Best Web Design in Hackensack, NJ (2026)

Web Design for Hackensack, New Jersey

Hackensack is the county seat of Bergen County, a dense little river city just west of the George Washington Bridge whose name comes from the Lenape word for the Hackensack River, meaning roughly "mouth of a river." It punches far above its size culturally: a World War II submarine is moored in its river, some of the greatest jazz records ever made were cut in a living room here, and the city gets name-dropped across music, TV, and film.

AppWT works with Hackensack, NJ businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Hackensack

Also known as. "New Barbadoes" -- the city's official name until 1921, a holdover from its Dutch/English colonial roots. Frequently cited as "the most name-dropped city in New Jersey pop culture" (New Jersey Monthly), thanks to its jazz and film references.

History. The earliest inhabitants were the Lenni Lenape (Algonquian), who called the river Achinigeu-hach / "Ackingsah-sack" -- variously translated as "stony ground," "on low ground," or "mouth of a river." Settled by the Dutch in the 1640s as New Barbadoes; taken by the English in 1688 but retained a strong Dutch character. During the American Revolution the village green served as a camping ground for both British and American troops; George Washington worshipped at the First Dutch Reformed Church. The First (Dutch) Reformed Church, "Church on the Green," was first built in 1696 and rebuilt in 1791 -- the oldest church in Bergen County and second-oldest in New Jersey. New Barbadoes Township formally became the City of Hackensack on November 21, 1921, after a referendum, adopting the name that had been used informally since the 1700s.

Local economy. Early industries were boatbuilding, pottery, and brickmaking along the Hackensack River. Later diversified manufacturing: machinery and foundry products, clothing, food processing, plastics, paper products, and electrical appliances. Hackensack University Medical Center (part of Hackensack Meridian Health) is the city's primary hospital and the largest employer in all of Bergen County, with roughly 9,000 employees as of late 2025. Long the home of The Record, Bergen County's largest newspaper (North Jersey Media Group), before it relocated to Woodland Park. As county seat, it hosts the Bergen County government and courthouse, anchoring a legal and civic-services sector.

Culture and community. A landmark of jazz history: engineer Rudy Van Gelder recorded seminal sessions at his parents' home at 25 Prospect Avenue (1946-1959), including Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins' "Saxophone Colossus," Miles Davis, and Art Blakey. Thelonious Monk's 1954 instrumental "Hackensack" is named for the city / Van Gelder's studio; the tune was later revived and the city name-checked again by the band Fountains of Wayne in their 2003 song "Hackensack" (covered by Katy Perry in 2009). Summer programming at Atlantic Street Park includes Shakespeare in the Park, Movies Under the Stars, and outdoor concerts, plus the annual HACKENSACKtoberfest. The Bergen County Players, one of the country's long-running community theater companies, perform nearby at the Little Firehouse Theatre.

What makes Hackensack distinct. The city's name literally means "mouth of a river" in the Lenape language. The USS Ling was completed only in the final months of WWII and never saw combat; it has since sat marooned and repeatedly vandalized in the river. Buried in the Church on the Green cemetery are Enoch Poor (a Washington officer) and Richard Varick (former mayor of New York City and New York Attorney General). Because so many jazz records bore the Hackensack address, John Coltrane even wrote a tune called "Route 4" after the highway he traveled from New York to record there.

Hackensack Landmarks and Local Life

• USS Ling (SS-297) - a Balao-class World War II submarine moored in the Hackensack River as the centerpiece of the New Jersey Naval Museum / Submarine Memorial
• The Steuben House (1752) - a Dutch sandstone colonial that served as General George Washington's headquarters in 1780
• The First Dutch Reformed Church - "Church on the Green" (1696/1791) -- oldest in Bergen County -- with a colonial-era cemetery
• The Green - the historic downtown common that once hosted Revolutionary War encampments
• The Bergen County Courthouse and downtown Main Street shopping district.