Passaic ( , KRGV-TV, June 10, 2012. Accessed August 16, 2012. "Passaic -- puh-SAY'-ihk" or Page, Jeffrey. "Our towns challenge our tongues", The Record, June 17, 2005. Accessed May 19, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Some people also add an extra syllable to Passaic. They say pa-SAY-ik, which renders them incomprehensible when speaking with residents, especially old-timers. 'The correct pronunciation is puh-SAKE,' said Mark Auerbach, the city historian. Very authoritative, but he himself says pa-SAY-ik. What is that all about? 'Yes, it's wrong,' he said, 'but I'm from Brooklyn and I'm too old to change habits now.'"Jennings, Rob. "N.J. welcome center sign spelled P-A-S-S-A-I-C wrong", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, July 11, 2019. Accessed May 19, 2021. "Of New Jersey’s 21 counties, it is easy enough to understand why some persist in misspelling Passaic. Sure, the pronunciations -- 'puh-SAY-ik' or 'puh-sake' - provide a clear hint to the ordering of letters, yet it is not uncommon to spot the county mistakenly listed as 'Passiac.'"Martin, Jim. "Jim Martin", Schenectady Gazette, June 3, 1970. Accessed May 19, 2021, via Newspapers.com "When you have to run 20 miles a day through a corridor of urban sprawl without bumping into Hackensack, South Orange (pronounced 'Arnj'), Passaic (pronounced 'Puh-sake'), Cedar Ave., Nutley or the Delaware-Lackawanna tracks, you are a human being of extraordinary determination.") is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was the state's 16th-most-populous municipality,Table1. New Jersey Counties and Most Populous Cities and Townships: 2020 and 2010 Censuses, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Accessed December 1, 2022. with a population of 70,537, falling behind Bayonne (ranked 16th in 2010), an increase of 756 (+1.1%) from the 2010 census count of 69,781, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,920 residents (+2.8%) from the 2000 census population of 67,861.Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 68,903 for 2023, making it the 552nd-most populous municipality in the nation.Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places of 20,000 or More, Ranked by July 1, 2023 Population: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023, United States Census Bureau, released May 2024. Accessed May 30, 2024. Note that townships (including Edison, Lakewood and Woodbridge, all of which have larger populations) are excluded from these rankings. Among cities with more than 50,000 people, Passaic was the fifth-most densely populated municipality in the United States, with more than 22,000 people per square mile.Maciag, Mike. "Population Density for U.S. Cities Statistics", Governing, November 29, 2017. Accessed December 4, 2020. "The following are the most densely populated cities with populations exceeding 50,000:... [5th] Passaic, N.J.: 22,424 persons/sq. mile"

Located north of Newark on the Passaic River, it was first settled in 1678 by Dutch traders, as Acquackanonk Township. The city and river get their name from the Lenape word "pahsayèk" which has been variously attributed to mean "valley" or "place where the land splits."Cunningham, John T. This is New Jersey, p. 67. Rutgers University Press, 1994. . Accessed January 27, 2015. "Passaic was a Lenape word, too. Some say it meant 'place where the land splits' or 'place where the river splits'. Others claim the word meant 'valley' to the Lenape.""Passaic" , Lenape Talking Dictionary. Accessed January 27, 2015.Hutchinson, Viola L. The Origin of New Jersey Place Names, New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed September 16, 2015.Gannett, Henry. The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States, p. 239. United States Government Printing Office, 1905. "Passaic; county, city in same county, and river in New Jersey; derived either from the Indian word, passaic or passajeek, 'valley,' or from the Indian equivalent of 'peace'."

History

The city originated from a Dutch settlement on the Passaic River established in 1679 which was called Acquackanonk. Industrial growth began in the 19th century, as Passaic became a textile and metalworking center.

A commercial center formed around a wharf at the foot of present-day Main Avenue. This came to be commonly known as Acquackanonk Landing, and the settlement that grew around it became known as the Village of Acquackanonk Landing or simply Acquackanonk Landing Settlement.Jailer, Mildred. "Map to Tell Story Of Passaic's Past", The New York Times, January 4, 1976. Accessed August 22, 2018. "Also to be depicted are such significant sites as the Acquackanonk Landing Settlement, now the city of Passaic, where a bridge to halt the progress of the British troops was dismantled, and Canalville, an 1828 residential subdivision on the Morris Canal in Clifton." In 1854 Alfred Speer (later owner of the city's first newspaper and public hall) and Judge Henry Simmons were the principals in a political battle over the naming of village. Simmons wished to keep the old name while Speer wanted to simplify it to Passaic Village. Speer was losing the battle however he convinced the U.S. Postmaster General to adopt the name, and hung a Passaic sign at the local railroad depot. The de facto name change was effective.

Passaic was formed as an unincorporated village within Acquackanonk Township (now Clifton) on March 10, 1869. It was incorporated as an independent village on March 21, 1871. Passaic was chartered as a city on April 2, 1873.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 210. Accessed May 30, 2024. The Okonite company owned an industrial site here from 1878 to 1993. It was the company's headquarters and primary manufacturing plant for most of the company's history. Early uses of the company's insulated wires include some of the earliest telegraph cables, and the wiring for Thomas Edison's first generating plant, Pearl Street Station in Lower Manhattan.Wire And Cable Manufacturers Since 1878 , The Okonite Company. Accessed August 28, 2011. The property was then turned into a furniture factory, whose owners have been attempting to redevelop the property into an upscale mall since 2015.

The 1926 Passaic Textile Strike led by union organizer Albert Weisbord saw 36,000 mill workers leave their jobs to oppose wage cuts demanded by the textile industry. The workers successfully fought to keep their wages unchanged but did not receive recognition of their union by the mill owners.Lurie, Maxine N.; and Mappen, Marc. "Passaic textile strike", Encyclopedia of New Jersey, p. 617. Rutgers University Press, 2004. . Accessed August 28, 2011.

Passaic has been called "The Birthplace of Television".UCLA Film and Television Archive Television Programs Preserved 1988–2000 . University of California, Los Angeles. Accessed February 18, 2007. In 1931, experimental television station W2XCD began transmitting from DeForest Radio Corporation in Passaic. It has been called the first television station to transmit to the home, and was the first such station to broadcast a feature film. Allen B. DuMont, formerly DeForest's chief engineer, opened pioneering TV manufacturer DuMont Laboratories in Passaic in 1937, and started the DuMont Television Network, the world's first commercial television network, in 1946.

In 1992, the voters of Passaic Township in Morris County voted to change the name of their municipality to Long Hill Township, to avoid confusion between the City of Passaic and the largely rural community away, as well as association with the more urban city.Nieves, Evelyn. "How Green Was My Passaic, Now Long Hill", The New York Times, December 3, 1992. Accessed August 28, 2011. "No one used to mind when the City of Passaic and the Township of Passaic, 22 miles away, were confused.... Passaic Township, as bucolic as New Jersey gets, began to wear its name like an itchy sweater. Residents tired of explaining the difference between their remote green stretch of southern Morris County and urban blight."

Passaic is served by two regional newspapers, The Record and Herald News which are both owned by the Gannett company and its predecessor North Jersey Media Group.

The city previously had many of its own newspaper companies, among them Speer's The Passaic Item (1870–1904), the Passaic City Herald (1872–1899), the Passaic Daily Times (1882–1887), the Passaic City Record (1890–1907), the Passaic Daily News (1891–1929), the Passaic Daily Herald (1899–1929), and the Passaic Herald News (1932–1987). The Passaic Herald News went through several mergers with other Passaic County newspapers to become the current Herald News.Narvaez, Alfonso A. "2 Daily Papers, The Herald and The News, Merge in Jersey", The New York Times, September 22, 1987. Accessed August 22, 2018. "Two daily newspapers in Passaic County, The North Jersey Herald News and The News, merged today into a single newspaper, The North Jersey Herald & News."

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 3.24 square miles (8.39 km2), including 3.13 square miles (8.11 km2) of land and 0.11 square miles (0.28 km2) of water (3.33%).

Passaic's only land border is with neighboring Clifton, which borders Passaic to the north, south, and west. The namesake Passaic River forms the eastern border of Passaic. Four additional neighboring municipalities in southern Bergen County, immediately across the river from Passaic, are East Rutherford, Garfield, Rutherford, and Wallington.Areas touching Passaic, MapIt. Accessed March 2, 2020.Passaic County Map , Coalition for a Healthy NJ. Accessed March 2, 2020.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.

Passaic and Wallington are connected via the Gregory Avenue, Market Street, and Eighth Street bridges. The city connects with Garfield at both the Monroe and Passaic Street Bridges. The road connection with Rutherford is via the Union Avenue Bridge, which is located on an extension off the northbound lanes of Route 21. One cannot cross from Passaic into East Rutherford by vehicle directly, however, as there is no bridge directly connecting the two municipalities. Drivers wanting to cross from Passaic to East Rutherford must use either the Gregory Avenue Bridge, which is located near Wallington's line with East Rutherford, or the Union Avenue Bridge, where East Rutherford can be accessed via surface streets briefly passing through Rutherford.

Passaic is located from New York City, and from Newark Airport.

The city

Passaic has several business districts: Main Avenue begins in Passaic Park and follows the curve of the river to downtown. Broadway runs east–west through the center of the city, ending at Main Avenue in downtown. Main Avenue has many shops, restaurants, and businesses reflecting the city's growing Latino, and declining Eastern European populations in the city.

The city is home to several architecturally notable churches, including St. John's Lutheran Church, First Presbyterian of Passaic, and St. John's Episcopal Church.

Passaic Park