New Jersey, known to many as the Garden State, boasts a rich history beyond its bustling cities and shorelines. But have you ever wondered why this particular nickname stuck, and if there were any other contenders? The story behind New Jersey’s “Garden State” moniker is more intriguing than you might think, involving near misses, political debates, and even a brief flirtation with becoming “the Egg State.”
From Farmland to Nickname: New Jersey’s Agricultural Roots
To truly understand why New Jersey is called the Garden State, we need to delve into its past. While today, New Jersey is often associated with its proximity to major urban centers like New York City and Philadelphia, its history is deeply rooted in agriculture. In 1950, farmland still covered a significant portion of the state, approximately 1.7 million acres. Although this was a decrease from the 1.1 million acres at the turn of the 20th century, agriculture remained a vital part of New Jersey’s identity and economy. Interestingly, at that time, eggs were the state’s most profitable agricultural product.
New Jersey farmland
This agricultural prominence, particularly in egg production, led to a curious moment in New Jersey’s history when the state nearly adopted a very different nickname.
The Close Call with “The Egg State”
Imagine driving through New Jersey and seeing license plates proclaiming it “The Egg State” or “Home of the Jersey Egg.” This almost became reality in the 1950s when state lawmakers considered adding a slogan to license plates. The New Jersey Poultry Council, representing the state’s thriving egg industry, lobbied heavily for a nickname that reflected their agricultural dominance. They felt “Garden State” was outdated and no longer representative of the state’s primary agricultural output at the time.
However, the path to even getting “Garden State” on license plates was far from smooth. In 1953, Governor Alfred Driscoll vetoed a bill to add “Garden State” to license plates. His reasoning was purely practical: license plates should be functional and avoid unnecessary costs. He famously quipped that New Jersey license plates wouldn’t be “cluttered up” with the “uninspiring announcement” of being the Garden State. Newspapers at the time echoed this sentiment, with editorials suggesting slogans on license plates were a frivolous trend.
Despite Governor Driscoll’s resistance, the idea of a state slogan on license plates was gaining traction across the US. States like New York (“The Empire State”) and others were already using slogans to promote their image. When a new governor, Robert Meyner, took office in 1954, legislators tried again, only to face another veto. Governor Meyner argued that “the average citizen of New Jersey” didn’t identify the state primarily with “gardening or farming.”
The Triumph of “Garden State”
Despite these vetoes, the New Jersey legislature was determined. They overrode Governor Meyner’s veto in late 1954. While it took a few more years, including the adoption of the standard North American license plate size, “Garden State” finally appeared on New Jersey license plates in 1959. The orange-on-black color scheme was also replaced with a black-on-“buff” design, marking a new visual identity for the state.
Tracing the “Garden State” Nickname Back in Time
While the license plate saga unfolded in the 1950s, the nickname “Garden State” itself has a much longer history. The official state website credits Abraham Browning of Camden for popularizing the term during a speech at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876. A 2017 bill even designated this speech as the origin of the official state slogan.
However, historical research suggests the story is more nuanced. While Browning may have used the phrase, evidence indicates “Garden State” was already in use to describe New Jersey well before 1876. Newspaper veteran Alfred Heston’s claim about Browning’s speech only surfaced 50 years later, and contemporary reports of the speech don’t mention the phrase.
Digging deeper, we find references to New Jersey as the “Garden State” in books and publications from the 1860s and early 1870s. George Makepeace Towle, a U.S. consul, wrote in his 1869 book “American Society”: “The little state of New Jersey may perhaps be fitly called the ‘garden state.'” He highlighted the state’s exceptional fruits and vegetables, particularly peaches, pears, grapes, and sweet potatoes.
From Illinois to New Jersey: Sharing the “Garden State” Title
Interestingly, New Jersey wasn’t the only state to be called the “Garden State.” In the mid-1850s, Illinois was prominently known as the “Garden State of the Union,” even internationally. Chicago was nicknamed the “Garden City,” and the name “Garden State” became associated with Illinois through a newspaper and a bank.
In fact, an 1857 editorial in the West Jersey Pioneer even questioned, “What is there to hinder this state from being made in a very few years, the garden state of the union?” This suggests that even within New Jersey, the “Garden State” moniker was seen as something to aspire to, perhaps in comparison to Illinois’ established claim.
The shift towards New Jersey as the Garden State began around 1860. Real estate advertisements in the East started promoting Illinois as the “Garden State of the West.” Seizing this opportunity, New Jersey farmland promoters in South Jersey advertised their land in Vermont newspapers as being in the “Garden State of the East.” The “East” qualifier was quickly dropped, and by the end of the Civil War, New Jersey was increasingly recognized as simply “the Garden State.”
The West Jersey Pioneer solidified this in October 1865, proclaiming, “New Jersey has been justly styled ‘the Garden State,’ from which Pennsylvania and New York draw their principal supplies.”
Colonial Era Roots: Marketing “The Garden of the World”
The roots of the “Garden State” nickname can be traced even further back to the colonial era. When New Jersey was divided into East and West Jersey, Scottish promoters marketed the land to potential colonists as a place of abundance and promise. Booklets, posters, and maps were used as propaganda, even making the bold, albeit unsubstantiated, claim that New Jersey was dubbed “the Garden of the World” by an atlas maker.
New Jersey Today: Still Deserving of the Name
While farmland acreage has decreased in New Jersey, agriculture remains significant. Even with approximately 750,000 acres of farmland today, New Jersey is a major producer of various crops. It consistently ranks among the top five states for asparagus, peaches, bell peppers, cranberries, tomatoes, spinach, and eggplant production. In 2022, New Jersey accounted for a substantial portion of national sales in asparagus, squash, bell peppers, cranberries, and blueberries, proving that the Garden State continues to live up to its name in modern times.
So, while New Jersey narrowly avoided becoming “the Egg State,” the nickname “Garden State” is not just a historical relic. It reflects a long-standing agricultural heritage, a strategic marketing effort, and the state’s continued contribution to food production, making it a fitting and enduring moniker.
