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New Jersey State...
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New Jersey Counties
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New Jersey Counties
New Jersey has 21 counties. New Jersey was governed by two separate groups of proprietors
as two distinct provinces, East Jersey and West Jersey, for the 28 years between 1674 and 1702. New Jersey's
first counties were created as administrative districts within each province, with East Jersey split in 1675
into Bergen, Essex, Middlesex and Monmouth counties, while West Jersey's initial counties of Burlington and
Salem date to 1681. The most recent county created in New Jersey was Union County, created in 1857 and named
after the union of the United States |
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Cumberland County, New Jersey
Cumberland County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Bridgeton
Year Organized: 1748
Square Miles: 489 |
Court House: 790 East Commerce Street
County Administration Building
Bridgeton, NJ 08302-2269
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
Cumberland is named for the Earl of Cumberland.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
The Colonial Legislature, at a session held January 30, 1748, passed an Act stipulating the east side of Salem County
as a new county to be known as Cumberland. It was so named by Governor Jonathan Belcher in honor of his patron, William
Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, brother of the king and the victor over "Bonnie Prince Charles", (Stuart) the Young
Pretender to the throne of England whose hopes were quenched at the bloody Battle of Culloden Moor.
The Act establishing the new county divided it into six townships: Greenwich , Hopewell , Stow Creek, Deerfield ,
Fairfield , and Maurice River. The Legislature ordered the Freeholders to meet first at Cohansey Bridge, which is now
Bridgeton, to arrange for the taking of a poll to determine the location of the county seat. The first court was held at
Greenwich. In December of the same year, 1748, Cohansey Bridge (now Bridgeton) was chosen as the seat of county
government. The selection was a compromise with Greenwich, Fairfield, and Deerfield contending for the honor, the
convenience, and the practical advantage from a business standpoint.
In 1752, Cumberland County's first court house, (Cumberland has had four) was built in the center of what is now West
Broad Street, east of the line of Franklin Street. During the next 15 years Cumberland County developed rapidly. At the
same time dissatisfaction over Colonial rule was increasing, a feeling that brought about eventual separation from the
British Crown. In 1772, Cumberland County elected two representatives to the Colonial Legislature. Theretofore, Salem
and Cumberland had been jointly represented. When Downe Township was established in 1772, it was named after Governor
William Franklin's wife, Elizabeth Downes, whose name was misspelled in the printed legislation and has been misspelled
ever since
Neighboring Counties:
Cities and Towns:
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- Bridgeton
(County
Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Commercial |
township |
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- Deerfield |
township |
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- Downe |
township |
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- Greenwich |
township |
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- Lawrence |
township |
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- Maurice River |
township |
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- Millville |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Shiloh |
borough |
Incorporated Area |
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- Stow Creek |
township |
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- Upper Deerfield |
township |
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- Vineland |
city |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
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County Resource Guide
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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
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