Bergen Neck is a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

in the United States, located between the

Upper New York Bay New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay ...

and the

Newark Bay Newark Bay is a tidal bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in northeastern New Jersey. It is home to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the largest container shipping facility in Port of New York and New Jerse ...

in the

Hudson County Hudson County is a List of counties in New Jersey, county in the U.S. state of New Jersey, its smallest and most densely populated. Lying in the northeast of the state and on the west bank of the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River, the No ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

municipalities of

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

and

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

. Its southernmost tip, Bergen Point, is separated from

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

by the

Kill van Kull __NOTOC__ The Kill Van Kull is a tidal strait between Staten Island, New York (state), New York, and Bayonne, New Jersey, Bayonne, New Jersey, in the United States. It is approximately long and wide and connects Newark Bay with Upper New York ...

, which is crossed by the

Bayonne Bridge The Bayonne Bridge is an Through arch bridge, arch bridge that spans the Kill Van Kull between Staten Island, New York (state), New York, and Bayonne, New Jersey, Bayonne, New Jersey, United States. It carries New York State Route 440 and ...

. It was likely first called so in the 17th century by the first Dutch and English speaking settlers to the region between the bays and northward along the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

and

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, about 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban ar ...

. Though now part of Hudson County, the area was part of

Bergen County Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Bergen Township, which lasted until 1862. It was first named Oyster Island by the Dutch, who at first thought it was an island, and for a brief period after the British takeover of

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

in 1674 was called Old Hackensack Neck. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

British maps showed it as Barren Neck. Bergen Neck is rarely used, occasionally replaced by the terms such as Bayonne Peninsula, Hudson Peninsula, South Hudson. It gave its name to a fort during the

, which was built in 1776, occupied by the British in 1777, and demolished in September 1782. (In British hands the fort was renamed for Oliver De Lancey, Sr. as Fort Delancey.) It still lends its name to First Reformed Dutch Church of Bergen Neck in Bayonne. The waterfront of Bergen Neck varies greatly. The

Central Railroad of New Jersey Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

crossed the CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge to its line to

Communipaw Terminal The Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, also known as Communipaw Terminal and Jersey City Terminal, was the Central Railroad of New Jersey's waterfront passenger terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey. The terminal was built in 1889, replaci ...

, portions of which are now used by the Hudson Bergen Light Rail. The

National Docks Secondary National Docks Secondary is a freight rail transport, freight rail line within Conrail's North Jersey Shared Assets Area in Hudson County, New Jersey, used by CSX Transportation. It provides access for the national rail network to maritime, in ...

line is now used by

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

to Port Jersey and other points. The emergence of the

Hudson Palisades The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs s ...

on Bergen Neck is called Bergen Hill, which is also traversed with rail lines. During the 20th century the east side of the peninsula was home to

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

, rail and shipping facilities, and military installations, notably

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

, and the Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne. Some areas, particularly Constable Hook and Port Jersey still function in that capacity. Other brownfields have been redeveloped for residential, commercial, and recreational use, such as

Liberty State Park Liberty State Park (LSP) is a park in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey, Jersey City opposite Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with United States Bicenten ...

. The west, or

side, in Bayonne has traditionally been more residential while in Jersey City, it has tended to be more mixed-use, combining residences, retail, municipal services, manufacturing, and recreation, such as Lincoln Park. Projects to provide public access to the water's edge are in progress with the creation of

Hudson River Waterfront Walkway The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, also known as the Hudson River Walkway, is a promenade along the Hudson Waterfront in New Jersey. The ongoing and incomplete project located on Kill van Kull and the western shore of Upper New York Bay and t ...

and the Hackensack RiverWalk. Bounded to the north by the termini of the New Jersey Turnpike and St. Marginal Highway, Bergen Neck encompasses approximately 24.93 square miles (64.57 km²). As of the most recent estimate, the peninsula is home to 448,570 people, yielding a population density of 17,993 people per square mile (6,947 people per km²). Elevation on Bergen Neck ranges from just a few meters above mean sea level to a maximum of 80 m; however, a substantial portion of the land lies at roughly 30 m elevation.

References

{{Coord, 40.7, -74.1, format=dms, display=title Bayonne, New Jersey Landforms of Hudson County, New Jersey Peninsulas of New Jersey Colonial forts in New Jersey

See also

References