Passaic County, NJ, is situated in the upper northeastern portion of New Jersey, created from portions of Bergen County and Essex County in 1837. It is a diverse area of cities and suburbs that offer a wide range of history and entertainment, to the rural tranquility vistas of the northernmost portion of the County.
Passaic County's history and landmarks offer an opportunity to take a step back in time. Paterson was named after William Paterson, the Governor of New Jersey. Lambert Castle, a park since 1928, was constructed in 1892 for the silk manufacturer Catholina Lambert. The man-made Morris Canal ran through northern New Jersey and connected the Delaware River with the Hudson River transporting people and goods throughout the state and through the Passaic County towns of Clifton, Little Falls, Paterson and the Mountain View section of Wayne.
Bucks County, PA, was founded in 1682 by William Penn and has had a long and distinguished history. Penn named the county after Buckinghamshire, the Penn family home in England. In 1752 the county, which originally extended to the New York Colony line, was reduced to its present boundaries. As settlement crept northward, agitation began for changing the county seat to a more central location. In 1810, Governor Simon Snyder signed an Act appointing a commission to select a new site. The hilltop tract they chose has continued to serve as the seat of Bucks County for almost 200 years. Since 1812, three successive courthouses have occupied the site.
Currently, Bucks County is comprised of roughly 608 square miles of land and 15.8 square miles of water. There are approximately 620,000 people within 23 boroughs and 31 townships.
Montgomery County, PA, was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part of Philadelphia County. It is believed to have been either named in honor of Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War general killed in 1775 while attempting to capture Quebec City, Canada, or for the Welsh county of Montgomeryshire (named after one of William the Conqueror's main counselors, Roger de Montgomerie), as it was part of the Welsh Tract -- an area of Pennsylvania settled by Quakers from Wales.
As of 2000, the population was 750,097. A 2008 U.S. Census estimate placed the population at more than 780,000, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia and Allegheny counties) and the 69th most populous county in the United States. The county seat is Norristown.
Sussex County, DE, was first settled by the Dutch in the early 17th century. So is the birth of Delaware history, as the town of Lewes was founded as a Dutch whaling colony in 1631. That first European settlement gives Lewes its claim to fame of being the 'First Town in the First State' and makes Sussex County the birthplace of what would become present-day Delaware.
Sussex County is named for the County of Sussex in England, which was the home of Colonial proprietor William Penn.
Today the County is diverse in both its riches and its lifestyles. It is home to numerous seaside resorts, small towns, industry, and agriculture. Along the coast, tourism is strong in the quaint and tony resort beach towns. Western Sussex County, meantime, is the backbone of Delaware's agriculture industry.
New Castle County, DE, is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware. The county seat is Wilmington. It is the most affluent of the three counties in the state of Delaware. In addition it is the smallest in area but largest in population.
On September 22, 1676, New Castle County was formally placed under the Duke of York's laws. It gained land from Upland County on November 12, 1678. Four years later, on June 21, 1680, St. Jones County was carved from New Castle County. It is known today as Kent County, Delaware.
On August 24, 1682, New Castle County, along with the rest of the surrounding land, was transferred from the Colony of New York to the possession of William Penn, who established the Colony of Delaware.
The city of Philadelphia, PA, as laid out by William Penn, comprised only that portion of the present city situated between South and Vine Streets and Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. In fact, the city proper was that portion between High (Market) Street and Dock Creek.
Here is where the pioneers dug caves in the banks of the Delaware or built huts on the land higher up.
Native Americans were more or less present, either as spectators of the improvements then progressing, or, venders of their game and venison from the neighboring wilds. The Swedes and Dutch, who were the earliest settlers, as neighbors, brought their productions to market as a matter of course.
Wilmington, DE, initially known as Fort Christina, is the first permanent settlement on Delaware soil, resulting from Peter Minuit's 1638 expedition. The town was laid out where Wilmington presently exists, and the land contracted with the Indians consisted of Old Cape Henlopen north to Sankikans (Trenton Falls), and inland as far as they desired. However, a dispute ensued between the Swedes and the Dutch, who stated they had prior claim to that land.
On September 12, 1673, the Dutch established New Amstel in present-day Delaware, fairly coterminous with today's New Castle County. It was transferred to the British under the Treaty of Westminster on February 9, 1674. On November 6, 1674, New Amstel was made dependent on New York Colony, and was renamed New Castle on November 11, 1674.
Salem County, NJ, the southwestern county of the state, is bounded West and South by the Delaware river and bay, North by Gloucester Co., and East and South by Cumberland Co. It is 28 miles long, and 25 miles wide.
The county was named by John Fenwick in 1675. The name and jurisdiction were settled by a proprietary law in 1694.
The prominent streams of Salem Co. are the Salem river, Alloways creek, Stow creek (on the border with Cumberland Co.), and Oldman's creek (shared with Gloucester Co.). The county is of alluvial formation, and generally level; the soil, mostly light sand, occasionally mixed with clay or loam. The part bordering on the Delaware is principally marshy land.
