Secaucus, New Jersey


Secaucus is a town in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 from the 2010 census count of 16,264, which in turn reflected an increase of 333 from the 15,931 counted in the 2000 census.
Located within the New Jersey Meadowlands, it is the most suburban of the county's municipalities, though large parts of the town are dedicated to light manufacturing, retail, and transportation uses, as well as protected areas.
Secaucus is a derivation of the Algonquian words for "black" and "snake", or "place of snakes", or from sekakes, referring to snakes.

History

Sikakes, once an island, was part of the territory purchased by Director-General of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant in 1658. The territory was part of what is considered to be the oldest municipality in the state of New Jersey which was first chartered in 1660 as Bergen in the province of New Netherland and, in 1683, became Bergen Township.
Settlement had begun by at least 1733 by the Smith family, whose namesake Abel I. Smith Burial Ground is part of the lore of Secaucus.
Secaucus was originally formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 12, 1900, from portions of North Bergen. On June 7, 1917, Secaucus was incorporated as a town, replacing Secaucus borough, based on the results of a referendum held on June 5, 1917.
Secaucus was originally an agricultural community specializing in flowers. It later became known for its pig farms in the first half of the 20th century. In the early 1900s the town was home to approximately 55 pig farms, which reached a peak of nearly 250,000 pigs in World War II, outnumbering humans 16 to 1. These farms served the meat demands of Newark and New York, and made the farmers wealthy. Many of them were local politicians, most notably pork peddler Henry B. Krajewski, who ran for New Jersey senator, three times for governor and twice for U.S. President. The town's pig farms, rendering plants, and junk yards gave the town a reputation for being one of the most odorous in the New York metropolitan area. An ordinance passed in 1947 prohibited new farms, and in the 1950s the pig farms began to dwindle, partially after 11 of the farms were acquired for construction of the New Jersey Turnpike, which would carry tourists who would not appreciate the odor; the last farms were shut down by court order in the late 1950s.
In 1963, debris from the demolition of the original Pennsylvania Station was dumped in the Secaucus Meadowlands, including a set of statues that had been unceremoniously tossed away. In later decades Secaucus became more of a commuter town. In a non-binding referendum in 1969, 90% of voters in Secaucus chose to leave Hudson County and join Bergen County, as that county was more similar in character and had lower taxes. However, only the state has the authority to change county lines, so it never came to fruition. Today it remains the most suburban town in Hudson County. Despite being geographically located within Hudson County, Secaucus Public Library is a member of Bridging Communities, Connecting Library Services.
On February 9, 1996, two NJ Transit commuter trains collided at Bergen Junction in Secaucus when a train operating on the Bergen Line ran a signal and sideswiped a train running on the Main Line. The accident occurred during the morning rush hour just south of the current Secaucus Junction station. With three fatalities, the incident is NJ Transit's deadliest accident and was the first to involve fatalities of the passenger and crew on NJ Transit.
New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Secaucus as its 182nd best place to live in its 2010 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey, after ranking the borough 11th in its 2008 rankings.

Geography

Secaucus is an island in the New Jersey Meadowlands. The Hackensack River runs along western side of town. Penhorn Creek and Cromakill Creek are its eastern borders.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town had a total area of 6.54 square miles, including 5.83 square miles of land and 0.72 square miles of water.
At the southern end of Secaucus is Snake Hill, an igneous rock diabase intrusion jutting up some from the Meadowlands below, near the New Jersey Turnpike.
Being partly surrounded by the meadowlands, Secaucus provides opportunities to observe the recovery of natural marshes in the town's post-industrial, post-agricultural age. Some marsh areas in the northeast part of town have been filled to provide a new commercial area, and some to build footpaths for nature walks with signs illustrating birds and other wildlife to be seen there. At 27.4%, it has the most open "green" space in of any town in Hudson County.
Secaucus borders the municipalities of Jersey City, Kearny and North Bergen in Hudson County; and Carlstadt, East Rutherford, Lyndhurst, Rutherford in Bergen County.
Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the town include:

North End

As its name suggests, the North End in Secaucus, New Jersey, is the section of town north of New Jersey Route 3 and the Secaucus Plaza Central Business District, to which it is connected by Paterson Plank Road. The Hackensack River and its tributary Mill Creek create the other borders for the district.
The North End is one of the older, traditional residential neighborhoods of Secaucus, which itself has been transformed to a commuter town and retail and outlet shopping area in the late 20th century. It is home to Secaucus High School. Nearby Schmidt's Woods is one of the last original hardwood forests in urban North Jersey. As part of the New Jersey Meadowlands District, the areas along the river are characterized by wetlands preservation and restoration areas. Mill Creek Marsh is park administered by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and will eventually connect to the Secaucus Greenway. It southern counterpart is known as Riverbend. The Mill Creek Mall, which is part of Harmon Meadow, is also located north of Route 3, but on the other side of Mill Creek, close to the New Jersey Turnpike Eastern Spur.

Harmon Cove

Harmon Cove is the western section of Secaucus, New Jersey along the Hackensack River, south of New Jersey Route 3. The name is portmanteau taken from Hartz Mountain, a corporation that owns much land in the New Jersey Meadowlands, which originally developed the area as a gated community in the 1970s with townhouses and highrise residential buildings. Part of the Hackensack RiverWalk Secaucus Greenway passes through the neighborhood, which is north of Anderson Marsh and Snake Hill, home to Hudson County's Laurel Hill Park.
NJ Transit maintained a Harmon Cove station from 1978 until the re-routing of the Bergen County Line and the opening of Secaucus Junction in August 2003. This caused NJ Transit bus 972 to be created, which connected the area of the Harmon Cove station to Secaucus Junction, and in 2006 the route was renumbered to 329. The HX Draw is used by the line to cross the river. NJ Transit bus 329 serves the area. The Hudson Regional Hospital and several hotels are located in Harmon Cove, whose main thoroughfare is Meadowlands Parkway, along which office and manufacturing buildings are found. The Harmon Cove Outlet Center is an [|outlet shopping district] further inland from the Hackensack riverfront. Hartz Mountain Industries operates many facilities and properties in Harmon Cove.

Demographics

In the 2009–2013 American Community Survey, about 20% of the town's employed residents commute to New York City to work.

2020 census

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 16,264 people, 6,297 households, and 4,112 families in the town. The population density was 2,793.7 per square mile. There were 6,846 housing units at an average density of 1,175.9 per square mile. The racial makeup was 68.40% White, 4.11% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 20.40% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.38% from other races, and 2.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.60% of the population.
Of the 6,297 households, 27.9% had children under the age of 18; 50.0% were married couples living together; 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present and 34.7% were non-families. Of all households, 29.1% were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.09.
19.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females, the population had 94.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 90.5 males.
The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that median household income was $82,289 and the median family income was $96,475. Males had a median income of $58,902 versus $54,665 for females. The per capita income for the town was $38,375. About 4.7% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.9% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.