Here’s who nicknamed NJ the Garden State, and it wasn’t a farmer

For many outsiders, their first exposure to New Jersey is the ugly urban hellscape around 13A on the Turnpike as they land at Newark Airport. The factories and refinery, the belching smokestacks and brewery, and general urban crud. For some going straight to New York City, it’s their only exposure.

So they think that’s all there is. Suddenly we’re called the armpit of America. We native New Jerseyans know better. We know there’s green space and beautiful parks, beaches, mountains, etc. We even have a lot of agriculture here. In fact, we’re known as the Garden State.

But where did that state nickname originate? Who first thought of it?

Spokeo found the backstory behind every state’s nickname by pouring through historical documents and state government archival information and Stacker assembled those backstories into the list below. It’s a fun read.

For example, California is called The Golden State. That’s not because of the near-constant sunshine. It’s because of the precious metal gold being found there in 1848, which led to the Gold Rush. That in turn drove the population explosion of California. Yet it wouldn’t be until 120 years later that The Golden State became California’s official nickname in 1968.

New York is called the Empire State. Why? George Washington in 1785 referred to New York as “the Seat of the Empire.” Remember, in 1785, New York City was the nation’s capital.

Pennsylvania is called the Keystone State because a keystone is a center stone at the top of an arch that holds things together. When there were 13 colonies, Pennsylvania was geographically the center and also the place where key events like the First and Second Continental Congress happened to hold the new nation together.

So for New Jersey, we know generally why we call it the Garden State. It’s a recognition of our agriculture. But who first said it? It wasn’t a farmer. Scroll through this fun gallery below and find out.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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