Trenton, New Jersey

Categories: Mercer County, New Jersey | Cities in New Jersey | Faulkner Act | U.S. state capitals

Trenton, New Jersey
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}|1{{{1|}}}={{{3|}}}}}}|| }} |- |Founded
Incorporated||c. 1719
  |- |County||Mercer County |- |Mayor||Douglas H. Palmer |- |Area
 - Total
 - Water||
21.1 km² (8.1 mi²)
1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) 6.01%  |- |Population
 - City (2000)
 - Density
 - Metropolitan ||
85,402
4,304.7/km² 
  |- |Time zone||Eastern (UTC –5) |- |Coordinates
WGS-84 (GPS)|| 40.2217° N 74.7561° W |- {{|{{{3}}}}}}|Web Address|www.ci.trenton.nj.us}} |} Trenton is the capital of New Jersey, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, it has a population of 85,403. Trenton is located in almost the exact center of the north-south axis of the state. Due to this, it is sometimes included as part of North Jersey and as the southernmost city of the New York metropolitan area. Others consider it part of South Jersey and as the northernmost city of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Locals consider it to be a part of Central Jersey, and thus part of neither region, though in truth the city has more communication and transportation links with the Delaware Valley than it does with New York. It is the county seat of Mercer County. The City of Trenton is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government.

Trenton is the home of the Trenton Thunder minor league baseball team, which is affiliated with the New York Yankees, and the Trenton Titans minor league hockey team, an affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers. The New Jersey State Prison, which has two maximum security units and houses the state's most dangerous criminals, is also located in Trenton.

This city is an anchor city for the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Trenton and its immediate suburbs are often lumped together and referred to as "Greater Trenton" by locals.

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Geography

Image:TrentonSkylineDuringFloodOf2005-Small.jpg
The Trenton skyline during the Delaware River flood, April 2005

Trenton is located at 40°13'18" North, 74°45'22" West (40.221741, -74.756138)1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.1 km² (8.1 mi²). 19.8 km² (7.7 mi²) of it is land and 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 6.01% water.

Trenton borders Ewing Township, Lawrence Township, Hamilton Township, and the Delaware River. Several bridges across the Delaware River - the Trenton-Morrisville Toll Bridge, Lower Trenton Bridge and Calhoun Street Bridge - connect Trenton to Morrisville, Pennsylvania.

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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 Revolution, 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.

Image:Trenton Makes.jpg
The Lower Free Bridge displaying Trenton's slogan, "Trenton Makes the World Takes". The bridge is commonly referred to as the "Trenton Makes Bridge".

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 just north of the Trenton-Morrisville Toll Bridge (the "Trenton Makes 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.

Trenton's current mayor, Douglas Palmer, has been in office for 15 years.

Some well-known Americans born in Trenton include comedian Ernie Kovacs, football Pro Bowlers Troy Vincent,Gary Stills and Hall of Famer Elvin Bethea, basketball star Dennis Rodman, Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis, former New York City mayor David Dinkins, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, General Norman Schwarzkopf and former Mobil Oil executive William Granville.

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Transportation

Image:JohnFitchParkway.jpg
The John Fitch Parkway (NJ 29) through downtown Trenton.

City highways include the Trenton Freeway, which is part of US Route 1, and the John Fitch Parkway, which is part of NJ Route 29. Canal Boulevard, more commonly known as NJ Route 129, connects US Route 1 and NJ Route 29 in South Trenton. US Route 206, NJ Route 31, and NJ 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, Lawrence, and Hamilton, and 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. A new light rail line also extends from Trenton southward to Camden. SEPTA provides commuter train service southward from the Trenton Station along the Northeast Corridor to Philadelphia.

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 and Philadelphia.

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Demographics

As of the census2 of 2000, there are 85,403 people, 29,437 households, and 18,692 families residing in the city. The population density is 4,304.7/km² (11,153.6/mi²). There are 33,843 housing units at an average density of 1,705.9/km² (4,419.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 52.06% African American, 32.55% White, 0.35% Native American, 0.84% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 10.76% from other races, and 3.20% from two or more races. 21.53% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 29,437 households out of which 32.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.0% are married couples living together, 27.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% are non-families. 29.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.75 and the average family size is 3.38.

In the city the population is spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $31,074, and the median income for a family is $36,681. Males have a median income of $29,721 versus $26,943 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,621. 21.1% of the population and 17.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 26.8% of those under the age of 18 and 19.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

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External links


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da:Trenton

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