A frequent question to this web site is the origin of the name "Bayonne." It may then be of interest to know the origin of a number of place names associated with the city as well as the city itself.

Folklore claims that in 1609 Henry Hudson sailed through the Kill Van Kull (stream between bays), now Newark Bay and New York Bay; he landed at Bird Point, later called Constable Hook. That name came from J.J. Roy, chief gunner (konstapel) for the Dutch West India Company, who was given a grant of land called "gunner's point" or the Constable Hook area of the peninsula in 1646.

In 1650, the Dutch also established a number of land grants in the upper portion of the peninsula, which was called Pamrapo. In 1661, they also founded the Township of Bergen between the Hudson and Hackensack River; it extended southward to Bergen Point, now the tip of Bayonne. Shortly after, Peter Van Buskirk (Boskerck) build the "first" house on Constable Hook over looking New York Bay; he was followed by Dietrich Cadmus who also settled there.

In 1801, the family of Pierre Samuel Du Pont de Nemours set up residence at Bergen Point in a house called "Bon Sejour" or Good Stay. The location served the purpose of the Du Ponts to commute by ferry to Lower Manhattan for business. However, they did not stay there long due to disappointing business dealings. On the advice of their friend President Thomas Jefferson, they moved to Wilmington, Delaware, for better commercial opportunities. No French community accompanied their abbreviated residence at Bergen Point.

By 1840, the villages of Salterville, Centreville, Constable Hook and Bergen on the peninsula, (south of the present day City Line) were called Bergen Neck in the newly established County of Hudson, now separate from Bergen County. On March 15, 1861, the four villages unified as the Township of Bayonne, and on March 10, 1869, they were incorporated as the City of Bayonne.

The name "Bayonne" is probably derived from an 1859 real estate project for a new pre-planned village on the peninsula that was halted due to the Civil War. The proposed village was to extend from New York Bay to Newark Bay from what is now 31st Street to 38th Street. The property owned by Jasper and William Cadmus was bought by Peter Bentley, David Smith and Benjamin F.Woolsey. They envisioned subdividing the land into plots with no more than eight spaciously landscaped houses per block. John M. Fouquet, city surveyor for Jersey City, was hired to map the streets, avenues, and lots for the project. The main avenue, now 33rd Street, was appropriately called "Bayonia Avenue" as it extended from bay-to-bay or "on the bays." Did Foquet of French origin apply the name? This cannot be substantiated. But the realtors adapted it for their project, and when the "founding fathers" for the proposed township were looking for a name, they too seized upon the name for the peninsula city. There was an overlap of those involved in the real estate project with those who worked for both township and municipal development of the community on the Bergen Neck peninsula.

The City of Bayonne does consider Bayonne, France, as its "sister" city. It too shares a geographical location between two bodies of water, the Nive and Adour rivers. Over the years there has been an exchange of both mayors and students between the two cities. In April 2000, twenty members of the Bayonne Historical Society visited Bayonne, France. The word "bayonet" is derived from Bayonne in France, where the weapon was first made or used.