West Hudson, New Jersey

Bird's-eye view of the West Hudson towns Harrison, East Newark, Kearny & Arlington (1907)
The Kearny Meadows are crisscrossed with rail infrastructure and is home to New Jersey Transit's Meadows Maintenance Complex
West Hudson Park in Kearny and Harrison

West Hudson is the western part of Hudson County, New Jersey comprising the contiguous municipalities of Kearny, Harrison and East Newark,[1][2][3][4][5][6] which lies on the peninsula between the Hackensack River and Passaic River.

The Passaic River separates it from Newark and Belleville, and the Hackensack River separates it from Jersey City, the county seat, and Secaucus. Residential and commercial districts, including Arlington, are concentrated along the banks of the Passaic, also site of Kearny Riverbank Park. At Kearny Point there is more industry. Brownfields or protected areas known as the Kearny Meadows or the Kearny Marsh are part of the New Jersey Meadowlands.[7] West Hudson Park is the county park in the area. Arlington Memorial Park cemetery is located on Schuyler Avenue.[8]

The area was known as Meghgectecock (spellings include masgichteu-cunk) by the Hackensack tribe of Lenape people who lived there at the time of European colonization,[9] meaning where May-apples grow, from a moist-woodland perennial that bears edible yellow berries[10] and used to describe the lobe of land between and before the confluence of the Hackensack and Passaic at Newark Bay.[11] During the 17th century was part of the area called Achter Col by New Netherlanders in the province of New Netherland. It was later given the name New Barbadoes Neck by British colonialists. All of West Hudson was originally part of Essex County under the jurisdiction of Newark. In 1710 it was made part of New Barbadoes Township, and part of Bergen County.[5] The West Hudson municipalities were part of Harrison Township, which was created by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 13, 1840, and was part of Hudson County, which had been created from portions of Bergen County on February 22, 1840.[12] The current borders were created through a series of secessions and reincorporations.[13][14]

The West Hudson towns and Newark, particularly the Ironbound across the Passaic, have had a long tradition of soccer.[15][16][17][18][19][20] Kearny's nickname, "Soccer Town, USA" comes from tradition that originated in the mid-1870s after Scottish and Irish immigration.[21][22][23][24] The Newark Portuguese, Clark A.A., Harrison S.C. and West Hudson A.A. were among the many teams.[19] The Red Bulls Stadium is in Harrison.

Portion of the Morris Canal ran through Kearny Point, unused portions which remain today.[25] The peninsula is crisscrossed with rail passenger and freight rail lines,[9][26] including those of Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, and PATH, the last of which maintains a station at Harrison (Amtrak and NJT having ceased service there). Also in this area was the former Manhattan Transfer. The Kearny Connection and Waterfront Connection are major passenger rail junctions. The proposed high-speed rail line known as the Gateway Project will traverse the area and includes the replacement of the Portal Bridge and the Sawtooth Bridges.

West Hudson's Saint Patrick's Day Parade passes through the three municipalities.[27]

Since the creation of the 29th Legislative District in the 1970s, the three communities have always been represented in the same district.[1]

  1. ^ a b Journal, Joshua Rosario | The Jersey (February 8, 2022). "Both state legislative redistricting maps have Hudson County mayors grumbling". nj. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  2. ^ "Bird's-eye view of the West Hudson towns--Harrison & East Newark, Kearny & Arlington, N.J." Library of Congress.
  3. ^ Shkolnikova, Svetlana (June 27, 2018). "World Cup an obsession in soccer-loving New Jersey towns". AP NEWS. Retrieved June 20, 2019. Other towns don't have the history of Kearny, Harrison or their fellow West Hudson community of East Newark
  4. ^ Daniel Kleinwith guidance from Cynthia Harris and John Beekman (December 10, 2013). "The Paul F. Franco Collection(1724-1975)" (PDF). Jersey City Public Library. p. 2. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Quinnoct, Bill (October 7, 1973). "East Newark Finds Its Name Confusing". The New York Times. Retrieved June 30, 2019. West Hudson, which also includes the Towns of Harrison and Kearny, then were made part of Bergen County until 1840, when Hudson County was created.
  6. ^ "Hammond map of the West Hudson area, New Jersey : including Kearny, Harrison, North Arlington, and East Newark". C.S. Hammond & Company issued through the co-operation of the West Hudson Chamber of Commerce. 1965. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  7. ^ "New Jersey Meadowlands Commission". Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  8. ^ "Town of Kearny Passaic Avenue Redevelopment Plan" (PDF). November 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Background History and Appendix B.2: Review of Previously Conducted Surveys" (PDF). www.portalbridgenec.com. January 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 15, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2019. The area now occupied by the 'West Hudson' towns of Kearny and Harrison, was called Meghgecticock by the Hackensack Indians
  10. ^ "Indigenous Population". bergencountyhistory.org. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  11. ^ New Jersey Colonial Records, East Jersey Records: Part 1-Volume 21, Calendar of Records 1664-1702
  12. ^ Floriani, Ray, Karena A. (2003), Harrison, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 9780738513461, ...now known as West Hudson...{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography, Trenton, New Jersey, 1969. p. 146. Accessed August 26, 2015.
  14. ^ "Bergen History". www.njgsbc.org.
  15. ^ Caldwell, Dave (June 13, 2006). "A Town That Soccer Never Abandoned". The New York Times. Retrieved June 30, 2019. soccer enthusiasts of all ages in the area, which includes Harrison and Kearny in western Hudson County and the Ironbound section of Newark just across the Passaic River.
  16. ^ Shkolnikova, Svetlana (June 27, 2018). "World Cup an obsession in soccer-loving New Jersey towns". AP NEWS. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  17. ^ Allaw, Allaw . (2005). "Rangers, Rovers, And Spindles: Soccer, Immigration, And Textiles in New England and New Jersey". St Johann's Press.
  18. ^ Bailey, Tyler (January 16, 2016). "The Rise and Fall of American Soccer". Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  19. ^ a b Turnball, John (March 30, 2008). "Remembering New Jersey's immigrant soccer past". The Global Game. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  20. ^ Martin, Antoinette (August 11, 2002). "In the Region/New Jersey; Harrison Planning $1 Billion Mixed-Use Community" – via NYTimes.com.
  21. ^ "A Wee Bit of Scotland in New Jersey - Kearny, New Jersey". njcooperator.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  22. ^ Hernandez, Raymond (June 26, 1994). "World Cup Hits Home In Soccer Town, U.S.A." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  23. ^ Villanova, Patrick (July 26, 2011). "West Hudson soccer players back at the field they played on as youths". nj.com.
  24. ^ McCabe, Tom (May 4, 2013). "The Game That Never Ends".
  25. ^ "Kearny Yard". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  26. ^ "Sale of Newmark Meadows" (PDF). timesmachine.nytimes.com. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  27. ^ Jersey, The (March 9, 2012). "West Hudson St. Patrick's Day parade to traverse through Harrison, East Newark, and Kearny". nj.com.