Olivia Fisher 
Before there was North and South Jersey or the eternally debated Central Jersey, there was East and West Jersey. And like any origin story, it started with the founding clique. When the colony first emerged, it included six original counties: Bergen, Burlington, Essex, Middlesex, Monmouth, and Salem. Read on to learn about New Jersey’s six original counties: where they began and what they’re known for.
A map of New Jersey, circa 1736. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
East Jersey
Bergen County
New Jersey’s most populous county is Bergen County, and although there are no beaches, there is still plenty to do. With strong Dutch roots, the county has welcomed innovation and embraced being the first for several things. Suffering from “boroughitis,” Bergen County is home to the most municipalities per county in the state and today includes 70. It even includes South Hackensack, which is made of three non-bordering parts. The 70 communities would be too many to list, but some might say Fort Lee, Glen Rock, Hackensack, Paramus, Ridgewood, and Wyckoff are amongst Bergen County’s it girls.
Bergen County is home to the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, where the Jets and Giants call home turf, and the American Dream Mall, an enormous indoor space with shopping, eating, and recreation. The county also borders the Hudson River, offering a variety of vantage points of Manhattan, from the Fort Lee Historic Park to Veteran’s Field Park to the numerous homes, apartments, and townhomes along the water.
Speaking of being the first: in 1755, the first steam engine in North America was assembled in North Arlington. Legend status did not end here. Fort Lee became America’s first headquarters for the motion picture industry before it packed up and moved west. New Jersey’s first suburban mall, the Garden State Plaza, opened in Paramus in 1957 and had 75,000 shoppers on opening day. Today, it is the second-largest mall in the state.
Read More: If We’re New Jersey, Who’s Old Jersey?
Essex County
Home to Newark, the state’s largest city, Essex County is packed with people, parks, and a whole lot of history. With 22 communities, some might say Essex County’s it girls are Montclair, Millburn, and Maplewood.
Essex County is the first county-wide park system in the nation and includes Branch Brook Park, which has the largest cherry blossom collection in the country. Speaking of being the first: Essex County has more than its share. It is also where Thomas Edison created the first film, includes the first Chinatown on the East Coast, and is home to the first municipal commercial airport in the country.
The county has produced many legends: it’s the birthplace of Grover Cleveland, the only Jersey-born president, and the birthplace of the first Vice President from New Jersey, Aaron Burr. It is also home to Buzz Aldrin, the second human to walk on the moon, and singers Connie Francis, Frankie Valli, and Whitney Houston.
Middlesex County
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Middlesex County is named after Middlesex County in England. With 25 municipalities, some might say that Edison, Metuchen, New Brunswick, and Perth Amboy are among the county’s it girls. New Brunswick anchors the county as a hub for science, arts, and culture, while Edison boasts a strong Indian-American community.
Speaking of being the first: Middlesex County has many. In 1869, the first college football game was played when Rutgers beat Princeton. Thomas Edison built the nation’s first industrial research laboratory in Menlo Park. In 1870, Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy became the first African-American to vote in a United States election under the newly ratified 15th Amendment.
Monmouth County
Named for Monmouthshire in Wales, Monmouth County is where shore culture shines in the Garden State. With 53 communities, some might say Monmouth County’s it girls are Asbury Park, Bradley Beach, Belmar, Long Branch, and Red Bank. Asbury Park has earned status as a music mecca, helping launch the careers of Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi at the Stone Pony.
Monmouth County’s Sandy Hook Lighthouse, first lit in 1764, is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the country. The longest battle of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Monmouth, was also fought in Freehold.
West Jersey
Burlington County
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While Bergen, Essex, Middlesex, and Monmouth are the original counties of East Jersey, Burlington County is one of the two original counties in West Jersey. Burlington County is the largest county by land area in the state. The county includes 40 municipalities, and some might say Bordentown, Medford, and Mount Holly are Burlington County’s it girls.
Burlington County created the first county library system in the state. It is also home to the oldest Episcopal congregation in New Jersey, Old St. Mary’s. Burlington County contains a portion of the Pinelands National Reserve, the first National Reserve in the country and a notable icon of New Jersey culture.
Salem County
Salem County is the least populous county in New Jersey and has 15 municipalities. Its name comes from the Hebrew word for “peace”. Salem was founded by Quaker John Fenwick in 1675 and was the first English settlement established in West Jersey and the first Quaker colony in North America. The Salem County Courthouse, built in 1735, is the oldest active courthouse in New Jersey and the second oldest in the country.
From 6 to 21 Counties
East and West Jersey ceased to exist in 1702 when the Province of New Jersey was formed. Before the union, the original six welcomed three more siblings: Cape May, Gloucester, and Somerset. From 1702 until the Declaration of Independence was signed, Cumberland, Hunterdon, Morris, and Sussex came into the world.
In 1787, when New Jersey became the 3rd state, it had 13 counties. In 1824, a portion of Sussex County split off to create Warren, and between 1837 and 1840, four more joined the family: Atlantic, Hudson, Mercer, and Passaic. Camden was born in 1844 and Ocean in 1850. The newest baby in the group was Union, which formed in 1857 after being carved from Essex. Click here to see the evolution of New Jersey county boundaries since the late 1600s.
See More: The Hoboken Artifact That’s Older Than America: All About the Stevens Cannon
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