The New Student's Reference Work/Jersey City

Jer′sey City, the second largest city in New Jersey and county-seat of Hudson County, is on the west bank of the Hudson opposite New York, of which, though in another state, it is an extension, and with which and with Brooklyn it is connected by steam-ferries. Its site forms the broadest part of a peninsula bounded by Hackensack River and Newark Bay, and on the southeast it extends along New York Bay. Jersey City is a busy city. It is the terminus of six great, and as many local, railroads, and is connected with Easton, Pa., by canal; and at its wharves many ocean-steamers receive and discharge their freight. It is the mart of a large trade, especially in iron, coal and agricultural produce. Its own manufactures are on a large scale, and include sugar, flour, iron and steel, zinc, boilers, machinery, locomotives, oils, chemicals, oakum, lumber, silk, watches, jewelry, lead-pencils, tobacco, pottery, soap and beer. The city has large slaughter-houses, stock-yards and grain elevators, notable for size and efficiency. Here is St. Peter’s (Roman Catholic) College, founded in 1878. The city spends on education annually about three quarters of a million dollars; the value of its public property for school purposes is $3,000,000. It also possesses a number of fine churches. The site was formerly called Paulus Hoek, but received its present name and became a city in 1838. Population 267,779, a gain of over 61,000 in the decade. In 1850 it had fewer than 7,000 inhabitants. This remarkable growth was brought about in 1871 and 1873 by consolidation with the neighboring municipalities of Hudson City, Greenville, and Bergen. This was laid out by Peter Stuyvesant in 1660, and consequently Jersey City contains the oldest school-site in the state. School 11 is the fifth building on the original site.