In its heyday, Elizabethtown included most of present day Union County, plus a big chunk of what is now Somerset Co. and a bit of today's Essex. It lost those by 1741, at which time it was pretty much coextensive with modern Union Co. Over the years, communities began to secede. On March 19, 1857, most of the towns which were formerly part of Elizabethtown broke off from Essex Co., becoming Union Co. At the time, these towns were Elizabeth, New Providence, Plainfield, Rahway, Springfield, Union and Westfield. Most of these later subdivided, creating the 21 Union Co. municipalities of today. Here's the technical part: The township called Elizabeth-Town was formed in 1693. Meanwhile, the borough of Elizabeth was formed by royal charter in 1740 and rechartered by the state in 1789. From 1794 on, the township and borough were coextensive. The township was incorporated as "Elizabeth" in 1798. In 1855, the township and borough were united as the City of Elizabeth. (Gleaned from "The Story of NJ's Civil Boundaries" -- a great reference source!) Does that answer your question? Gary On Thu, 24 Feb 2000 11:50:29 -0800 (PST) [email protected] writes: Does anyone know when Elizabethtown became Elizabeth or When it went from Essex Co. to Union Co.?