County of city: Jersey County
Location of courthouse: 201 W. Pearl Street, Jerseyville
Location of city: just N of center in county; crossroads of IL-16 & US-67, IL-109
Founded: 1827
Named after: the State of New Jersey, which derived its name from the Isle of Jersey in Great Britain
Elevation: 656 ft (200 m)
Population: 8,289 (2021)
"Situated on a prairie in southwest Illinois, Jerseyville has great shopping and dining and a good old-fashioned county fair.
"Stroll down the historic State Street and enjoy fine dining, interesting boutiques and local makers. Be sure to wander through the new City Center District. These are just a small part of Jerseyville's community identity." ~ Rivers & Routes
"In 1827, James Faulkner, a Pennsylvania native, and his family built a small-framed structure named the "Little Red House" in the area now Jerseyville. The Little Red House served as the first stagecoach stop, first tavern, first school, and first bank in the immediate area.
"The Hickory Grove settlement was near a timbered point on the Macoupin prairie, Greene County, twelve miles south of Carrollton and on the road to Alton, Illinois. Situated upon a broad, rolling prairie, rich in everything that tends to make a country desirable, it certainly merits the highest encomiums (praises someone or something highly) that can be lavished upon it. The townsite is such that drainage is easily obtained – by no means a small desideratum (something that is needed or wanted) – and is well protected by timber from the cold winds which usually sweep across the face of our prairies. About four miles to the west, there was an abundance of timber, chiefly oak, also oaks to the north and northeast.
"By 1834, the small settlement that grew up around Faulkner's house in Hickory Grove was surveyed and platted by two immigrants from New Jersey, John Lott and Edward M. Daly.
"The Streets are broad and pleasant for the most part. Upon either side of the street are magnificent shade trees, which, during the summer season, gave the city almost the appearance of another Arcadia, Illinois. Many of the residences' yards are filled with choice and beautiful flowers, which added to the verdure (the fresh green color of vegetation) of the trees and shrubs, form a tout ensemble extremely gratifying to the eyes of the beholder.
"In recent decades, Jerseyville has been a testing ground in agricultural biotechnology. Bayer (formerly Monsanto) owns and operates a facility located just south of the city. In 1987, was the site of the world's first biotechnology field trial – first with tomatoes and later that year with soybeans. The facility was also home to the first triple-stacked corn trial in 1998, which later became a part of one of Monsanto's top-selling products. The facility was further expanded in 2008 and now consists of sixteen greenhouses and almost 300 acres of land for field testing.
"The Downtown Historic District is home to some antique stores, gift shops, clothing and shoe stores, a pharmacy, a public library, a post office, and several local restaurants and banks. Most of the growth that has occurred since the early 1990s has been in the southern and southwestern portions of the city, where new residential subdivisions and retail shopping centers have been built, and numerous land annexations have been made by the city." ~ Illinois History Journal
New Jersey:
Population: 9,288,994
"New Jersey is a state situated within both the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is the most densely populated U.S. state, and is situated at the center of the Northeast megalopolis, the most populous American urban agglomeration. New Jersey is bordered on its north and east by the state of New York; on its east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on its west by the Delaware River and Pennsylvania; and on its southwest by Delaware Bay and the state of Delaware. At 7,354 square miles (19,050 km2), New Jersey is the fifth-smallest state in land area, but with close to 9.3 million residents as of the 2020 United States census, its highest decennial count ever, ranks 11th in population. The state capital is Trenton, and the most populous city is Newark. New Jersey is the only U.S. state in which every county is deemed urban by the U.S. Census Bureau, with 13 counties included in the New York metropolitan area, seven counties in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, and with Warren County constituting part of the rapidly industrializing Lehigh Valley metropolitan area.
"New Jersey was first inhabited by Paleo-Indians as early as 13,000 B.C.E., with the Lenape being the dominant indigenous group when Europeans arrived in the early 17th century. Dutch and Swedish colonists founded the first European settlements in the state, with the British later seizing control of the region and establishing the Province of New Jersey, named after the largest of the Channel Islands. The colony's fertile lands and relative religious tolerance drew a large and diverse population. New Jersey was among the Thirteen Colonies that supported the American Revolution, hosting numerous pivotal battles and military commands in the American Revolutionary War. On December 18, 1787, it became the third state to ratify the United States Constitution, and thus be admitted to the Union, and was the first state to ratify the U.S. Bill of Rights on November 20, 1789.
"New Jersey remained in the Union during the American Civil War and provided troops, resources, and military leaders. After the war, the state emerged as a major manufacturing center and a leading destination for immigrants, helping drive the Industrial Revolution in the U.S. New Jersey was the site of many industrial, technological, and commercial innovations, including the first town (Roselle) to be illuminated by electricity, the first incandescent light bulb, and the first steam locomotive. Many prominent Americans associated with New Jersey have proven influential nationally and globally, including in academia, advocacy, business, entertainment, government, military, non-profit leadership, and other fields.
"New Jersey's central location in the Northeast megalopolis helped fuel its rapid growth and suburbanization in the second half of the 20th century. At the turn of the 21st century, its economy increasingly diversified, with major sectors including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, specialized agriculture, and information technology. New Jersey remains a major destination for immigrants and is home to one of the most ethnically diverse and multicultural populations in the world. Echoing historical trends, the state has increasingly re-urbanized, with growth in cities outpacing suburbs since 2008. New Jersey is one of the wealthiest states in the U.S., consistently ranking as one of the top three by median household income. Almost one-tenth of all households, or over 323,000 of 3.3 million, are millionaires, the highest rate of any U.S. state. New Jersey's public school system consistently ranks at or among the top of all U.S. states. According to climatology research by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, New Jersey has been the fastest-warming state by average air temperature over a 100-year period beginning in the early 20th century, due to persistent warming of the North Atlantic Ocean." ~ Wikipedia