New Jersey Fun Facts
Information About New Jersey, New Jersey Geography,and New Jersey Schools

New Jersey is often referred to unofficially as "The Garden State." New Jersey's motto is "Liberty and prosperity." New Jersey is the only state without an official song.

Residents of New Jersey can be referred to as "New Jerseyites" or "New Jerseyans."

The abbreviation for New Jersey is NJ. The capital of New Jersey is Trenton and the largest city is Newark.

In 1664, the Dutch lost New Netherlands when the British took control of the land and added it to their colonies. They divided the land in half and gave control to two proprietors: Sir George Carteret (who was in charge of the east side) and Lord John Berkley (who was in charge of the west side). The land was officially named New Jersey after the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel. Carteret had been governor of the Isle of Jersey.

New Jersey is ranked ninth in population and received its statehood December 18, 1787.

The Eastern Goldfinch is the state bird of New Jersey. The state flower is the Purple Violet and the state tree is the Red Oak.

The bordering states of New Jersey are New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Like New Hampshire, New Jersey's shorelines the Atlantic Ocean.

One major industry of New Jersey is the farming of potatoes, tomatoes and peaches. Chemicals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum-based products, insurance and tourism are also major industries in New Jersey.

There were 1,227,832 K12 students in the New Jersey public schools in 1996. Out of those students 104,581 were first grade students. There were also 87,643 K12 public school teachers in the New Jersey public schools system. There were a total of 2,279 New Jersey public schools in 1996. (Source: IES National Center for Education Statistics)