North Hudson is the area in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, situated on the west bank of the Hudson River, mostly atop the Hudson Palisades. It comprises Weehawken, Union City, West New York, Guttenberg, and North Bergen.
With a combined population of approximately 206,000 according to 2022 estimates, the municipalities are among the most densely populated in the United States. Some have large proportions of foreign-born residents and majority-Hispanic populations. In all of the five towns except Weehawken, large percentages of the population speak a language other than English.
The towns and adjacent areas have been known as "The Home of the American Embroidery Industry",
the silk center of the nation,Galland (1947); p 67. and "Havana on the Hudson".
Use of the name The collective name for the municipalities of North Hudson has been used for various agencies, institutions, and organizations.
Area authorities that serve its transportation, health, and recreational needs include the North Hudson County Railway (c. 1865), North Hudson Hospital (c. 1900), and North Hudson Park (c.1908) and the Hoboken-North Hudson YMCA (c. 1929).
Public services in the region include the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue, founded in 1998 when municipal services were merged, and the North Hudson Sewerage Authority, which serves Hoboken, Union City, Weehawken, and West New York.
Hudson County Community College offers some classes on its North Hudson Campus, Other educational facilities bearing the name include the North Hudson Islamic Educational Center and the North Hudson Academy.
The North Hudson Community Action Corporation (1965) and the North Hudson Regional Council of Mayors are organizations offering social services to the area.North Hudson Regional Council of Mayors
In the late 2000s, North Hudson came to be dubbed "NoHu" within certain communitiesMary Paul and Caren Matzner. "Scores of artists find a place in N. Hudson" The Union City Reporter, April 17, 2008, pages 1, 6 and 19 a name used for a film festival founded in 2008.
Geography and demographics Population
By 1947, one estimate put the population of North Hudson at 175,000.
According to the United States Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program, as of July 2022, Hudson County had a population of 703,366,Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties in New Jersey: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022, United States Census Bureau, released March 2023. Accessed July 16, 2023. of which 206,243 were in North Hudson: Guttenberg (11,446), North Bergen (60,235), Union City (65,366), Weehawken (17,215) and West New York (51,981).Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Minor Civil Divisions in New Jersey: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022, United States Census Bureau, released May 2023. Accessed July 16, 2023.
The municipalities are among the most densely populated in the United States. Guttenberg the most densely populated incorporated municipality in the United States, as well as one of the most densely populated municipalities worldwide, with of land area.Guide to State and Local Census Geography, United States Census Bureau. Accessed October 26, 2017. Of municipalities with over 50,000 people, Union City is the most densely populated city in the United States.2000 Census: US Municipalities Over 50,000: Ranked by 2000 Density, accessed March 22, 2007 North Hudson municipalities have one of the nation's largest proportions of foreign-born residents, and some also have a majority-Hispanic population.
Description Mostly situated atop the Palisades on the Hudson Waterfront on the west bank of the Hudson River, the area is directly across from Midtown Manhattan and the Upper West Side in New York City, north of Hoboken and Jersey City (the county seat), and east of the New Jersey Meadowlands. Its high elevation allows North Hudson expansive views of the Manhattan skyline, the Meadowlands, and the Watchung Mountains. The cuesta, or slope, on the west side of area makes North Bergen the city with the second most hills per square mile in the United States after San Francisco.Most liquor licenses? Bumpiest town? Local municipalities hold unusual distinctions , Hudson Reporter, August 27, 2006
The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway is a promenade and park along the river.
Boundaries North Hudson lies north of Bergen, one of earliest settlements in New Jersey, founded in 1660. During the British and colonial it was known as Bergen Woods and was in the southeastern part of Bergen County. On February 22, 1838, Jersey City was incorporated as a separate municipality,Winfield, Charles Hardenburg. "History of the county of Hudson, New Jersey: from its earliest settlement", p. 289. Kennard & Hay Stationery M'fg and Print. Co., 1874. Accessed December 22, 2011. In 1840 Hudson County, comprising Jersey City and Bergen Township, was created from the southern portion of Bergen County. North Bergen was incorporated as a township on April 10, 1843, by an act of the New Jersey Legislature, from the northern portion of Bergen Township. At the time, the town included everything east of the Hackensack River and north of and including what is now Jersey City Heights.
North Hudson experienced massive immigration and urbanization during the latter half of the 19th century, and led to the creation of various new towns. Portions of the North Bergen were taken to form Hoboken Township (April 9, 1849, now the City of Hoboken), Hudson Town (April 12, 1852, later part of Hudson City), Hudson City (April 11, 1855, later merged with Jersey City), Guttenberg (formed within the township on March 9, 1859, and set off as an independent municipality on April 1, 1878), Weehawken (March 15, 1859), Union Township and West Hoboken Township (both created on February 28, 1861), Union Hill town (March 29, 1864) and Secaucus (March 12, 1900).Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 145. Accessed November 13, 2012.
In the early 1900s the idea of the all towns consolidating emerged and subsided, Eventually West Hoboken and Union Hill merged in 1925. Though each municipality has an independent local government and school district, they collaborate (sometimes with Hoboken) on certain services including fire-fighting, water supply, sewage treatmentNorth Hudson Sewerage Authority/ emergency medical services, and vocational education. Some are members of Bridging Communities, Connecting Library Services.https://hudsoncountyview.com/norpth-hudson-officials-cut-the-ribbon-on-new-guttenberg-resource-center/
North Hudson is part of New Jersey's 32nd and 33rd legislative districts. Most of North Hudson falls within New Jersey's 8th congressional district.
History
The area of what is today North Hudson County was originally inhabited by the Munsee-speaking branch of Lenape Native Americans,Karabin, Gerard. "Brief History of Union City". Union City, New Jersey. Accessed August 28, 2017. "Eighty-five years ago on June 1, 1925, the Town of Union (colloquially known as Union Hill) and the Township of West Hoboken joined together and became one, the city of Union City."Trigger, Bruce G. Delaware languages: Handbook of North American Indians Vol. 15: Northeast, page 215. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. 1978. .Day, Gordon M. "The Indian as an Ecological Factor in the Northeastern Forests." Ecology, Vol. 34, No. 2 (April): 329-346. New England and New York areas 1580–1800. Notes that the Lenni Lenape (Delaware) tribe in New Jersey and the Massachuset tribe in Massachusetts used fire in ecosystems.1953Russell, Emily W.B. "Vegetational Change in Northern New Jersey Since 1500 A.D.: A Palynological, Vegetational and Historical Synthesis." PhD dissertation. New Brunswick, PA: Rutgers University. Author notes on page 8 that Indians often augmented lightning fires. 1979Russell, Emily W.B. "Indian Set Fires in the Forests of the Northeastern United States." Ecology, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Feb): 78 88. 1983a Author found no strong evidence that Indians purposely burned large areas, but they did burn small areas near their habitation sites. Noted that the Lenna Lenape Tribe used fire.A Brief Description of New York, Formerly Called New Netherlands with the Places Thereunto Adjoining, Likewise a Brief Relation of the Customs of the Indians There. New York, NY: William Gowans. 1670. Reprinted in 1937 by the Facsimile Text Society, Columbia University Press, New York. Notes that the Lenni Lenape (Delaware) tribe in New Jersey used fire in ecosystems. who wandered into the vast woodland area encountered by Henry Hudson during the voyages he conducted from 1609 to 1610 for the Dutch, who later claimed the area (which included the future New York City) and named it New Netherland. The portion of that land that included the future Hudson County was purchased from members of the Hackensack tribe of the Lenni-Lenape and became part of Pavonia, New Netherland.Karnoutsos, Carmela. Pavonia, Lower Jersey City New Jersey City University. Accessed October 14, 2015.
The relationship between the early Dutch settlers and Native Americans was marked by frequent armed conflict over land claims. In 1658 by New Netherland colony Director-General Peter Stuyvesant re-purchased the territory.Robinson, Dr. Walter F. (1964). New Jersey Tercentenary: 1664–1964. Hudson County Tercentenary Committee for this information, p. 190Fernandez, Lucio; Karabin, Gerard (2010). Union City in Pictures. Book Press NY. pp. 11–13. The boundaries of the purchase are described in the deed preserved in the New York State Archives, as well as the medium of exchange: "80 fathoms of wampum, 20 fathoms of cloth, 12 brass kettles, 6 guns, one double brass kettle, 2 blankets, and one half barrel of strong beer."50th Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town of West Hoboken, N.J. (1911). Datz Co. In 1660, he ordered the building of a fortified village at Bergen to protect the area.Karnoutsos, Carmela. 350th Anniversary of the Dutch Settlement of Bergen; Colonial Jersey City, New Jersey City University. Accessed August 28, 2017. It was the first permanent European settlement in New Jersey, located in what is now the Journal Square area of Jersey City near Academy Street.Kaulessar, Ricardo. "350 years of history; Fair commemorates founding of Jersey City, will honor the oldest families in Hudson County", The Hudson Reporter, October 3, 2010. Accessed November 14, 2019. "Before there was a Jersey City or a Hudson County, the village of Bergen – the first European settlement in New Jersey, founded in 1660 by Dutch settler Peter Stuyvesant – had its origins in what is now the Journal Square area of Jersey City near Academy Street." In 1664, the British captured New Netherland from the Dutch, at which point the boundaries of Bergen Township encompassed what is now known as Hudson County. North of this was the unpopulated Bergen Woods, which would later be claimed by settlers, after whom a number of Union City streets today are named,
Like most of the New York metropolitan area, North Hudson experienced waves of immigration, specifically: settlers from the Netherlands, British colonialists, German-speaking farmers and entrepreneurs, Irish fleeing the famine, "Ellis Islanders", World Wars refugees, the "Spanish" (initially Cuban immigrants, and later other South and Central Americans), and most recently, so-called "cosmopolitans" including individuals and childless families, yuppies, retirees, gay men and women, newlyweds, house-sharers, and rent refugees from less gentrified areas.