Secaucus, New Jersey

Secaucus (/ˈsiːkɔːkəs/ SEE-kaw-kus) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 16,264, reflecting an increase of 333 (+2.1%) from the 15,931 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 1,870 (+13.3%) from the 14,061 counted in the 1990 Census.

Located within the New Jersey Meadowlands, it is the most suburban of the county's municipalities, though large parts of the town are dedicated to light manufacturing, retail, and transportation uses, as well as protected areas.

Secaucus is a derivation of the Algonquian words for "black" (seke or sukit) and "snake" (achgook), or "place of snakes. or sekakes, referring to snakes.

History

Sikakes, once an island, was part of the territory purchased by Director-General of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant in 1658. The territory was part of what is considered to the oldest municipality in the state of New Jersey which was first chartered in 1660 as Bergen in the province of New Netherland and, in 1683, became Bergen Township.