Elizabeth

Elizabeth, city, seat (1857) of Union county, northeastern New Jersey, U.S. It lies on Newark Bay and Arthur Kill (channel; connected by the Goethals Bridge to Staten Island, New York City) and is adjacent to Newark, New Jersey, to the north. Settlement began in 1664 with the purchase of land from the Delaware Indians. It was named Elizabethtown to honour the wife of Sir George Carteret, one of the colony’s first proprietors. The first colonial assembly met there from 1668 to 1682. In 1740 it was chartered as the “free borough and town of Elizabeth.” Elizabeth suffered severely during the American Revolution and was the scene of four military engagements. With the coming of the railroads and the development of the Port of Staten Island in the 1830s, the town was assured steady growth.

Elizabeth is highly industrialized, with important shipping operations including the Port Newark/Elizabeth Marine Terminal, with facilities for containerized shipping. The city was a leading centre for the manufacture of sewing machines from 1873 until the early 1980s, when the Singer plant closed. Elizabeth’s economy is still dominated by manufacturing, including food products, chemicals, and machinery. The city is also an important retail and health-care centre for the region. Princeton University originated (1746) in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey. Boxwood Hall, now a state historic site, was the home of Elias Boudinot, president of the Continental Congress in 1783. Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr both attended an old academy (burned by the British in 1780) situated where the city’s First Presbyterian Church parish house now stands. Part of Newark Liberty International Airport lies within the city. Inc. city, 1855. Pop. (2010) 124,969; (2020) 137,298.