Did you know NJ used to be split from East to West?

It's been a few hundred years, sure, but New Jersey was divided into two regions in the 1600s and 1700s.

If you think about the difference between proximity to New York City and the coast compared to Philadelphia and the Delaware River, it really does make sense.

When the current Trenton government established New Jersey as three regions: North, South, and now Central, they completely missed the mark.

The Jersey Shore and Mercer County could not be more different, to lump them in as Central makes no sense.

Previously I've proposed that we should recognize the fact that culturally we really exist in four different regions: North, South, Central and the Shore.

New Jersey was merged into a single entity in April 1702, so I realize that I'm going way back in time here. That said, the conversation reignited over the Jersey Shore Pizza Wars.

We asked our audience about their go-to great pizza and found that it actually made sense to divide the entries into East and West. The old boundaries lumped in southern counties of Atlantic and Cape May into 'West NJ" and I think for the southern shore and the proximity, geographically and culturally with Philadelphia that makes sense.

The question is where is the divide for the rest of the state? My thought is that the line should flow south from West Milford to Parsippany to Piscataway to Pemberton to Hammonton. Then the line goes East to Atlantic City.

I doubt that this idea will get much traction, but it will be for the purpose of letting you know where the best pizza is located near your home.

Stay tuned for our "Best Pizza in New Jersey" East and West editions!

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own.

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