1720.
Map: Rutgers Libraries System
Photos: Hunterdon Democrat
Mercer County
In 1838, the New Jersey State Legislature forced Burlington, Hunterdon and Middlesex counties to give up land to form Mercer County. Somerset County was also stripped of land that went to Mercer. The county was named after Continental Army Gen. Hugh Mercer, “a distinguished hero of the Revolution who died from wounds inflicted during the Battle of Princeton in 1777," according to county's website.
Map: Rutgers Libraries System
Photo: NJ.com
Middlesex County
Middlesex County was created in 1683 and was named for the county of Middlesex, England. It was one of the four original counties in East Jersey. In 1682, Quaker Robert Barclay established Perth Amboy as the capital of East Jersey.
The Monmouth County Historical Association
Monmouth County
Named after Monmouthshire, Wales, Monmouth County was created in 1683 and was also one of the first four original counties in East Jersey. In 1609, Henry Hudson and his crew were the first to set foot on the shores of what would become Sandy Hook.
Rutgers Libraries System
Morris County
In 1739, Morris County was created from a portion of Hunterdon County. It was named after Col. Lewis Morris, who served as the governor of the province of New Jersey at that time. Morris County originally included portions of Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, according to the county's website.
File Photo
Ocean County
Named after the Atlantic Ocean, Ocean County was created in 1850 from Monmouth County. It is considered the "first new rural county since Atlantic."
Passaic County
Passaic County derived from the word "Pasaeck," a Lenape word meaning "valley." The county was created from portions of Bergen and Essex counties in 1837 as a political compromise between rural South Jersey and industrial North Jersey. Passaic was actually intended to be two counties called Pompton and Paterson, but South Jersey opposition ultimately stopped the effort.
File Photo
Salem County
Established in 1694 in West Jersey, Salem County was named after the Hebrew word "shalom," meaning "peace."
Bonny Beth Elwell, library director for the Camden County Historical Society, said naming the county after a word meaning peace was “a worthy choice for the Quaker founders of the Salem colony."
Rutgers Libraries System
Somerset County
Somerset County - named after Somersetshire, England - was set off from Middlesex County in 1688. The area was first settled seven years earlier near Bound Brook and became home to mostly Dutch settlers. The county was mostly an area of agriculture. Gen. George Washington and his troops marched through and stayed in Somerset County many times during the Revolution.
Rutgers Libraries System
Sussex County
Created in 1753 from Morris County, Sussex County was named for the county of Sussex, England. Around 1810, Sussex became the most populated county in the state.
Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division
Union County
Named after the Union of the United States, Union County was established in 1857, becoming New Jersey's 21st and final county created in the state. It was established from controversy, breaking off from Essex County during "a bitter rivalry between Elizabethtown and Newark over domination of Essex County." The new county was created to "better meet the needs of the southernmost towns," according to the county's website.
Warren County
Created from Sussex County in 1825 Warren County was named after American Revolutionary War hero Gen. Joseph Warren who in June 1775 died at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Massachusetts during the siege of Boston.
Still standing today is the historic Cummins Building, which was built in 1834 by newspaper editor and congressman John B. Maxwell.
Map: Rutgers Libraries System
Photo: NJ.com
Reference
- History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Their Pioneers and Prominent Men, W. Woodford Clayton, 1883, Philadelphia, Everts & Peck. Press of J.B. Lippincott & Co, Philadelphia.
- The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries 1606-1968, John P. Synder, New Jersey Geological Survey, reprinted 2004.
- Stories of New Jersey, Frank Richard Stockton, New York, 1896, the American Book Company.
- History of Burlington and Mercer Counties, New Jersey: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Their Pioneers and Prominent Men, E.M. Woodward, 1883, Philadelphia, Everts & Peck, Repressed Publishing LLC, 2012.
- History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Everts & Peck, 1882, Bergen County, N.J.
Spencer Kent may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips
Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com's newsletters.
Ad Choices