Newark

the most populous city of New Jersey. It is situated on the Passaic River at the head of tide water navigation. From New York it is less than half an hour distant by rail via the main line of the Pennsylvania Central. It requires only an hour or two by boat to reach New York harbor. Newark lies, therefore, within the sphere of influence of that city. Though too remote to be a suburb, it is an outlying manufacturing and commercial center of great size and importance. There are between 3,000 and 4,000 manufacturing establishments employing in all 50,000 persons and paying wages to the amount of $24,000,000 a year. Among the specialties are stained glass, beer, wagons, carriages, harness, jewelry, shoes, patent leather, celluloid, cutlery, ink, and type. The manufacture of campaign buttons has grown to astonishing dimensions. Goods are sold very largely through New York jobbers. Newark is also a city of enormous capital. The first bank in New Jersey was opened here in 1804. As an insurance center Newark ranks third in the United States, being surpassed by New York and Hartford.

Newark was settled in 1666 by a colony of Puritans from Connecticut. Princeton University, then the College of New Jersey, was located first at Newark. The merchants were engaged in coastwise trade with the West Indies and sympathized with their New England brethren in resistance to the Stamp Act and other parliamentary measures. During the British occupancy of New York the garrison took ample revenge by making systematic descents upon Newark by boat with demands for forage and provisions.

According to the census of 1900 Newark had a population of 246,070. The state census of 1905 returned a population of 283,289. If suburbs be counted, the total is not less than a third of a million. The city has a complete system of water supply from the northern hills, electric car service, electric lights, 4,000 acres of parks, 170 churches, a public library, numerous hospitals, a normal school, and a system of public schools extending from kindergarten to high school. One separate school is maintained for colored children.

See New Jersey