Aviva Blog Directory » Local & Global » North America » United States » New Jersey » Elizabeth

The city of Elizabeth, New Jersey is the county seat of Union County. It was named Elizabethtown when it was founded by British settlers in 1664. Named for Elizabeth, the wife of one of the Proprietors of the colony of New Jersey, Sir George Carteret. Elizabethtown was the first capital of New Jersey. During the Revolution, it was attacked constantly by the red coats, until the Battle of Springfield, which finally defeated the British attempts to acquire New Jersey. Once independence was won and George Washington was elected, General Washington embarked from Elizabethtown by boat to Manhattan for his inauguration in 1789. In 1855, the City of Elizabeth was created by the state legislature. Its first major industry was the Singer Sewing Machine Company, which employed 2,000 workers in 1863. An automobile and a boat company followed.

Regular Blogs