Everything about Trenton New Jersey totally explained
Trenton is the
capital of the
U.S. state of
New Jersey and the
county seat of
Mercer County. As of 2006, the
City of Trenton had a population of 83,923.
Trenton is the home of the
Trenton Thunder Eastern League AA
minor league baseball team, which is affiliated with the
New York Yankees and plays in
Mercer County Waterfront Park, and the
Trenton Devils (an
ECHL minor league hockey affiliate of the
New Jersey Devils) which plays in the
Sovereign Bank Arena. The
New Jersey State Prison, which has two maximum security units and houses the state's most dangerous criminals, is also located in Trenton.
During the Constitutional Convention in 1787, James Madison referred to the war-ravaged Trenton (and New Jersey at large) as "a dismembered torso bleeding into Philadelphia and New York" thus sealing its fate as an important port city in the eastern United States. Trenton and its immediate suburbs are often lumped together and referred to as "Greater Trenton" by locals.
History
The first settlement which would become Trenton was established by
Quakers in 1679, in the region then called the Falls of the Delaware, led by
Mahlon Stacy from
Handsworth,
Sheffield, UK. Quakers were being persecuted in
England at this time and North America provided the perfect opportunity to exercise their religious freedom.
By 1719, the town adopted the name "Trent-towne", after
William Trent, one of its leading landholders who purchased much of the surrounding land from Stacy's family. This name later was shortened to "Trenton".
During the
American Revolutionary War, the city was the site of
George Washington's first military victory. On
December 26,
1776, Washington and his army, after crossing the icy Delaware River to Trenton, defeated the
Hessian troops garrisoned there (see
Battle of Trenton). After the war, Trenton was briefly the national capital of the
United States in November and December of 1784. The city was considered as a permanent capital for the new country, but the southern states favored a location south of the
Mason-Dixon Line.
Trenton became the state capital in 1790, but prior to that year the Legislature often met here. The town was incorporated in 1792.
In 1896, the first
professional basketball game was played in Trenton between the Trenton Basketball Team and the
Brooklyn YMCA.
Between 1948 and 1979 Trenton Speedway hosted world class auto racing. Famous drivers such as
A. J. Foyt,
Mario Andretti,
Al Unser,
Bobby Unser,
Richard Petty and
Bobby Allison all won major races on the one mile asphalt oval and then re-configured 1 1/2 mile race track.
Trenton was a major manufacturing center in the late 1800s and early 1900s; one relic of that era is the slogan "Trenton Makes, The World Takes" displayed on the
Lower Free Bridge (the "Trenton Makes Bridge"), just north of the
Trenton-Morrisville Toll Bridge. The city adopted the slogan in the 1920s to represent Trenton's then-leading role as a major manufacturing center for steel, rubber, wire, rope, linoleum and ceramics.
Riots of 1968
The Trenton Riots of 1968 were a major civil disturbance that took place during the week following the assassination of civil rights leader
Martin Luther King in
Memphis on
April 4.
Race riots broke out nationwide following the murder of the civil rights activist.
More than 200 downtown Trenton businesses were ransacked and burned. More than 300 people, most of them young black men, were arrested on charges ranging from assault and arson to looting and violating the mayor's emergency curfew. Most of the assaults were on policemen, including one officer who was killed.
.
In addition to 16 other injured policemen, 15 firefighters were treated at city hospitals for smoke inhalation, burns, sprains and cuts suffered while fighting raging blazes or for injuries inflicted by rioters. The losses incurred by downtown businesses were estimated at $17 million.
Trenton's current
Mayor,
Douglas Palmer, has been in office since
July 1,
1990.
Members of the City Council are:
Federal, state and county representation
Trenton is spread across two congressional districts, the Fourth Congressional District and the Twelfth Congressional District, and is part of New Jersey's 15th Legislative District.
Education
The
Trenton Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is one of 31
Abbott Districts statewide.
The Superintendent runs the district and the school board is appointed by the Mayor. The School District has undergone a "construction" renaissance throughout the district.
Trenton Central High School is Trenton's only traditional public high school in the city. Trenton also has a host of charter and private schools.
Trenton is the home of two post-secondary institutions,
Thomas Edison State College and
Mercer County Community College.
The College of New Jersey, formerly named
Trenton State College, is located in nearby
Ewing Township.
Crime
In 2005, there were 31 homicides in Trenton, the largest number in a single year in the city's history, with 22 of the homicides believed to be gang related. The city was named the 4th "Most Dangerous" in 2005 out of 129 cities with a population of 75,000 to 99,999 ranked nationwide. In the 2006 survey, Trenton was ranked as the 14th most dangerous "city" overall out of 371 cities included nationwide in the 13th annual
Morgan Quitno survey, and was again named as the fourth most dangerous "city" of 126 cities in the 75,000-99,999 population range.
Trenton's mayor,
Douglas Palmer, is a member of the
Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, a
bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by
Boston Mayor
Thomas Menino and
New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg.
Numbers went down in 2006 to 20 homicides and back up to 25 in 2007
Transportation
City highways include the
Trenton Freeway, which is part of
U.S. Route 1, and the John Fitch Parkway, which is part of
Route 29. Canal Boulevard, more commonly known as
Route 129, connects US Route 1 and NJ Route 29 in South Trenton.
U.S. Route 206,
Route 31, and
Route 33 also pass through the city via regular city streets (Broad Street/Brunswick Avenue/Princeton Avenue, Pennington Avenue, and Greenwood Avenue, respectively).
Interstate 95 and
Interstate 295 pass through the surrounding suburbs of
Ewing Township and
Hamilton Township, respectively, and connect in
Lawrence Township, thus forming a
beltway around the capitol region. Beginning in the mid 1960s, federal and state highway planners envisioned a highway branching off today's
Interstate 95 just east of Route 31 and running through the
Hopewell Valley and
Somerset County to a spot on
I-287 in
Franklin Township, only a short ride from the
New Jersey Turnpike. This plan, which was known as the
Somerset Freeway, intended to allow motorists and truckers to completely avoid the
New York Metropolitan Area when traveling north on either I-95 or the New Jersey Turnpike to
New England or
Upstate New York from
Philadelphia and points south. However, as the expressway plan gained momentum in the late 1970s, community opposition grew. Residents of
Hopewell,
Princeton,
Piscataway and
Montgomery Townships banded together, organized and lobbied local politicians to scrap the I-95, I-287 link. Their cause was aided when
Tom Kean won the gubernatorial election of 1981. Upon taking office, Kean successfully convinced President
Ronald Reagan and New Jersey’s two
Senators to "de-designate" the funding for the Somerset Freeway.
Interstate 195 connects the city to the
New Jersey Turnpike via NJ Routes 29 and 129. The
Pennsylvania Turnpike also passes close to the city.
Public transportation within and beyond the city is mostly provided by
New Jersey Transit, in the form of local bus routes between nearby suburbs and the city, as well as commuter train service northward from the
Trenton Rail Station along the
Northeast Corridor to
Newark and
New York. The new
River Line diesel
light rail line extends from Trenton southward to
Camden, with Trenton stations at
Cass Street,
Hamilton Avenue and at the Trenton Rail Station.
SEPTA provides commuter train service southward from the Trenton Station along the
Northeast Corridor to
Philadelphia and provides 1 bus route to Neshaminy Mall.
Long-distance transportation is provided by
Amtrak train service along the
Northeast Corridor. Limited commercial
airline transportation is provided at nearby
Trenton-Mercer Airport in
Ewing; much more extensive airline service is available at the more distant international airports in
Newark (reachable by direct New Jersey Transit or Amtrak rail link) and
Philadelphia.
Media
Trenton is served by
The Times (of Trenton), one of the more prominent newspapers of central New Jersey, and the
Trentonian. Radio station
WKXW is also licensed to Trenton.
Sports
Points of interest
Friends Burying Ground
Trenton Barracks
New Jersey State Museum
Chambersburg
Noted residents
Some well-known Americans who were born and/or have lived in Trenton include:
Samuel Alito, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
George Antheil, pianist and composer
New Atlantic, alternative rock band
Bo Belinsky, former professional baseball player
Elvin Bethea (1936-), Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end who played his entire NFL career with the Houston Oilers.
John T. Bird (1829-1911), represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district from 1869 to 1873.
James Bishop (1816-1895), represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1855-1857.
Edward Bloor, novelist
Steve Braun, former professional baseball player
Betty Bronson, actress
J. Hart Brewer (1844-1900), represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district from 1881 to 1885.
James Buchanan (1839-1900) represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district from 1885 to 1893.
Shawn Corey Carter (a.k.a. Jay Z), rap mogul, CEO
George Case, former outfielder for the Washington Senators.
Terrance Cauthen (1976-), Lightweight boxer who won a bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
David Dinkins, first black mayor of New York City.
Al Downing, former professional baseball player
Samuel Gibbs French, Major General in the Confederate States Army.
Dave Gallagher, former professional baseball player
Tom Guiry, actor
Charles R. Howell (1904-1973), represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955.
Elijah C. Hutchinson (1855-1932), represented from 1915–1923.
William J. Johnston (1918-1990), Medal of Honor recipient for gallantry during []World War II]].
Dahntay Jones (1980-), professional basketball player
Patrick Kerney (1976-), professional football player
Tad Kornegay (1982-) defensive back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.
Ernie Kovacs (1919-1962), comedian
Judith Light (1949-), actress
Nia Long (1970-), actress
Craig Mack (1971-), rapper
N. Gregory Mankiw (1958-), macroeconomist.
Stephanie Plum, fictional character in a well known novel series written by Janet Evanovich
D. Lane Powers (1896-1968), represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1933 to 1945.
Poor Righteous Teachers, hip-hop group
Dennis Rodman (1961-), former professional basketball star
Bob Ryan, sportswriter, regular contributor on the ESPN show Around the Horn
Daniel Bailey Ryall, United States Representative from New Jersey, in office from 1839-1841.
Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Central Command in the Gulf War
Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Charles Skelton (1806-1879), represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1851 to 1855.
Sommore, comedian
Jon Stewart, Comedian
Gary Stills, professional football player
Mike Tiernan, major league baseball player
Troy Vincent (1971-), professional football player, current president of the NFL Players Association
Allan B. Walsh (1874-1953), represented the 4th congressional district from 1913 to 1915.
Charlie Weis (1956-), Notre Dame football coach.
Ira W. Wood (1856-1931), represented from 1904 to 1913.Further Information
Get more info on 'Trenton New Jersey'.
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