Jackson Hill, Jersey City

Jackson Hill is a neighborhood in the Bergen-Lafayette and Greenville sections of Jersey City, New Jersey.[1] It is part of the city's Ward F.[2] The neighborhood is situated on Bergen Hill (the lower end of the Hudson Palisades) which also lends its name to the Bergen Hill Historic District just north of Communipaw Avenue.[3][4]

Madison Avenue in Jackson Hill
St Patrick's at Grand St

The district has long been the heart of the African American community in Jersey City.[5] Its name is in part inspired by Thomas and John Vreeland Jackson, brothers born in 1800 and 1803, who were freed slaves who bought land in current day Greenville in 1831 and in 1857 laid out Jackson Lane between their houses. In 1900, the former Jackson Lane became Winfield Avenue, the name it bears today. During the Civil War the Jackson property became a safe house and critical link of the Underground Railroad.[6][7][8]

Martin Luther King Drive was once called Jackson Avenue.[9][5][10] with a short block not included in a street realignment still bearing the name.[11] In 1976 it was renamed in honor of the slain civil right leader Martin Luther King, Jr.,[12] who had twice spoken in the city.[13] At the time of the renaming there was discussion whether the street had originally been named for the Jackson brothers or for US President Andrew Jackson. A 1924 Jersey Journal newspaper article ascribes it to Jeremiah Jackson, a local landowner in the mid-19th century.[14][15] Historically, the avenue was one of the city's major shopping districts. but went into decline.[5][16][17][18] In 2011, the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency created Jackson Hill Main Street special improvement district along the commercial corridors of MLK Drive and its northern continuation, Monticello Avenue.[19][20]

Among the notable sites in the Jackson Hill are two listed on National Register of Historic Places, St. Patrick's Parish and Buildings and Ficken's Warehouse, both on Grand Street.[4] Sacred Heart Church and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial are other area landmarks.

  1. ^ "Neighborhood". Jackson Green Townhomes. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  2. ^ "Jersey City Ward Map". openjerseycity.org. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  3. ^ Bergen Hill Historic District map
  4. ^ a b "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Hudson County". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Thorbourne, Ken (June 23, 2014). "Signs of despair -- and hope on MLK Drive in Jersey City". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  6. ^ Karnoutsos, Carmela. "Underground Railroad". Jersey City Past and Present. New Jersey City University. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  7. ^ "Jackson History A Proud Past". Jersey City Redevelopment Agency. 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2014. We are proud to have associated our Jackson Hill name with that of Jackson Avenue and the 19th century brothers Thomas and John Vreeland Jackson.
  8. ^ Dickenson, Richard (October 30, 1976). "A Blackward Look at Jackson Lane: A Greenville, Jersey City Street". Negro History Bulletin. 39 (7): 632–633. JSTOR 44175786.
  9. ^ "New Jersey's Martin Luther King boulevards: Hope fulfilled or dream deferred?".
  10. ^ "Black History Month: Remembering when MLK Drive in Jersey City was Jackson Avenue". February 17, 2022.
  11. ^ Hudson County New Jersey Street Map. Hagstrom Map Company, Inc. 2008. ISBN 978-0-88097-763-0.
  12. ^ Gabrielan, Randall (1999), Jersey City in Vintage Postcards, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 9780752413648
  13. ^ "Martin Luther King, Jr. speeches in Jersey City". Cityofjerseycity.org. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  14. ^ "Was Jackson a president or a slave". The Jersey Journal. January 5, 1976.
  15. ^ Heck, John W. (November 11, 1924). "Jeremiah Jackson, the patron saint of Jackson Avenue". The Jersey Journal.
  16. ^ Thorbourne, Ken (June 24, 2014). "Tough sledding for commercial development on Jersey City's MLK Drive". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  17. ^ "JC Shoppring Districts". Jerseycityonline.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  18. ^ "Jackson Hill Proud Past". Jersey City Redevelopment Agency. 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  19. ^ Hortillosa, Dawn (June 5, 2012). "Jackson Hill Main Street Special Improvement District Opens". Jersey City Independent. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  20. ^ McDonald, Terrence (December 14, 2011). "Jersey City creates new SID for Monticello Avenue/Martin Luther King Drive area". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved March 8, 2013.