# There is indeed a Central Jersey. Naysayers are wrong. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 22, 2018, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599 "2018-06-22T23:20:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/21 "2018-06-23T15:24:56Z")
Delaware definitely does exist. You can find it by googling Salem, NJ, getting maps, then moving slowly west and bit north from Salem, past Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Center and there you will find a half square mile of uninhabited land clearly labeled Delaware. Incidentally, Salem is SW from Philly, which most people claim is not possible. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/22 "2018-06-23T16:21:33Z")
New Jersey is way too small a state to have 3 separate sections. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/23 "2018-06-23T16:36:36Z")
There are really just two divisions - Jersey (the decaying cities and industrial/refining hellhole to the west of NYC and environs) and South Jersey. Rumor has it that there is pretty forested/semi-mountainous country in the extreme north, but that’s really just part of New York State that drifted south over the line during the Pleistocene era. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/24 "2018-06-23T17:08:57Z")
If you, of all people, assert the existence of a Central New Jersey, you should be prepared for the obvious follow-up question as to its location. > [@](#): > > Quoth **Patx2** : > > I would never consider Camden a suburb. I get what you mean with its proximity to Philly, but it ends there. I’ve met multiple people who, if you ask them where they’re from, will tell you Philadelphia. And it’s only once you ask for more specifics about where in Philadelphia, that they admit that they’re in an entirely different state. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/25 "2018-06-23T17:11:59Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Delaware definitely does exist. You can find it by googling Salem, NJ, getting maps, then moving slowly west and bit north from Salem, past Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Center and there you will find a half square mile of uninhabited land clearly labeled Delaware. > > Incidentally, Salem is SW from Philly, which most people claim is not possible. Delaware exists but many people think it does not because it used to close on some days. I believe the cost of maintaining a state which consists of nothing but it’s existence as a state was too high to keep it open all day, every day. This led some people to believe it didn’t actually exist. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/26 "2018-06-23T17:50:51Z")
> [@carlb](#): > > I grew up in Hamilton Township (Yardville, to be exact). I always tell people I grew up near Trenton, because nobody knows where Yardville is. My wife has been trying for decades to get me to say, “near Princeton,” because it sounds better. Sorry, but I’m not snobby enough to be from Princeton. 🙂 We moved to Pennington after 2 years. And said that was between Princeton and Trenton. Princeton has become a tourist trap, over-expensive, full of chain stores. When we lived there there were lots of independent stores. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/27 "2018-06-23T21:09:09Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > New Jersey is way too small a state to have 3 separate sections. But we have a lot of people. We’re around 9 million people. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > There are really just two divisions - Jersey (the decaying cities and industrial/refining hellhole to the west of NYC and environs) and South Jersey. > > Rumor has it that there is pretty forested/semi-mountainous country in the extreme north, but that’s really just part of New York State that drifted south over the line during the Pleistocene era. South Jersey is pretty rural though and Central Jersey is pretty much pure suburbs except for Middlesex that’s actually Urban. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/28 "2018-06-23T21:09:32Z")
There are 2 regions in New Jersey. There are the places within an hour’s drive of Newark Airport. And there is everywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/29 "2018-06-23T22:36:21Z")
If HBO has taught me anything, it’s that Tony Soprano controls North Jersey and Nucky Thompson controls South Jersey. Who controls Central Jersey? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/30 "2018-06-23T23:24:21Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > If HBO has taught me anything, it’s that Tony Soprano controls North Jersey and Nucky Thompson controls South Jersey. > > Who controls Central Jersey? Why the Boss of course, Bruce Springsteen. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/31 "2018-06-24T02:10:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If you, of all people, assert the existence of a Central New Jersey, you should be prepared for the obvious follow-up question as to its location. Between 78 and 195. Next question. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/32 "2018-06-24T02:37:03Z")
The 1676 Quintipartite Deed, dividing the future state into East Jersey and West Jersey, got it exactly right. Nothing’s changed much since: [https://www.njgsbc.org/new-jersey-at-350-a-short-history-of-colonial-new-jersey-land-records/?cn-reloaded=1](https://www.njgsbc.org/new-jersey-at-350-a-short-history-of-colonial-new-jersey-land-records/?cn-reloaded=1) (Scroll down to second map) ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/33 "2018-06-24T03:45:34Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Between 78 and 195. Next question. I doubt whether the residents of Union, Springfield, Newark (Southern part), Elizabeth, Rahway, Roselle, Cranford, Scotch Plains, Watchung, or Pohatcong consider themselves members of the Central Jersey community. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/34 "2018-06-24T05:28:14Z")
My dad’s from Teaneck, my moms from Atlantic City (actually Margate) and my aunt lived in Princeton. Those are three very different arras. > [@Flyer](#): > > New Jersey is way too small a state to have 3 separate sections. Are you kidding? I live in an entire country the size of NJ with at least 10 different sections. You just have to put some effort into it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/35 "2018-06-24T07:31:59Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > There are 2 regions in New Jersey. There are the places within an hour’s drive of Newark Airport. And there is everywhere else. Wow - a border depending strongly on traffic on the Turnpike! I traveled a lot for work, and lived pretty much equidistant from EWR and PHL. So distance to Newark Airport was very significant to me. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/36 "2018-06-24T12:07:05Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Between 78 and 195. Next question. Rt 78 is too far North on the eastern side. Woodbridge is probably the northern town of Central Jersey, so around exit 132 on the Parkway living up to my user name. The southern end of Central Jersey goes a bit further than Rt 195. The question is, is it Pt. Pleasant, Brick or Toms River? Some say it is all of Ocean County though that seems a bit much. Tuckerton is clearly South Jersey. Toms River & Seaside Heights are probably the south border on the eastern side of Central Jersey. So probably exit 77 as the furthest that Central Jersey goes south. Burlington is pretty much South Jersey. Here is the [NJ.com](http://NJ.com) attempt to define it, [Here are the North, Central and South Jersey borders as determined by you (INTERACTIVE) - nj.com](https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/mapping_njs_unofficial_north_central_and_south_jer.html) \*\*In conclusion, I think Central Jersey is a state of mind. \*\*And without any question I am in it. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/37 "2018-06-24T20:21:04Z")
So… what is the Central Jersey state of mind? Also, what’s the quintessential Central Jersey city? Trenton? (That used to be South Jersey.) > [@JKellyMap](#): > > The 1676 Quintipartite Deed, dividing the future state into East Jersey and West Jersey, got it exactly right. Nothing’s changed much since: > > [https://www.njgsbc.org/new-jersey-at-350-a-short-history-of-colonial-new-jersey-land-records/?cn-reloaded=1](https://www.njgsbc.org/new-jersey-at-350-a-short-history-of-colonial-new-jersey-land-records/?cn-reloaded=1) > > (Scroll down to second map) ## I like the first map actually, as it places the modern day Morris County inside the greater NYC orbit (where Newark/Jersey City/Hoboken are part of greater NYC). Yes, yes, North Jersey isn’t exactly a ring city anymore. This rail line map from NJ transit seems somehow relevant: [https://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf\_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainSchedulesMapTo](https://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainSchedulesMapTo) Maybe Metropark is near the southern border of North Jersey? ETA: How long has Central Jersey existed? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/38 "2018-06-24T22:03:19Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > So… what is the Central Jersey state of mind? > > ## Also, what’s the quintessential Central Jersey city? Trenton? (That used to be South Jersey.) I like the first map actually, as it places the modern day Morris County inside the greater NYC orbit (where Newark/Jersey City/Hoboken are part of greater NYC). Yes, yes, North Jersey isn’t exactly a ring city anymore. > > This rail line map from NJ transit seems somehow relevant: [https://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf\_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainSchedulesMapTo](https://www.njtransit.com/sf/sf_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainSchedulesMapTo) > > Maybe Metropark is near the southern border of North Jersey? > > ETA: How long has Central Jersey existed? Central Jersey is probably a post-war phenom when suburbia really reached into Monmouth and then Ocean counties. Toms River is about the southern most town that has a fairly large number of commuters live in that crawl into NYC each day. Before WWII Monmouth and Ocean were very rural and agricultural and really fit pretty well into the South Jersey concept rather then their own thing. Middlesex already had some real population and probably once Central Jersey became a concept was pulled into the concept as it straddles the Raritan River. Middlesex is tricky though as a lot of it is urban now and Central Jersey is mostly suburban bedroom communities. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/39 "2018-06-24T22:09:10Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > The 1676 Quintipartite Deed, dividing the future state into East Jersey and West Jersey, got it exactly right. Nothing’s changed much since: > > [https://www.njgsbc.org/new-jersey-at-350-a-short-history-of-colonial-new-jersey-land-records/?cn-reloaded=1](https://www.njgsbc.org/new-jersey-at-350-a-short-history-of-colonial-new-jersey-land-records/?cn-reloaded=1) > > (Scroll down to second map) You beat me to it. Wikipedia article here: > **[East Jersey](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Jersey)** > > The Province of East Jersey, along with the Province of West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702 in accordance with the Quintipartite Deed, were two distinct political divisions of the Province of New Jersey, which became the U.S. state of New Jersey. The two provinces were amalgamated in 1702. East Jersey's capital was located at Perth Amboy. Determination of an exact location for a border between West Jersey and East Jersey was often a matter of dispute. > The area comprising East Jersey had been part... > **[West Jersey](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Jersey)** > > West Jersey and East Jersey were two distinct parts of the Province of New Jersey. The political division existed for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702. Determination of an exact location for a border between West Jersey and East Jersey was often a matter of dispute. > The Delaware Valley had been inhabited by the Lenape (or Delaware) Indians prior to European exploration and settlement starting around 1609, undertaken by the Dutch, Swedish and English. The Dutch West India Company had established o... ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599/40 "2018-06-24T22:24:07Z")
> [@carlb](#): > > I grew up in Hamilton Township (Yardville, to be exact). I always tell people I grew up near Trenton, because nobody knows where Yardville is. My wife has been trying for decades to get me to say, “near Princeton,” because it sounds better. Sorry, but I’m not snobby enough to be from Princeton. 🙂 That’s because you never said it to me. Yardville is a couple blocks down the road from me, just past Acme. ETA: Of course, posting my own location as “Trenton, NJ” proves your point. 🙂 ETA2: Thoroughly Central NJ though! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-is-indeed-a-central-jersey-naysayers-are-wrong/816599.md?page=3)