Elizabeth, NJ 250th Anniversary Committee

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Elizabeth, NJ 250th Anniversary Committee

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🇺🇸 We're dedicated to honoring the rich history of Elizabethtown, NJ, and commemorating America's 250th anniversary in 2026.

Join us as we celebrate Elizabeth's pivotal role in shaping our nation's future.

09/23/2026

Forty years ago, St. Joseph Social Service Center began serving Elizabeth from 118 Division Street.

Founded on February 10, 1986, the center has grown from its earliest food distributions into a vital community resource—including its new client-choice pantry, where nearly 800 households each month shop by appointment.

Our latest Elizabeth 250 timeline story looks back at the people, purpose, and place behind four decades of service with dignity and compassion.

Read the story: https://goelizabethnj250.com/elizabeth-today-the-road-to-250-2000-present/st-joseph-social-service-center-elizabeth-1986-2026/

09/15/2026

Step into Elizabeth in December 1873.

A surviving issue of the Elizabeth Daily Monitor brings together weather forecasts, court notices, concerts, railroad schedules, shop advertisements, and news from around the world—offering a vivid, if incomplete, glimpse of what one local newspaper placed before Elizabeth readers.

Read “December 1873: Everyday Elizabeth Through the Daily Monitor” and explore the city’s history through the voices and details of the daily press.

https://goelizabethnj250.com/elizabeth-daily-monitor-december-1873/

09/11/2026

Before Princeton, there was Elizabethtown.

In May 1747, the College of New Jersey held its first classes in the parsonage of the Rev. Jonathan Dickinson—right here in present-day Elizabeth. The institution later moved to Newark and then Princeton, but its first working term began in Elizabethtown.

The story also includes Genny, a woman Dickinson enslaved. The surviving record does not establish every detail of her daily life, but her presence belongs in any honest account of the college’s beginning.

Read the full story: https://goelizabethnj250.com/founding-colonial-era-1664-1775/1747-princeton-first-classes-elizabethtown/

09/09/2026

A defining moment in New Jersey history took place in Elizabethtown.

On May 26, 1668, New Jersey’s first colonial General Assembly met in the settlement’s original meetinghouse—a shared setting for worship and public business.

The church visible on Broad Street today is a later successor, but the location preserves an important connection to Elizabeth’s early role in provincial government.

Explore the new 1668 entry on the Elizabeth at 250 Historical Timeline:

https://goelizabethnj250.com/elizabeth-at-250-a-historical-timeline-of-our-city/

09/08/2026

On October 18, 1873, Singer consolidated its U.S. manufacturing operations in Elizabethport—making Elizabeth the center of one of America’s most influential sewing-machine businesses.

That decision connected our waterfront, rail lines, and workforce to a company whose machines reached markets around the world.

Explore this new chapter in Elizabeth’s industrial history:
https://goelizabethnj250.com/industrial-growth-immigration-1800-1900/1873-singer-manufacturing-elizabeth-nj/

06/15/2026

Elizabeth’s history is still being written — one ceremony, one story, and one legacy at a time.

The 2026 Elizabeth Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony honored athletes, teams, scholarship recipients, families, and community leaders who continue to shape the city’s proud sports tradition.

From the Class of 2026 inductees to this year’s scholarship recipients, this moment reflects what makes Elizabeth special: talent, perseverance, school pride, and a community that shows up for its own.

We’ve added this moment to the GoElizabethNJ250 timeline as part of Elizabeth’s modern history — and the full photo gallery is available through the Elizabeth Athletic Hall of Fame Association.

Read the timeline entry and view the full gallery:
https://goelizabethnj250.com/elizabeth-today-the-road-to-250-2000-present/2026-elizabeth-athletic-hall-of-fame-induction-ceremony/

06/12/2026

Elizabeth’s history is America’s history.

The 313+ Ancestors Speak Project honors the lives, legacy, and memory of the 313+ ancestors buried in Elizabeth, NJ — preserving a powerful chapter of our city’s story that deserves to be seen, shared, and carried forward.

As Elizabeth prepares to commemorate America’s 250th, stories like this remind us why local history matters. The monument, the movement, and the community behind it all help tell a fuller story of who we are and what we carry forward.

Visit 313AncestorsSpeakProject.org to learn more about the project, experience the monument, and join the upcoming Juneteenth activities.

06/03/2026

The Welcome Station is officially open in Elizabeth, NJ.

As part of GoElizabethNJ250 and the city’s preparation for America’s 250th anniversary, the grand opening ceremony brought together Jennifer Costa, Rev. Dr. Wanda M. Lundy, Mayor J. Christian Bollwage, local leaders, historians, reenactors, Elizabeth Tour Ambassadors, and community partners to celebrate a new space for history, tourism, culture, and storytelling.

Watch the full ceremony video and explore the photo gallery from this milestone event.

Short-form recap videos highlighting the music, crowd, ribbon cutting, and atmosphere inside the Welcome Station are coming later this week.

👉 https://goelizabethnj250.com/elizabeth-today-the-road-to-250-2000-present/welcome-station-opens-elizabeth-nj/

05/19/2026

The Elizabeth I. Kellogg Building at 40 West Jersey Street helped complete what UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ had been building toward since 1970: a permanent two-building campus in downtown Elizabeth.

Opened in fall 2009, the six-story Kellogg Building added classrooms, the campus library, archives, continuing-education programs, and the RWJ Barnabas School of Nursing. It also arrived during a difficult economic moment, standing as a sign of investment while much of the country was facing the Great Recession.

Mayor J. Christian Bollwage saw the project as a turning point for Midtown, calling UCC “a catalyst for further economic development.” Years later, after Hurricane Ida forced the building to close for more than a year, the Kellogg Building reopened in December 2022 and welcomed students back to a corner that had once been a vacant lot.

Submitted by Ricardo Munoz as part of the Elizabeth at 250 timeline project.

Read the full timeline entry:
https://goelizabethnj250.com/modern-elizabeth-cultural-evolution-1980-2000s/ucnj-kellogg-building-elizabeth-2009/

05/18/2026

In 1992, Union County College — today UCNJ Union College of Union County, NJ — opened the Sidney F. Lessner Building at 12 West Jersey Street, giving its Elizabeth campus a permanent home in the heart of the city’s business district.

Before becoming a college campus, the eight-story building had served as the headquarters of the Elizabethtown Gas Company. Union County College saw something bigger: a downtown education hub connected to trains, buses, classrooms, labs, and career support.

The timing mattered. Elizabeth was navigating economic change, and many residents were looking for new skills and new opportunities. The Lessner Building became part of that story — a place where education, transportation, workforce development, and community access came together.

Submitted by Ricardo Munoz as part of the Elizabeth at 250 timeline project.

Read the full timeline entry:
https://goelizabethnj250.com/modern-elizabeth-cultural-evolution-1980-2000s/ucnj-lessner-building-elizabeth-1992/

Address

50 Winfeld Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, NJ
07201

Website

http://GoElizabethNJ250.com/

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