The city is connected directly with the city of New York by railroads which pass through tunnels under the Hudson. Numerous trolley lines connect the different parts of the city with each other and with other parts of the state. There are nineteen banks and trust companies. In manufacturing, Jersey City ranks second in the state. Its great commercial and industrial growth is due to its nearness to New York, to its connection with that city by ferries and railroad tunnels, by which passengers and freight are carried to the heart of the city of New York in a few minutes, and to the abundance of facilities for all kinds of transportation. The most important products are sugar, printers' type, soaps and perfumes, meats, silks and embroideries, graphite products, lead pencils, tobacco, cigars, iron, steel and brass products, fire hose, rubber goods, soups, watches, chemicals, electrical supplies, heating and lighting apparatus, rope, and paints and varnishes.
The water used by the city is of excellent quality and is brought from the basin of the Rockaway River in the northern part of the state. The city has eight municipal parks and one county park, containing nearly two hundred fifty acres. The city maintains a normal school for the training of its teachers and has an excellent public library.
Besides being an active industrial center it is a residential city. Many thousands whose occupations are in the city of New York live in Jersey City.
North of Jersey City and adjacent to it is Hoboken. It is the most densely populated city in the state. It has connections with several railroads, and one of the great trunk lines has its terminal station here. The steamships of several of the most important transatlantic lines, including Scandinavian and Dutch, dock in Hoboken. Hoboken is connected with the city of New York by the Hudson River tunnels and by ferries and with other cities of the state by many trolley lines. Its manufacturing industries include shipbuilding and repairing and the making of lead pencils, surveying and nautical instruments, marine engines and boilers, silk goods, furniture, and wall paper. Here is located the well-known Stevens Institute of Technology.
North of Hoboken and Jersey City are several cities and towns which are very important industrially and are rapidly growing in population. Their nearness to these cities and to each other makes their industries and interests similar. These are West Hoboken, Union, West New York, North Bergen, Weehawken, Guttenberg, and Secaucus. These are all populous and thriving communities. There are many valuable industries, among which the manufacture of silks and embroideries is the most important. This section leads the state in the manufacture of embroideries and is second only to Paterson in that of silk goods. Other industries are machine shops, marine construction, and the manufacture of pianos, lamps, lard, and rubber goods. In Secaucus vegetable gardening is important.
South of Jersey City lies the city of Bayonne, which is the third city of the state in the value of manufactured products. Its frontage on New York Bay on the east, Newark Bay on the west, and Kill van Kull on the south, gives it exceptional facilities for deep-water transportation. It has, besides, ample railroad facilities. It is the most important center for the refining of petroleum in the world. The oil is brought in pipe lines from the oil fields of Pennsylvania and Ohio to the refineries, from which the many refined products are carried to all parts of the world. There are many other extensive industries, of which the following may be mentioned: the manufacturing of steam boilers, iron, steel, and bronze products, cottonseed oil, nickel and copper products, borax, insulated wire, and silk goods.
The northern part of the peninsula, which is in Bergen County, contains many attractive towns which are largely residential in character. Among them are Englewood and Fort Lee. Edgewater on the Hudson at the foot of the Palisades has important industries. The chief products are sugar and sirups.
Docks at Hoboken. The principal port of embarkation and debarkation of United States troops in the World War
Paterson and Neighboring Cities and Towns.—Paterson, located at the Falls of the Passaic River, had a population in 1920 of 135,866 and is the third city of the state in size. The founding of the city was suggested by Alexander Hamilton, who foresaw the value of the power generated by the falls and made plans to use it for manufacturing purposes. Its great growth as a manufacturing center is largely due to this power. In the value of its manufactures, it is the fifth among the cities of the state. Its most important industry is the manufacture of silk products of all kinds. In this industry it stands first among the cities of the country. It has many other extensive industrial plants, which include machine shops, foundries, rolling mills, locomotive works, dyeing establishments, and thread and cordage mills.