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Government Building

Union County Courthouse

About This Place

The Union County Courthouse complex on Broad Street occupies the site where colonial-era government buildings stood when Elizabethtown served as the administrative center of the region. The courthouse area represents the continuity of civic function on this site from the colonial period to the present.

Revolutionary Significance

Elizabethtown was New Jersey's first colonial capital and a center of governance from the earliest days of English settlement in 1664. The colonial courthouse and associated government buildings were located in the area around Broad Street, where the town's civic, religious, and commercial functions converged. During the Revolution, the courthouse area was the site of Committee of Safety meetings, militia musters, and the administrative work of maintaining a community under constant military pressure.

The current courthouse building dates to the nineteenth century and has been expanded multiple times, but its location on Broad Street preserves the geographic relationship between government and community that has characterized Elizabeth since its founding. The courthouse grounds include monuments and markers related to the town's history.

Location

2 Broad St, Elizabeth, NJ 07207

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Events at This Location

  1. 1664

  2. 1765

  3. 1774

  4. 1775

    Elizabethtown Militia Mobilization

    James Caldwell, William Livingston

  5. 1776

    Formation of the 3rd New Jersey Regiment

    James Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell

  6. 1776

    British Forces Enter Elizabethtown

    William Livingston, Cornelius Hetfield Jr.

  7. 1777

  8. 1777

    Loyalist Raids from Staten Island

    Cornelius Hetfield Jr.

  9. 1779

    Establishment of the New Jersey Journal

    Shepard Kollock, James Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell

  10. 1780

  11. 1780

    Burning of the First Presbyterian Church

    James Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell

  12. 1780

    Murder of Hannah Caldwell

    Hannah Caldwell, James Caldwell, Shepard Kollock

  13. 1780

    Battle of Connecticut Farms

    Hannah Caldwell, James Caldwell

  14. 1780

    Battle of Springfield

    James Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell

  15. 1781

    Killing of Reverend James Caldwell

    James Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell

  16. 1789

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