Here are some old New Jersey maps, available online. Take a look at this map of southern New Jersey made by Dutch settlers in
1669. The Dutch labeled Cape May "Cabo May." Take a look at Delaware Bay. The Dutch called it Godyn's Bay. This
1709 map shows a division between east and west New Jersey. Probably most interesting of all is
this map from 1795. Here, you can see archaic names of towns. What is now Pennington was once called "Pennytown." Lawrenceville was once called "Maidenhead." What is today called Hightstown was once called "Hiatstown." How about that little island off the southwestern New Jersey coast, Egg Island? Is that even there anymore?
posted by candasartan
on Feb 10, 2012 -
26 comments
I come from Bankers and Businessmen, New Jersey. The dividing line between north and south New Jersey is the
Driscoll Bridge according to one theory. The
Sports Fan rule applies a hypothetical line between where NY Giant fandom ends and Philadelphia Eagle fanaticism begins. Under the
Sandwhich conjecture, South Jersey's northern border is where people stop eating hoagies for lunch and start eating subs.
New Jersey is too nuanced for simple binary categorization. Rigorous tests of the competing theories produce contradictory results (
Monmouth County is part of South Jersey under the Driscoll theory and North Jersey using Sports Fan methodology.) Throwing out the ineffectiveness of northern and southern classifications, a recent Rutgers graduate and current state employee has produced a controversial and
highly accurate visualization of a new Jersey, though some may be offended.
posted by otto42
on Dec 8, 2011 -
73 comments
"Driving Jersey represents and reflects the most misunderstood and misrepresented place and people in all of America." In this series of calmly paced, short documentaries featuring profiles, atmosphere, landscape, and interviews, filmmakers
Steve Rogers and
Ryan Bott travel 21 counties to capture some of the true character and cultural nuance of the Garden State.
[more inside]
posted by Miko
on Sep 12, 2011 -
54 comments
