New Jersey had a secret weapon: location. It sat right between New York and Philadelphia, the two biggest cities in America. That meant everyone had to pass through. Wagons, stagecoaches, and travelers constantly needed food, lodging, and repairs.
Inns and taverns popped up everywhere. A farmer’s wife might bake pies and sell them to tired travelers. A blacksmith would fix a broken wheel for a few coins. This wasn’t high finance—it was side-hustle economy, 1700s style.
The colony also built the King’s Highway, a major road that turned small villages into trading stops. If you’ve ever bought overpriced snacks at a highway rest stop, you’ve lived the New Jersey colonial experience.
Shipping and Whaling?
Wait, whaling? Yes! New Jersey had a coastline, and those waters were full of whales. Towns like Perth Amboy and Cape May sent out small boats to hunt whales for oil. Whale oil was the “gasoline” of the era—used for lamps and lubricants.
Benjamin Franklin’s Paper Money - RelicRecord
It was dangerous, smelly work (imagine the worst fish smell you can, times ten). But the pay was good. Some men got rich from a single whale. Others just collected the blubber and sold it to refineries in New York. It was a rough, wild part of the colony’s personality—like having a neighbor who rides a motorcycle but also bakes sourdough.
