Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city’s population was 63,024, reflecting an increase of 1,182 (+1.9%) from the 61,842 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 398 (+0.6%) from the 61,444 counted in the 1990 Census.
Bayonne was originally formed as a township on April 1, 1861, from portions of Bergen Township. Bayonne was reincorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 10, 1869, replacing Bayonne Township, subject to the results of a referendum held nine days later. At the time it was formed, Bayonne included the communities of Bergen Point, Constable Hook, Centreville, Pamrapo and Saltersville.
Bayonne is east of Newark, the state’s largest city, north of Elizabeth in Union County and west of Brooklyn. It shares a land border with Jersey City to the north and is connected to Staten Island by the Bayonne Bridge. While somewhat diminished, traditional manufacturing, distribution, and maritime activities remain a driving force of the economy of the city, and a portion of the Port of New York and New Jersey is located there.
Originally inhabited by Native Americans, the region presently known as Bayonne was claimed by the Netherlands after Henry Hudson explored the Hudson River which is named after him. According to Royden Page Whitcomb’s 1904 book, First History of Bayonne, New Jersey, the name Bayonne is speculated to have originated with Bayonne, France, from which Huguenots settled for a year before the founding of New Amsterdam. However, there is no empirical evidence for this notion, which is considered apocryphal. Whitcomb gives more credence to the idea that Erastus Randall, E.C. Bramhall and B.F. Woolsey, who bought the land owned by Jasper and William Cadmus for real estate speculation, named it Bayonne for purposes of real estate speculation, because it was located on the shores of two bays, Newark and New York.
Significant civil unrest arose during the Bayonne refinery strikes of 1915–1916, in which mostly Polish American workers staged labor actions against Standard Oil of New Jersey and Tidewater Petroleum, seeking improved pay and working conditions. Four striking workers were killed when strikebreakers protected by police fired into a crowd.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 11.082 square miles (28.702 km2), including 5.804 square miles (15.033 km2) of land and 5.278 square miles (13.669 km2) of water (47.62%) was water.
The city is located south of Jersey City on a peninsula earlier known as Bergen Neck surrounded by Upper New York Bay to the east, Newark Bay to the west, and Kill Van Kull to the south.
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the city include: Bergen Point, Constable Hook and Port Johnson.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 63,024 people, 25,237 households, and 16,051 families residing in the city. The population density was 10,858.3 per square mile (4,192.4/km2). There were 27,799 housing units at an average density of 4,789.4 per square mile (1,849.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 69.21% (43,618) White, 8.86% (5,584) Black or African American, 0.31% (194) Native American, 7.71% (4,861) Asian, 0.03% (16) Pacific Islander, 10.00% (6,303) from other races, and 3.88% (2,448) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.79% (16,251) of the population. Non-Hispanic Whites were 56.8% of the population.
Source: Wikipedia
