Historic Ellis Island, which welcomed millions of immigrants to the U.S. between 1892 and 1954, is located in both New Jersey and New York. This was determined by a 1998 U.S. Supreme Court case, which settled a longtime dispute between the two states. It determined that while the main building and museum are located in New York, the majority of the island is part of New Jersey.

John Philip Holland is credited as “the Father of the Modern Submarine.” On May 22, 1878, Holland launched his vessel into the Passaic River in Paterson, New Jersey, for the first time. The ship descended to 12 feet during its inaugural run, and during its second run Holland kept the submarine at the bottom of the river for an hour.

The first people to live on the land now known as New Jersey were the Delaware Indians of the greater Lenape peoples. The Delaware Indians settled in the northeastern United States around 10,000 years ago, and there were about 10,000 to 20,000 people living there when Europeans arrived in the 17th century. Their territory covered parts of modern-day New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

College football may not exist today if not for Rutgers University, which has been nicknamed the “birthplace of college football.” On November 6, 1869, the school hosted Princeton in the first-ever intercollegiate football contest, with Rutgers coming out ahead by a score of 6-4. The teams faced off again a week later with Princeton defeating Rutgers 8-0.

The New Jersey Devils are the only major professional sports team to claim a New Jersey origin, despite a number of other teams who actually play in the state. The Devils take their name from the fictional creature known throughout the state as the "Jersey Devil," which is purported to roam the Pine Barrens causing chaos. The hockey team, whose home stadium is in Newark, has won three Stanley Cup titles, most recently in 2003.

On July 11, 1804, Hamilton and Burr squared off in Weehawken, New Jersey to settle a long-standing disagreement between the two, during which Burr fired a fatal shot that killed Hamilton. New Jersey was chosen because their anti-dueling laws were less strictly enforced than in New York. The duel took place on a remote cliffside ledge along the Weehawken shore, which overlooks the modern-day Manhattan skyline.

Grover Cleveland is perhaps most famous for being the only U.S. President to serve two non-consecutive terms, however, he also holds the distinction of being the only POTUS born in New Jersey. Both the 22nd and 24th President, Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey, in 1837 before moving to upstate New York, where he spent most of his life. Another President with New Jersey ties is Woodrow Wilson, who, though not born there, served as the president of Princeton University and later became governor of the state.

Despite New Jersey's state reptile being a bog turtle, the animal doesn't appear on the state's official flag. Instead, New Jersey flies a light tan flag with the state coat of arms in the center, featuring two female figures on either side of a shield with three plows. They hold a staff with a phrygian cap and a cornucopia featuring a bunch of grapes.

The back of the New Jersey state quarter, which was issued in 1999, features a design based on Emanuel Leutze's painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware." The event, which took place the night of Christmas in 1776, occurred on the present-day border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey as George Washington's troops organized a surprise attack on the British outside Trenton. Beneath the historic depiction, the quarter reads, "Crossroads of the Revolution," serving as a reminder that New Jersey was home to some of the most pivotal battles of the American Revolutionary War.

The properties in Monopoly’s original 1930s version are named after locations in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Monopoly was inspired by a similar game called Landlord’s Game, which was played across the U.S. at the time. A woman named Ruth Hoskins introduced that game to her friends in New Jersey, who amended the rules and renamed locations after Atlantic City landmarks like Boardwalk and Marven Gardens.

The first blueberries to ever be cultivated were grown in the early 1900s by Elizabeth Coleman White in Whitesbog, New Jersey. More than 90 years later, a group of fourth-graders in New Jersey began a campaign to have the state government officially recognize the fruit's history in the area. After presentations to local governing bodies, media interviews, and a petition drive, the New Jersey legislature finally made the blueberry New Jersey's official state fruit in 2004.

Before Washington, D.C. was chosen as the nation's capital, Congress convened in a variety of cities throughout the 13 colonies. Among those were Princeton in 1783 and Trenton in 1784. Despite hosting Congress for fewer than six months combined, both New Jersey cities are still both considered among the historic national capitals of the United States.

In late 1875, famed inventor Thomas Edison purchased a few parcels of land in the rural area of Menlo Park, New Jersey — an unincorporated town in Middlesex County. There, he and his father built what would become Edison's laboratory, which he officially opened the next year. At the Menlo Park lab, Edison invented the phonograph, the incandescent lightbulb, and applied for more than 400 patents before moving to New York City to expand his operations.

In 1960 Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito, and Nick Massi joined together in Newark to become the Four Seasons, one of the best-selling musical groups of all time. The quartet was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, and in 2006 became the subject of the successful Broadway jukebox musical, "Jersey Boys." It was adapted into a movie in 2014.

First opened in 1870, Atlantic City's famed boardwalk was the first of its kind in the world. Not only that, but with a full length of more than five miles, it is also the longest boardwalk on Earth. Featuring rolling chairs, beachside restaurants, and some of the world's most renowned saltwater taffy, the Atlantic City Boardwalk is one of New Jersey's most popular tourist attractions.

Released in 1973, "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." was the debut studio album of New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen. The Boss was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and grew up in the town of Freehold. His first album featured musicians who would later become members of the E Street Band and began with the song "Blinded by the Light," which became a #1 hit four years later when it was covered by Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

Though New Jersey isn't the birthplace of the diner, it is considered to be the diner capital of the world, having more of this kind of eating establishments than any other state in the country. More than 500 diners dot the urban landscape across New Jersey, and the state helped to popularize the restaurant style.

In 1664, the British took control of what was then the Dutch New Netherlands, adding the area that is now New Jersey to their American colonial holdings. They divided the land in half, giving the east side to the control of Sir George Carteret, the former governor of the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel. Under his leadership, the colony was officially named New Jersey after the island across the Atlantic, which today is a self-governing Crown Dependency of the U.K.

According to the 2020 census, Newark, which is located on Newark Bay near New York City, is the most populous city in the Garden State. At the last population calculation, Newark topped 300,000 residents for the first time since 1980. Coming in second is Jersey City, which is growing at a faster rate and is poised to take the top spot by the next census.

While speaking at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia on New Jersey Day (August 24) in 1876, Abraham Browning of Camden bestowed the East Coast state with its nickname. He described the Garden State as an immense barrel, filled with good things to eat and open at both ends, with Pennsylvanians grabbing from one end and New Yorkers from the other. The nickname has stuck for the 140 years since and was officially added to New Jersey license plates in 1954.