Bergen County, New Jersey
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| Bergen County, New Jersey | |
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| Map | |
| Image:Map of New Jersey highlighting Bergen County.png Location in the state of New Jersey | |
 New Jersey's location in the USA | |
| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1683 |
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| Seat | Hackensack
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| Largest City | Hackensack |
| Area - Total - Land - Water | sq mi ( km²) sq mi ( km²) sq mi ( km²), 5.12% |
| wikipedia:Population - (2000) - Density | 884118 |
| Time zone | Eastern : UTC-5/-4 |
| Website: www.co.bergen.nj.us | |
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 884,118, growing to 904,037 as of the Census Bureau's 2006 estimate.[1] It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack6. Bergen County ranks as the 21st among the highest-income counties in the United States, with a per capita income of $33,638.
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[edit] History
In 1675, Bergen was included in a judicial district with Essex, Monmouth and Middlesex counties, while the territory was called East Jersey, a proprietary colony (as opposed to a royal colony). In 1683, Bergen (along with the three other counties) was officially recognized as an independent county by the Provincial Assembly.[2] At the time of its creation, Bergen County's territory also included the current territory of Hudson County (formed in 1840), and portions of Passaic County (formed in 1837).
Bergen saw several battles and troop movements during the American Revolutionary War. Fort Lee's location atop the New Jersey Palisades, opposite Fort Washington in Manhattan, made it a strategic position during the war. In November, 1776 the Battle of Fort Lee took place as part of the Continental Army's attempts to keep British forces from sailing up the Hudson River. After these defensive positions were hastily abandoned, the American forces staged a retreat through present-day Englewood and Teaneck, and across the Hackensack River at New Bridge Landing, one of the few sites where the river was crossed by a bridge. With the British in pursuit, this retreat allowed American forces to escape capture and regroup for subsequent successes against the British elsewhere in New Jersey later that winter.[3] The Baylor Massacre took place in 1778 in River Vale, resulting in severe losses for the Continentals.[4]
In 1852, the Erie Railroad began operating major rail services from Jersey City on the Hudson River to points north and west via leased right-of-way in the county. This became known as the Erie Main Line, and is still in use for passenger service today.[5]
In the late 19th century, state law was changed to allow easy formation of municipalities with the Borough form of government. This led to the Boroughitis phenomenon where many new municipalities were created in a span of a few years.[6]
Camp Merritt was created in eastern Bergen County for troop staging in World War I.
In 1931, the George Washington Bridge was completed, linking Fort Lee to Manhattan. This connection would spur development in the post-World War II era, developing much of the county to suburban levels. A second deck of traffic on the bridge was completed in 1962, expanding its capacity to 14 lanes.[7]
In 1955, the U.S. Army created a Nike Missile station at Campgaw Mountain (in the west of the county) for the defense of the New York Metropolitan Area from strategic bombers. In 1959, the site was upgraded to house Nike-Hercules Missiles with increased range, speed and payload characteristics. The missile site closed in June 1971.[8]
Bergen County is one of the last remaining areas of the country in which blue laws are still in effect. This means that nearly all businesses in the county are closed on Sundays.
In 2005, Bergen County, along with neighboring Passaic County, was listed by Forbes.com as the sixth most overpriced place in the nation. In 2004, the two counties were ranked second.
As of 2005, Bergen had the fourth-highest median property tax of any county in the nation at $6,846, the second highest in New Jersey behind Hunterdon.[9][10]
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 639 km² (247 sq mi). 606 km² (234 sq mi) of it is land and 33 km² (13 sq mi) of it (5.12%) is water.
The highest elevation is Bald Mountain near the New York state line in Mahwah, at 1,164 feet (355 m) above sea level. The lowest point is sea level, along the Hudson River, which in this region is more of a tidal estuary than a river.
The sharp cliffs of the New Jersey Palisades lift much the county up from the river along the eastern boundary with the Hudson River, but then relief remains relatively minimal across the county as much of it is in the Hackensack River valley. Only in the northwestern portion of the county are any serious hills found, leading to the Ramapo Mountains
The damming of the Hackensack River and a tributary, the Pascack Brook, produced three reservoirs in the county, Woodcliff Lake Reservoir, Lake Tappan and Oradell Reservoir, which provide drinking water to much of northern New Jersey. The Hackensack River drains the eastern portion of the county through the New Jersey Meadowlands, a wetlands area in the southern portion of the county. The central portion is drained by the Saddle River and the western portion is drained by the Ramapo River. Both of these are tributaries of the Passaic River, which forms a section the southwestern border of the county.
Bergen County is bordered by Rockland County, New York to the north, by Westchester County, The Bronx, and Manhattan in New York, across the Hudson River to the east, Hudson County to the south, a small border with Essex County also to the south and Passaic County to the west.
[edit] Law and government
[edit] County Government
Bergen has had a County Executive form of government since 1986. The current County Executive is Democrat Dennis McNerney. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. As of 2007, Bergen County's Freeholders are:[11]
- Freeholder Chairman Tomas J. Padilla
(D, Park Ridge)
- Freeholder Vice-Chairman Elizabeth Calabrese (D, Wallington)
- David L. Ganz (D, Fair Lawn)
- James M. Carroll (D, Demarest)
- Bernadette P. McPherson (D, Rutherford)
- Julie O'Brien (D, Ramsey)
- Connie Wagner (D, Paramus)
Bergen also elects three countywide officials, separately from the County Executive and Freeholder Board, who are (as of January 2007) Sheriff Leo McGuire (D), Surrogate Court Judge Michael Dressler (D-Cresskill), and County Clerk Kathleen Donovan (R-Rutherford).
[edit] State representatives
The seventy municipalities of Bergen County are represented by seven separate state legislative districts. Three of these districts (the 37th, 38th and 39th) are situated entirely within the county, the others cross county boundaries.
[edit] Congressional representatives
Two federal Congressional Districts cover the county, with the northern portion of the county in New Jersey's 5th district, represented by Scott Garrett (R) and the southern portion of the county in New Jersey's 9th district, represented by Steve Rothman (D).
[edit] Blue laws
One of the last remaining blue laws in the United States that covers virtually all selling is found in Bergen County. It has produced the ironic situation that one of the largest and most popular commercial shopping cores of the New York metropolitan area[12] is almost completely closed on Sunday (grocery stores are allowed to operate). Furthermore, Bergen County has significant populations of Jewish (2000 estimate of 83,700) and Muslim