Ocean’s
The Eden Woolley House
The Township of Ocean Historical Museum
Heritage
Vol. 30, No. 1, Winter 2014
A year of festivities planned
New Jersey celebrates its 350th anniversary
S
o, exactly what did happen in 1664 that makes 2014 our 350th anniversary? After all, by then the Lenape had been in what we now call New Jersey for 3,000 years. As early as 1609, the Dutch had a few settlements on the west side of the Hudson as part of New Netherlands. And even the Swedes had colonized along the Delaware by 1638.
The answer: In 1664 the English arrived. They took over New Netherlands and began colonizing what they named New Jersey (originally Nova Caesarea) on a serious scale--complete with proprietary governors, guarantees of freedom of religion, counties (by 1682), and townships (soon after).
What were they thinking?
The English king--thinking that the voyages of John Cabot nearly two hundred years earlier gave Britain claim to the lands of New Netherlands--ordered the takeover. The king was Charles II (son of the Charles beheaded by Oliver Cromwell). On September 8, 1664, four English frigates sailed into New Amsterdam har-
Sir George Carteret
Lord John Berkeley
bor and seized (without resistance) all of New Netherlands for the British crown. New Amsterdam became New York (named for the Duke of York, the king’s brother, who had organized the mission).
What happened to New Jersey?
In appreciation for their loyal support during the English Civil War, the Duke of York granted Sir George Carteret and Lord John Berkeley the land that would become New Jersey. Both men had defended King Charles I and the crown against Cromwell. They named their land grant New Jersey after the Isle of Jersey, Carteret’s home (where he had harbored the exiled Charles II before the restoration of the monarchy).
In 1673, Berkeley sold his share of the land grant to the Quakers, and the colony was officially divided into East and West W New Jersey. The boundary ran roughly from the ocean (just north of today’s Atlantic City) to the Delaware (just north of today’s Delaware Water Gap). The two parts were reunited in 1702, when the Quakers’ West New Jersey went bankrupt and ownership was returned to the crown. The East-West division is still evident in the Burlington/Ocean and Hunterdon/Somerset county borders.
Although Dutch (pur (purple) and Swedish (blue) settlements extended into New Jersey, the colony was largely uninhabited by Europeans until the English takeover in 1664.
From its role in the founding of the country to its contributions to the arts and sciences, New Jersey’s story is a fascinating tale. Throughout 2014, chapters of that story are being told at venues across the state. Visit nj350.com for details.
The Museum celebrates its 30th
A “The Coming of the English,” by Howard Pyle, depicts Peter Stuyvesant on September 8, 1664, ready to surrender his undefended colony. New Amsterdam was quickly renamed New York (after the king’s brother, the Duke of York, who organized the “invasion”). Little else changed for the Dutch settlers, who continued life much as before. (The mural is found in the Hudson County Court House, Jersey City)
lthough we count our years in decades, not centuries, and the whole state is unlikely to join in our celebration, we are excited this year to acknowledge our own milestone. The Township of Ocean Historical Museum incorporated in 1984. That makes this our 30th anniversary. We’ve come a long way--from two rooms in the Oakhurst School to the Eden Woolley House, from a modest local resource to the “Best Museum in Monmouth County.” Join us August 17 to celebrate. Details inside.