Northern New Jersey became an extremely industrious state starting in the 1800s in areas including Paterson, Trenton, Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City and Newark. These cities hosted factories that produced textiles, trains, silk, clay products, iron and steel.
By 1850, the state’s population rose to nearly half a million, and most of the industries that employed people became concentrated in the north. Southern New Jersey remained mostly rural and grew crops to feed nearby urban areas. Railroads helped expand South Jersey’s seashores and ports.
New Jersey’s population more than doubled between 1900 and 1930, and manufacturing became a $4 billion industry. Following a period of financial hardship and high unemployment during the Great Depression, the state rebounded during World War II in the 1940s as electronic and chemical industries began large-scale operations.
Numerous transportation projects in the mid-1900s, including the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, helped further expand industry by connecting people in overcrowded New York City and Philadelphia to New Jersey’s rural areas. New Jersey also expanded its passenger and cargo services at Newark airport in 1963, making it one of the busiest airports in the world.
New Jersey – Colonel History, Industrialization & Organized Crime – HISTORY