The Heights (Ward D)
Like most of Jersey City and the surrounding area, The Heights was settled by the Dutch in the 1600’s. It wasn’t until 1869 that The Heights became a part of it. It was an independent municipality called Hudson City, settled with the help of agent Cornelius Van Vorst from the Dutch West India Company. The Dutch were farm-oriented people with plans to grow crops here, but once they started digging, they found that a foot or two down was solid rock. It wasn’t very helpful to their original plans so in-turn, they planted apple and peach orchards. The Heights had a very rustic and country feel at the time. The Heights became home to a huge German immigrant population, it was even the neighborhoods primary language.
FUN FACT: In 1910, Pathé, the largest film and production company for silent movies in the world, set up their factory in the Heights and in 1914 produced The Perils of Pauline (a 20 episode series partially filmed in the neighborhood). It’s even said that the term “cliffhanger” came from this series, due to episodes featuring the damsel in distress, Pauline, hanging from the Palisades cliffs and facing her imminent death.
The Heights is becoming the new go-to spot for living, eating, and playing and offers an abundance of lush green parks, shops, restaurants, and fantastic art districts.
The neighborhoods within The Heights are Chelsea, Sparrow Hill, Washington Village, and Western Slope.
