Harrison, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Harrison, New Jersey
Town
Downtown Harrison, January 2018
Seal
Motto(s):  "Beehive of Industry"
Harrison, New Jersey Location in Hudson County, New Jersey Show map of Hudson County, New Jersey Harrison, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey Harrison, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Hudson
Incorporated	April 13, 1840 (as township)
Reincorporated	March 25, 1869 (as town)
Named for	William Henry Harrison
Government
• Type	Town
• Body	Town Council
Area
• Total	1.33 sq mi (3.44 km2)
• Land	1.21 sq mi (3.14 km2)
• Water	0.12 sq mi (0.30 km2)  8.72%
Area rank	466th of 565 in state 8th of 12 in county
Elevation	20 ft (6 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	19,450
• Estimate  (2023)	20,520
• Rank	142nd of 565 in state 9th of 12 in county
• Density	16,061.1/sq mi (6,201.2/km2)
• Density rank	15th of 565 in state 8th of 12 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Code	07029
Area code(s)	973
FIPS code	3401730210
GNIS feature ID	0885245
Website

Harrison is a town in the western part of Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark, New Jersey, and is located 8 miles (13 km) from New York City. Once considered "the beehive of industry", the town is undergoing a residential renewal, particularly along the Passaic River.

As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 19,450, an increase of 5,830 (+42.8%) from the 2010 census count of 13,620, which in turn reflected a decrease of 804 (−5.6%) from the 14,424 counted in the 2000 census.

History

Colonial era to 19th century

The area that is now Harrison was the southernmost part of the 15,308-acre (23.919 sq mi; 61.95 km²) land grant awarded to William Sandford in 1668. When that grant was divided in 1671 between Sandford and his uncle, Nathaniel Kingsland of Barbados, Sandford's 5,000-acre (2,000 ha) share included Harrison. While Sandford and his family established a plantation on the northern portion of his tract, there is no evidence they developed any significant part of Harrison. Upon his death in 1691, Sandford's land passed to his wife, Sarah Sandford (née Whartman). Upon her death c. 1719, she passed most of the land, including Harrison, to her son William (c. 1670–1733). In 1729, William transferred the southern parts of his upland to three of his sons, John, Robert and Peter, each receiving a 300-acre (120 ha) lot that included a portion of Harrison's upland. John and Robert sold their lots to members of the Schuyler family in 1733 and 1736, respectively, and migrated westward, John to Newark and Robert to Pine Brook. The disposition of Peter's lot is not known, but no further record of him is found in or near Harrison.

A road to the Hudson Waterfront was completed in 1750, named for Douwe's Ferry which it met at its eastern end to cross the Hackensack River. In 1790 the state legislature decided that "public good would be served by a 64-foot road from Paulus Hook to Newark Courthouse". By 1795, a bridge over the Hackensack 950 feet (290 m) long and another over the Passaic 492 feet (150 m) long (at the site of the Bridge Street Bridge) were built creating an uninterrupted toll road connection. It is now known as the Newark Turnpike.

In 1826, the New Jersey Legislature formed Lodi Township from the southern portion of New Barbadoes Neck in Bergen County. Since Lodi Township was part of Bergen County, matters dealing with the county government and courts had to be taken to Hackensack.

In 1840, the inhabitants of Lodi Township joined with present-day Secaucus, Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, and Union City and petitioned for the creation of a new county due to the great distance which the petitioners had to travel to reach the county seat in Hackensack. This appeal resulted in the creation of Hudson County and the first mention of Harrison occurs in the law which was passed on April 13, 1840. Harrison Township was thereby established.

The first committee meeting of the Township of Harrison was held on April 16, 1840, and it is widely accepted that Harrison was named for President William Henry Harrison, who was elected that year.

19th century to present

Union Township (now Lyndhurst) was created as of February 19, 1852, from portions of the township and became part of Bergen County.

General N. N. Halstead succeeded in getting the necessary laws passed in Trenton and on April 8, 1867, Kearny became a separate Township from land that was a part of Harrison, which included East Newark at the time; East Newark later seceded from Kearny, establishing their own Borough. On March 25, 1869, Harrison town was incorporated, replacing the township.

While campaigning for re-election in 1912, President William Howard Taft told residents gathered for a rally that "you have reason to be proud of this Hive of Industry", from which was coined the town's motto, "The Beehive of Industry", which is still used today.

The town's proximity to rail lines and a large waterfront made Harrison favorably situated for trade. Some of the industries which called Harrison home included the Edison Lamp Works, Worthington Pump and Machinery, the RCA Company, the Peter Hauck Brewery, Driver-Harris Company, Crucible Steel Company, Otis Elevator, Hartz Mountain, Remco Industries, Nopco Chemical and Hyatt Roller Bearing.

As the U.S. moved into the 20th century, these facilities played a major role in the development of new products for both the private and public sector, peaking during World War II. The small town of about only 14,000 residents had more than 90,000 workers commuting into it on a daily basis. In the 21st century the town is undergoing a transformation from a manufacturing center to a residential and service sector town.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town had a total area of 1.33 square miles (3.44 km²), including 1.21 square miles (3.14 km²) of land and 0.12 square miles (0.30 km²) of water (8.72%). Unincorporated communities located partially or completely within Harrison include Manhattan Transfer.

The town borders the municipalities of East Newark and Kearny in Hudson County; and Newark across the Passaic River in Essex County.

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 19,450 people, and 7,888 households. The population density was 16,061.1 persons per square mile. The racial makeup was 38.8% White, 5.9% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 19.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, and 11.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 51.4% of the population. The median househould income for Harrison was $68,494.00.

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 13,620 people, 4,869 households, and 3,262 families in the town. The population density was 11,319.3 per square mile (4,370.4/km²). There were 5,228 housing units at an average density of 4,344.9 per square mile (1,677.6/km²). The racial makeup was 58.30% (7,941) White, 2.18% (297) Black or African American, 0.56% (76) Native American, 16.28% (2,217) Asian, 0.01% (2) Pacific Islander, 18.48% (2,517) from other races, and 4.19% (570) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 44.18% (6,017) of the population.

Of the 4,869 households, 31.8% had children under the age of 18; 44.2% were married couples living together; 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present and 33.0% were non-families. Of all households, 22.1% were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.23.

20.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.0 years. For every 100 females, the population had 105.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 105.7 males.

Education

Washington Middle School

The Harrison Public Schools serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprised of four schools, had an enrollment of 2,409 students and 166.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.5:1. Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Harrison Early Childhood Program (grades Pre-K3 and Pre-K4), Lincoln Elementary School with 620 students in grades Pre-K to 3, Hamilton Intermediate School with 307 students in grades 4–5, Washington Middle School with 438 students in grades 6–8, and Harrison High School with 692 students in grades 9–12.

Holy Cross School of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark operated until 2009, when it merged into Mater Dei Academy in Kearny; the merged school closed in 2012.

Civic organizations

Harrison Lions Club was chartered on July 25, 1951. The Harrison Club is part of Multiple District 16 (New Jersey) which is part of Lions Clubs International (LCI), the world's largest service organization. The club supports and provides financial aid to the district, state, and international sight projects and is also involved in community programs.

Transportation

View west along Interstate 280 in Harrison

Harrison station

Jackson Street Bridge connects Harrison to the Newark Ironbound

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the town had a total of 18.15 miles (29.21 km) of roadways, of which 15.23 miles (24.51 km) were maintained by the municipality, 1.57 miles (2.53 km) by Hudson County and 1.35 miles (2.17 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Interstate 280 runs through the center of the town. Westward, I-280 leads to Route 21, the Garden State Parkway, and Interstate 80. Eastward, it leads to Route 7 and the New Jersey Turnpike.

Replacement of Interstate 280's partial access in central Harrison with service roads, a new interchange, and an overpass (to improve access to Harrison Avenue, the PATH station, and Red Bull Arena, and to give north–south passage to local street traffic) is in the planning stages.

Public transportation

The Harrison station on the PATH rapid transit system offers service to Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken and New York City. The station was built in 1913 and relocated to its present location in 1936. A major reconstruction for the Harrison Station was approved on March 28, 2012, and construction started in January 2013. The completion target, originally scheduled for April 2017, was tentatively moved to 2018; the expansion of the station was completed on June 15, 2019.

The Northeast Corridor, built in the 19th century by the Pennsylvania Railroad and now owned by Amtrak, carries NJ Transit trains, and passes through the city on the same alignment as the PATH. There was a stop on the Northeast Corridor in Harrison, but it was eliminated due to the ease of picking up trains in Newark at Penn Station.

Harrison is served by buses operated by several bus companies. NJ Transit offers service within New Jersey on the 30, 40 routes.

The closest airport in New Jersey with scheduled passenger service is Newark Liberty International Airport, located 4.8 miles (7.7 km) away in Newark and Elizabeth.

Harrison Waterfront Development Plan

Old and new on the Passaic

The Harrison Waterfront Redevelopment Plan invited developers to submit plans that capitalize on the presence of the Harrison PATH Station and the Passaic River within a 275-acre (1.11 km²) area that covers 35% of the whole town. The Plan seeks to unite the developers' proposals with a design theme that includes motifs from Harrison's industrial, cultural, and environmental history as a means of fostering a new identity for Harrison that provides a variety of mixed-use, transit-oriented, pedestrian-scale development that will make Harrison a regional destination.

Red Bull Arena

Harrison is the location of the Red Bull Arena soccer stadium, home of the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer. After years of construction delays, the arena opened on March 20, 2010, with an exhibition game against the Brazilian club Santos FC. The soccer-specific stadium (SSS) was constructed at a cost of $200 million and has a capacity of approximately 25,000, with a natural grass field, featuring a full wavy translucent European-style roof that covers all of the seats in the stadium but not the field. The stadium sits alongside the Passaic River with a view of the New York and Newark skyline, and is accessible via public transportation at the PATH train station in Harrison. The stadium is owned and operated by Red Bull GmbH.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Harrison include:

See also

In Spanish: Harrison (Nueva Jersey) para niños