Newark

Newark is the most populous city in New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. Newark is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area, with a population of 311,549 as of the 2020 census. Settled in 1666 by Puritans from the New Haven Colony, Newark is one of the oldest cities in the United States, and its location at the mouth of the Passaic River, where it flows into Newark Bay, has made the city's waterfront an integral part of the Port of New York and New Jersey. From its origins as a Puritan theocracy to its rise as a national industrial powerhouse and its ongoing 21st-century revitalization, Newark occupies a central place in the history of New Jersey and the broader American Northeast.

Founding and Colonial Era

Newark's story began in 1666 when Connecticut Puritans led by Captain Robert Treat arrived via the Passaic River near where the New Jersey Performing Arts Center stands today, making contact with Native Americans of the Leni-Lenape tribe and purchasing the land. The increasingly tolerant views of religious freedom — especially tolerance for Quakers — and the merger of the New Haven Colony in 1662 with the more religiously tolerant Connecticut Colony, combined with the English ouster of the Dutch in 1664 from New Amsterdam, set the stage for a band of Pilgrims from Branford, Guilford, and Milford to seek lands in the new English province of New Jersey.

The origin of the city's name remains a subject of historical debate. Captain Treat originally wanted to name the settlement "Milford," but another settler, Abraham Pierson, had previously been a preacher in England's Newark-on-Trent and proposed adopting that name; Pierson is also quoted as suggesting the community should be named "New Ark" for "New Ark of the Covenant," and the name was shortened to Newark.

Unlike the other early East Jersey settlements, which embraced the freedom and diversity of religion granted in Berkeley and Carteret's Concessions and Agreements, the settlers of Newark followed the practices from their New Haven towns and established Newark as a theocracy, in which church and state were intertwined. The Branford group, led by their pastor Rev. Abraham Pierson, drew up Fundamental Agreements setting forth the religious foundation for the town; only those who were members of the Congregational Church could own or inherit land, hold office, or enjoy civil liberties and privileges.

From 1674 to 1702, Newark was part of East Jersey and became a town in Essex County on March 7, 1683. On October 31, 1693, Newark was organized as a New Jersey township based on the Newark Tract, which was first purchased on July 11, 1667. Newark was granted a royal charter on April 27, 1713, and was incorporated on February 21, 1798, by the New Jersey Legislature's Township Act of 1798, as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships. A notable early distinction was that from 1748 to 1756, Newark was the site of the College of New Jersey, later known as Princeton University.

Industrial Growth and the 19th Century

After the American Revolution, Newark transformed rapidly into one of the nation's leading industrial centers. After the American Revolution, Newark became noted for leather tanning, jewelry, and shoe manufacturing. The shoe industry profited greatly from the inventiveness of Seth Boyden, who — regarded by Thomas Edison as one of the greatest American inventors — came to Newark from Massachusetts in 1815 and developed a process for making patent leather in 1818. Boyden's innovations led to Newark's manufacturing nearly 90% of the nation's leather by 1870, bringing in $8.6 million in revenue to the city in that year alone.

Newark also prospered through the construction of the Morris Canal in 1831, which connected the city with the New Jersey hinterland — at that time a major iron and farm area. Railroads arrived in 1834 and 1835 along with a flourishing shipping business, cementing Newark's status as the area's industrial center. On April 11, 1836, Newark was reincorporated as a city, replacing Newark Township, based on the results of a referendum.

By the 1880s, Newark was home to 26 breweries with an annual output of 420,000 barrels of beer. A decade later, that figure increased to 2 million barrels, produced by noted breweries including Ballantine, Pabst, and Anheuser-Busch. The most glamorous product of Newark's industrial age was jewelry; John Comfort Tiffany founded his legendary empire in the North Ward, where the Tiffany factory produced luxury jewelry until its closing in 1984. In the mid-19th century, Newark also became a major insurance center with the establishment of Prudential, one of the largest insurance companies in the world. Founded in 1873 by John Dryden, Prudential has remained rooted in Newark's downtown for more than 150 years.

In 1872, John Wesley Hyatt, the inventor of celluloid — the first artificial plastic — moved his Celluloid Manufacturing Company to Newark. In 1887, the Reverend Hannibal Goodwin, working in the John Plume House, discovered a way to use celluloid to make film for motion pictures. By the early 20th century, Newark had 63 live theaters, 46 movie theaters, and an active nightlife by 1922.

The 1967 Riots and Urban Decline

Like many American cities, Newark weathered a sustained economic decline during the 1930s, accelerated first by Prohibition and then by the Great Depression. The slide was temporarily slowed by the industrial demands of World War II, but it resumed after V-J Day, further damaging the city's economy and increasing racial tensions.

Although numerous problems predated World War II, Newark was further hamstrung by post-war trends. The Federal Housing Administration redlined virtually all of Newark, preferring to back up mortgages in the white suburbs, making it impossible for people to get mortgages for purchase or loans for improvements. Newark lost 250 manufacturers between 1950 and 1960, and another 1,300 more left during the 1960s.

The tensions that had been building for decades erupted in July 1967. A taxi driver named John Smith was violently injured while being arrested by police during a traffic stop. Believing police had beaten or killed Smith, a large crowd of African Americans gathered around the police station, and riots, looting, and arson followed, with the New Jersey National Guard summoned to the city. Over several days of violence, guardsmen and police killed 26 people, wounded 1,500, and arrested 1,600 more. Ten million dollars' worth of property was destroyed as more than 1,000 businesses, including 167 grocery stores, were damaged or looted.

The riot triggered even more white flight, as Newark lost half of its white population and most of its tax base compared to 1940. In the aftermath, Newark's renewal began to take shape in 1968 when Prudential underwrote the $24 million Gateway Complex, a commercial center for thousands of white-collar workers. Two years later, Newark's residents elected the Northeast's first African-American mayor, Kenneth A. Gibson.

20th-Century Recovery and Modern Revitalization

The election of Mayor Kenneth Gibson in 1970 marked the beginning of a new political era. During the 16 years of Mayor Gibson's leadership and the two decades under Mayor Sharpe James that followed, Newark embarked on major initiatives to restore its economy, including replacing outdated housing towers with smaller-scale buildings and the construction of two world-class venues: the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the Prudential Center ("The Rock").

In 2006, Cory Booker succeeded Mayor James, and among the successes during his seven years in office was a rejuvenated downtown, featuring the new corporate headquarters for Panasonic USA and Audible.com along with Teacher's Village, a housing complex designed for educators. Mayor Ras J. Baraka, who has served as Newark's Chief Executive since 2014, has instituted groundbreaking reforms and innovative programs, including reducing crime by more than 60 percent and regaining control of the Newark Public Schools from the state.

The city has experienced revitalization since the 1990s, with major office, arts, and sports projects representing $2 billion in investment. The city's population, which had dropped by more than a third from 1950 to its post-war low in 2000, has since rebounded, with 38,000 new residents added from 2000 to 2020.

Economy and Transportation

Newark is a major economic engine for the state and the region. Newark is the third-largest insurance center in the United States, behind New York City and Hartford, Connecticut; Prudential Financial, Mutual Benefit Life, Fireman's Insurance, and American Insurance Company all originated in the city, while Prudential still has its home office in Newark. Several companies are headquartered in Newark, including Prudential, PSEG, Panasonic Corporation of North America, Audible.com, IDT Corporation, Manischewitz, and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

Newark's transportation infrastructure is among the most extensive in the nation. Port Newark–Elizabeth is the primary container shipping terminal of the busiest seaport on the U.S. East Coast, and Newark Liberty International Airport was the first municipal commercial airport in the United States and has become one of the busiest. In 1928, Newark opened the region's first airport, which laid claim as the nation's first to feature both a paved runway and control tower. Newark's Penn Station welcomes 58,000 riders each year, Newark Liberty Airport hosted 49.1 million passengers in 2023, and Port Newark handles 1.3 million containers each year.

As the largest transportation hub in the state, Newark offers two train stations and its own Light Rail system, providing NJ Transit rail, light rail, and bus service; PATH 24-hour rail service to New York, Jersey City, and Hoboken; and Amtrak regional rail service to destinations like Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Culture, Education, and Landmarks

Newark has a robust cultural and educational landscape. Newark has more college students than any other place in New Jersey, with over 60,000 students. Higher education institutions in the city include the Newark campus of Rutgers University, which includes law and medical schools and the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies; University Hospital; the New Jersey Institute of Technology; and Seton Hall University's law school.

The Newark Museum of Art, formerly known as the Newark Museum, is the largest museum in New Jersey. Its art collection is ranked 12th among art museums in North America, with highlights on American and Tibetan art; the museum also contains science galleries, a planetarium, a gallery for children's exhibits, a fire museum, a sculpture garden, and an 18th-century schoolhouse. Since 1962, Newark has been home to the Institute of Jazz Studies, the world's foremost jazz archives and research libraries, located in the John Cotton Dana Library at Rutgers–Newark, housing more than 200,000 jazz recordings in all commercially available formats.

Branch Brook Park is the oldest county park in the United States and is home to the nation's largest collection of ornamental cherry trees, numbering over 5,000. Near the city centre is Military Park, used as a drill ground in colonial times and now the site of a bronze group of figures, The Wars of America, by Gutzon Borglum. Branch Brook, a county park, is noted for its Japanese cherry trees. In front of the county courthouse, designed by Cass Gilbert, is a seated statue of Abraham Lincoln, also by Borglum.

The historic Ironbound District, where Portuguese and Spanish flavors mingle, and the bustling Downtown area adorned with iconic landmarks like the Prudential Center, together offer a mosaic of experiences that distinguish Newark's neighborhoods.