Meadowlands History

In most cases, a tourism destination emerges because of a single attraction, Orlando's many theme parks sprung up around Disney World, which was built in a remote section of Florida, the humble Boardwalk of Atlantic City inspired a thriving and dazzling casino concourse. And the Meadowlands, well, it emerged from a swamp. Some will even recall the pig farms for which Secaucus used to be famous. However cliche the joke, it has a real basis in the Dutch settlers of the region. With a terrain similar to the Netherlands, they learned to steppe the land in order to make it arable. Over the years this land was built up into warehouse space, and ulitmately, outlets and office developments.

Land creation accounted for half of the 32 miles that now comprise the Hackensack Meadowlands, leaving 13 square miles of wetlands. In 1968, the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission formed to conserve the abundant natural features of the region.

Today, the Meadowlands area showcases some of the state's best known destinations – such as the Statue of Liberty. Its sophisticated infrastructure includes public transportation (trains, bus, ferries, Newark International and Teterboro Airports) and a network of major highways, from the NJ Turnpike to the Garden State Parkway, and all the east/west bound routes in between.

Right across from Manhattan, its natural borders comprise the Hudson River and the Hackensack River, home to acres of trails, estuaries, and protected marshlands. The Meadowlands region alone has 260 unique species of residential and migratory fowl, 25 of which are NJ's endangered or threatened species lists. Liberty State Park boasts more than 200 birds and more than 300 plants, many from around the world planted when people arrived at Ellis Island. No where else do so many ecotourism assets exist within such close proximity to such a leading metropolitan area.