 On March 18, 1851, Van Vorst Township was annexed by Jersey City.The name Van Vorst comes from a prominent family in the area, the first of which arrived in the 1630s as superindentent of the patroonship Pavonia, the earliest European settlement on the west bank of the Hudson River in the province of New Netherland.His homestead at Harsimus, plus others at Communipaw, Paulus Hook, Minakwa, Pamrapo were later incorporated into Bergen.