[4][5][6] In 1864, nearby Union Hill was set apart from North Bergen as a separate municipality that had been originally settled by a group of German-Americans as early as 1851.

It expanded into an amusement park that featured three dancing pavilions and ten bowling alleys, which entertained up to 50,000 attendees at a time with vaudeville performances and tournaments, parades, and fireworks.

Originally encompassing about 32 acres,[6][9] the park's location on the western cuesta of the Hudson Palisades was chosen so that bullets could be directed into the side of the hill.

[1] Over the years much of the property was sold off, a large portion of which was acquired by the government to build Route 495 leading to the Lincoln Tunnel.

Today the park is used for banquets, weddings, receptions,[1] and public sporting events such as boxing[14] and mixed martial arts matches.