Located on the banks of the Hudson River across from New York City is New Jersey's second largest city, Jersey City. Situated on the west bank of the Hudson, Jersey City is a major port of entry and manufacturing center. With eleven miles of waterfront and numerous rail connections, its location is a major transportation and distribution center for the eastern United States. The close proximity to Manhattan also makes Jersey City the location for many corporate headquarters for NY businesses.

Originally known as the town of Bergen, the land that Jersey City now sits on was once a wilderness inhabited by the Lenni Lenape Native Americans. In 1609, during a mission to discover an alternate route to East Asia, Henry Hudson anchored his vessel in a cove nearby as was the first to survey the land. Upon his return to Holland, Hudson reported his finds to the Dutch and the United New Netherlands Company was formed to manage this new territory. The land was purchased from the Indians in 1630 by Michael Reyniersz Pauw, director of the West India Company in an effort to settle the area. This failed and the land was bought back by the United New Netherlands Company.

The first settlement to develop was at Communipaw, an area adjacent to what is now Liberty State Park. Other Dutch settlements developed such as Pavonia, Communipaw, Harsimus, Paulus Hook and to the north, Bergen Township, later the town of Hudson, all of which incorporated into Jersey City in 1870.

During the American Revolutionary War, the land was in the hands of the British until Paulus Hook was captured by Major Light Horse Harry Lee on August 19, 1779. The city was officially incorporated as the City of Jersey in 1820, the reincorporated under its present name in 1838. By 1870, Jersey City’s population and economy had grown so large that the neighboring towns of Hudson City, and Bergen voted to merge into the larger city. The residents of Greenville, independent since 1863, voted to merge into Jersey City in 1873.

Today, Jersey City consists of six districts each comprised of smaller neighborhoods. Much like the boroughs of NYC, the districts each have their own distinct aesthetic and architectural style. Jersey City is currently undergoing a renaissance as formerly abandoned buildings are being renovated. Neighborhoods are seeing a rapid gentrification because many Manhattan professionals are moving in due to the ease of transportation provided by the light rail that runs through Hoboken and Jersey City.

A little Jersey City Trivia:
- Home to the Colgate Clock, claimed as the largest in the world by the Colgate-Palmolive company. Being 50 feet in diameter, the clock can be seen clearly from Battery Park in Lower Manhattan.
- Part of the 1993 Saturday Night Live spin-off movie Coneheads was filmed in Jersey City.
- The movie City Hall, starring Al Pacino and John Cusack is partly set in the Tunnel Diner, next to the Holland Tunnel.
- The bar scenes in the movie CopLand, were filmed in the Paulus Hook Pub (no longer in existence) on Grand Street, owned by life-long Jersey City resident and civil servant Roy Zevoteck.
- In 1916, German agents set off a series of explosions in present-day Liberty State Park in what came to be known as the Black Tom Explosion.