CITY INTRODUCTION
City of Burlington Background
The State of New Jersey

Mayor’s Intro to City & Site

City of Burlington Statistics

Map of City Offices & Facilities

Governing Body

City Employment

NJ State Background

Tour Burlington Website

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

“The Garden State”
Motto: “Liberty and Prosperity”
Attained Statehood: 1776
Joined the Union: December 18, 1787 (3rd)

Governor: James E. McGreevey

1990 Population... rank: 7,730,188 (9th)
2000 (est.) Population: 8,414,350
Land Area... ranking: 7,419 square miles (19,215 sq km) (46th)

State Capitol: Trenton
State Seal : See at right
State Tree: Red Oak
State Bird: Eastern Goldfinch
State Flower: Purple Violet

New Jersey’s State Flag
Buff color, with the arms of the State emblazoned in the center.

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The State Seal
New Jersey’s state seal was designed by Pierre Eugene du Simitiere and presented to the Legislature meeting in the Indian King Tavern in Haddonfield in May 1777.

Three plows in the shield honor the state’s agricultural tradition. The helmet above the shield faces head-on, a sovereign attitude for one of the first governments to posit that the state itself is the sovereign. Above the helmet is a horse’s head crest.

Bracketing the blazon are Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain holding a cornucopia symbolizing abundance, and on the left, Liberty carries the liberty cap on her staff.

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Political History of New Jersey
Early colonial New Jersey was once a part of New York (New Netherlands). A year after the 1664 Dutch surrender to England, New Jersey became an English colony under Gov. Philip Carteret. The settlement was divided into East and West Jersey in 1676 between Carteret and a company of English Quakers in Burlington with rights originating in John, Lord Berkeley. New Jersey united as a crown colony under the royal governor of New York in 1702. In 1738, New Jersey was at last separated from New York under royal governor Lewis Morris. Its position between New York City and Philadelphia made New Jersey an American Revolution battleground.

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New Jersey Now
Now, New Jersey exhibits wide industrial diversity. Over 15,000 factories make products for the regional market of almost 60 million people (12 states and D.C.) and beyond. Chemicals comprise NJ’s biggest industry. Large oil refineries occupy North Jersey. New Jersey boasts prominent world-class research centers. Pharmaceuticals, instruments, machinery, electrical goods, and apparel are principal manufactured goods. The South holds many protected forest preserves, and 36% of total land area was forest in 1992. Area of farmland may be declining, but in 1995 roughly 9,000 farms put 850,000 acres under the plow. The Garden State is a top producer of almost all garden vegetables, including tomatoes, asparagus, corn, and blueberries. Poultry and dairy farming are significant to the state’s economy. Tourism is the number-two NJ industry, with resorts skirting 127 miles of Atlantic coast. New Jersey voters legalized Atlantic City casino gambling in 1977.

Some sights to see:

• Delaware Water Gap
• Edison National Historic Site in West Orange
• Princeton University
• Liberty State Park, Jersey City
• N.J. State Aquarium and Battleship New Jersey in Camden
  and, of course, the
• City of Burlington Historic District, the Capital of West Jersey, Where the past is our present to you.

Thanks to Information Please, a Division of Family Education Company

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To provide citizens more information about municipal services, the City provides this website, The City of Burlington Official Online Resource. Use it as a Guide, a sort of City Owner’s Manual, for taxpaying, voting residents.

For a fascinating look at Burlington’s rich and varied 326-year history, visit our Tour Burlington website. Learn about NJ’s first recorded European settlement. Discover how to see the State’s oldest fire company, first Pharmacy, first Library and more, including the County’s oldest residence. See old houses, museums, antiques, Underground Railroad, folklore. Time travel is an easy walk in the City of Burlington... try it for your next family day trip, or bring your seniors group.

Tour City of Burlington Historic District • Where the past is our present to you
E-mail: info@tourburlington.org • 609-386-0200 or 386-4773

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