THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO COOL THINGS TO SEE AND DO CONTENTS CONNECT WITH NEW JERSEY History Timeline 2 Fun Facts 6 NEW JERSEY Famous Firsts & Faces 10 Shore Region 12 FACTS, Greater Atlantic City Region 16 JUST FOR Southern Shore Region 19 FUN! Delaware River Region 23 Skylands Region 28 Why is New Jersey called Gateway Region 32 “New Jersey?” How did it get its nickname the “Garden State?” And why does New Jersey SIX REGIONS have a state dinosaur? Skylands: 100/31/0/0 New Jersey makes up Find out here! Plus discover all the funGatewa y: 0/68/100/0 8,204.37 square miles in things to see and do in New Jersey.Delaware River: 78/0/100/2 total area with plenty to see Test yourself on New Jersey’s fun factsShore: 0/33/100/0 and do! It’s divided into six and see how brainy you are. Atlantic City: 1/100/55/6 regions, each with its own Southern Shore: 9/75/100/55personality. Navigate your Check out our kids’ website: way through the state, and www.nj.gov/hangout_nj/ find these fun attractions! Cartoon history, games, Statewide/Purple: 69/93/0/0 stories and more! Shore Region Greater Atlantic City Region DISCLAIMER: While every effort is made to ensure information is correct at the Southern Shore Region time of writing, New Jersey Travel and Tourism is not responsible for any errors and omissions contained in the information, or if the information is not current. Any listing in this publication does not constitute an official endorsement by the State of Delaware River Region New Jersey or the Division of Travel and Tourism. Cover Photos: (Left to Right) Morey’s Piers, Mountain Creek Resort, QuickChek New Skylands Region Jersey Festival of Ballooning at Solberg Airport, and Belleplain State Forest Above Photo: Wetlands Institute Gateway Region 1-800-visitnj • www.visitnj.org 1 1721 NEW JERSEY HAS BIG HISTORY! William Trent was a 1738 successful merchant at Lewis Morris was this time. “Trent’s Town” New Jersey’s first TIMELINE became Trenton, our governor. Lots of state capital. places are named Wow, the state of New Jersey sure has a lot of history! after him: Morris Take a trip back on this timeline of BIG events. County, Morristown and Morris Plains. 1746 Princeton University is founded. Did you know 5000 B.C.E. it was first located in The state’s first Elizabeth? It moved to inhabitants arrived, Princeton in 1756. and later became known as the Lenape. 1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano 1766 was the first European Princeton may have to “discover” the been first, but Rutgers New Jersey coast. wasn’t far behind. Have you heard of the Rutgers has grown 1776-1783 Verrazano Bridge? from a small colonial Did you know that It’s the same guy! college to a big New Jersey is called university. Today, it has “The Crossroads of the over 50,000 students American Revolution?” and over 10,000 Nearly 300 battles took teachers and staff. place here. General George Washington spent a lot of time in New Jersey, too. He made his famous 1609 crossing of the Delaware Henry Hudson was River from Pennsylvania another explorer who 1633 to New Jersey on came to New Jersey. Dutch settlers built houses Christmas Day to The Hudson River in what is now Jersey City. surprise the Hessian is named after him. troops in Trenton. (The Hessian troops were hired by England to fight.) Other important battles were in Princeton and Monmouth — the last big one in the north. 1638 Swedish settlers 1664 built along the The next to take over: Delaware River, the British. John Lord but the Dutch Berkeley and Sir George later took it over. Carteret call the area “New Jersey” after the “Isle of Jersey” in England. (Two New Jersey towns are named after them: Berkeley Heights and Carteret.) 2 NEW JERSEY FUN & FACTS GUIDE 1-800-visitnj • www.visitnj.org 3 1939-1945 MORE BIG HISTORY! During World War II, New Jersey built 1787 battleships, aircraft 1978 New Jersey became the engines and more for Gambling was legalized third state to ratify the new the war effort. Visit in Atlantic City. 1791 Constitution of the United Battleship New Jersey Alexander Hamilton States. “Ratify” means (America’s most decorated helped to make present- “to make official.” In 1789, battleship) on the Camden day Paterson the first New Jersey became the Waterfront to see how 1994 industrial city in the first state to ratify the sailors really lived! Christine Todd Whitman United States. Early Bill of Rights! became the first woman manufacturing used governor in New Jersey. the power from the Passaic River’s Great Falls. Paterson was nicknamed “Silk City” because it was well known for manufacturing the silky cloth. By the way, do you know who’s on the $10 bill? It’s Alexander Hamilton, who was the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. He died in Weehawken Late 1800s after a pistol duel with The Age of Invention 1998 the third Vice President, comes to New Jersey, 2001 The U.S. Supreme Court Aaron Burr. thanks to Thomas A. New Jersey is home ruled that 24 acres of Edison. He invented to more scientists and Ellis Island is actually the light bulb, the first engineers per square in New Jersey. commercial motion mile than anywhere picture camera and so else. A great place much more. The town for STEM students! of Edison honors his contributions. 1912 New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson is 1918 elected President of A German U-boat the United States. 2008 sinks six American Princeton astronomer ships off the coast. Alicia Soderberg became the first person to view a supernova, a star in the act of exploding. 4 NEW JERSEY FUN & FACTS GUIDE 1-800-visitnj • www.visitnj.org 5 FUN FACTS DID YOU KNOW… HAIL THE BUFF AND JERSEY BLUE: THE STATE FLAG WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE Adopted in 1896, New Jersey boasts more than 4,100 New Jersey’s flag displays freshwater lakes, ponds, rivers and the state seal in Jersey streams, plus 130 miles of Atlantic blue against a buff Ocean coastline. Lake Hopatcong is background. General the state’s largest lake. George Washington picked these same colors for the uniforms worn by New Jersey soldiers during JERSEY FRESH® the Revolutionary War. It’s easy to get your fruits and veggies in a state nicknamed “the Garden State.” The state boasts 10,300 farms and 730,000 acres of farmland and THE STORY BEHIND THE NEW JERSEY STATE SEAL grows more than 100 types of fruits and vegetables. Pierre Eugene du Simitiere was a patriot, who also Can you name some of New Jersey’s painted portraits. He created the state seal in 1777. top crops? (If you said blueberries, The plows are for farming. The horse’s head stands peaches, bell peppers, squash, for speed and strength. The tomatoes and cranberries, you’d female figures are “Liberty” get an “A” for asparagus — another (left) and “Ceres”(right), the vegetable New Jersey grows!) Roman goddess of grain. That represents New Jersey’s bounty of produce! The state motto is WILD NEW JERSEY “Liberty and Prosperity.” Thanks to its habitat diversity, New Jersey is home to nearly 500 vertebrate species of wildlife, ranging from tiny tree frogs to 400-pound black bears! See WEATHER FORECAST NJ wildlife at: From the highest point in the state (1,803 feet), appropriately named • Lakota Wolf Preserve, Columbia High Point, to the lowest spot, (Wolves and their pups, plus bobcats and foxes) sea level at the Atlantic Ocean, • Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey offers a variety of Galloway (At least 322 species of birds have been temperatures. The state enjoys all observed here) four seasons with an average summer • Cape May Bird Observatory: Northwood Center, temperature in July of 74º and an Cape May Point (Weekly bird walks offered) average of just over 30º in January. • Marine Mammal Stranding Center, Rainfall averages 40 to 50 inches Brigantine (Rescues, rehabilitates and releases dolphins, per year, depending on your location. seals, whales and sea turtles) 6 NEW JERSEY FUN & FACTS GUIDE 1-800-visitnj • www.visitnj.org 7 FUN FACTS WHAT IS THE OFFICIAL STATE… FRUIT DINOSAUR BLUEBERRY HADROSAURUS New Jersey is Not every state has a home to the state dinosaur. In 1891, first cultivated the first complete blueberry, dinosaur skeleton was thanks to found in Haddonfield. TREE FISH Susan C. White It was proof that dinos of Whitesbog. walked upright! RED OAK BROOK TROUT So pretty in You can tell the fall! by its speckles! BUTTERFLY DANCE BLACK SQUARE DANCE SWALLOWTAIL Grab a partner ANIMAL INSECT This beauty can be and “do-si-do” to HORSE HONEYBEE found in each of NJ’s official dance. Of course! New Jersey 1/3 of all fruits and the state’s Also known as is home of the U.S. veggies are pollinated 21 counties. the American Equestrian Team. by honeybees! Folk Dance. BIRD FLOWER TALL SHIP SHELL EASTERN GOLDFINCH VIOLET A.J. MEERWALD KNOBBED Listen for this bright Look for this sweet This Delaware Bay WHELK yellow bird. It “whistles” flower growing wild oyster schooner It’s commonly when it sings. in parks and lawns. is also a sailing known as the classroom. conch shell. 8 NEW JERSEY FUN & FACTS GUIDE 1-800-visitnj • www.visitnj.org 9 NEW JERSEY’S FAMOUS FIRSTS FAMOUS FIRSTS 1777 First U.S. Flag 1793 AND FACES Legend says First Balloon Betsy Ross sewed it, Flight (Deptford) but Bordentown’s Francis Jean-Pierre Hopkinson, Declaration Blanchard flew New Jersey is the birthplace and of Independence signer, 15 miles from Philadelphia designed it! home of many famous people, to deliver a letter from George Washington.