Newark, Our Neighbor, Has Two Patch Sites

We all come from the cities. And the cities have been kind to generations of us. Early settlers named Newark for “new ark of the covenant,” according to some beliefs, for it was a second try in the New World. Those same English, Welsh and Dutch tried to establish their utopia first in Connecticut. Some 30 families arrived in New Jersey in 1666, having left the New Haven Colony disappointed. (Yes, this is why a town in Union County is called Connecticut Farms and it explains why the same names populate Lyme CT burial grounds and the .) Newark was good to them, and they stayed to have families, fight a revolutionary battle, establish school and houses of worship that exist to this day.

Since that first wave of settlers, who soon pushed over First Mountain to establish the Oranges, generations of immigrants have come to Newark. Many stayed and thrived; others moved to the ‘burbs, establishing ethnic neighborhoods and enclaves that remain, creating history one family at a time.

In the past two years, I have looked closely at Essex County history, I’ve marveled at how each national or even global wave of immigration or economic boom or bust has been played out locally, in Newark. And that has tremendous impact on all the areas around Newark – most of which were once part of the city proper.

So it’s a particular thrill to see Newark thrive, and a pleasure to welcome two Newark Patch sites, which are live today. Westward.patch.com is ably edited by Joshua Wilwohl, while SouthWardPatch.com edited by the talented Lia Eustachewich. Their sites and their work will tell stories of the Newark’s present and future.

Especially when I drive the major arteries here, whether South Orange Avenue, Springfield Avenue, or even Route 280, I am reminded that, as in ancient times, when all roads led to Rome, our routes head east to the heart of the city. For each of our local towns has grown from Newark and continues to be influenced by that “new ark,” that fresh start that cities promise, generation after generation, year after year.