201 is the North American telephone area code for the state of New Jersey covering most of Hudson and Bergen counties, as well as parts of Essex and Passaic. It is overlaid with area code 551.
The 201 area code was the first area code to be assigned in the United States, as part of the North American Numbering Plan.[1][2] While it was part of the original set of area codes assigned to the U.S. in 1947, this area code was not placed into service until 1951. In that year, the first direct-dialed long distance call was made from Englewood, New Jersey to Alameda, California.[2] Until 1958, it was the only area code serving New Jersey; that year, the state split the area code, with the southern portion of the state becoming area code 609.[3]
After the split in 1958, area code 201 served the northern counties in the state: Essex, Bergen, Hudson, Union, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Middlesex, Monmouth, Sussex and Warren counties. New Jersey's southern counties, including the southern Jersey Shore, as well as the Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware suburbs (in New Jersey) were served by 609.
As the central region of New Jersey grew during the 1980s, the northeastern section of the state lost sizeable chunks of its population due to the decline of its major cities, including Newark, Paterson, Clifton, and Elizabeth. On June 8, 1991, area code 908 split off from 201; it primarily serves the North/Central regions of the state.[4]
The northernmost counties continued to use 201, while the southern half of the state kept 609, which is the area code of Trenton, the state's capital.
During the mid-1990s, businesses began to flourish once again in North Jersey, while cell phones and internet dial-up connections proliferated. In response to the pressure for the addition of more telephone numbers, New Jersey added more area codes, going from three to six. As of June 1, 1997, Essex and Passaic counties, home to Newark and Paterson respectively (the state's first and third-most populous cities), as well as the more rural northwestern counties of New Jersey, Morris and Sussex, were broken away from area code 201, forming the new area code, 973.[5][4] Hudson County and Bergen County, the state's two northeastern counties (as well as being two of the state's most densely populated counties) and the closest two counties to New York City, became the last remaining counties in the state to be served by area code 201.
As Hudson and Bergen Counties developed further, and even more telephone numbers were demanded, it was debated whether 201 should split again, or if an overlay area code should be added instead. The latter option was chosen, to avoid the costs and frustration associated with splitting an area code. However, with the implementation of the overlay area code on December 1, 2001, 10-digit dialing became mandatory. Area code 551 was created in 2001, along with area codes 862 and 848 which overlay area codes 973 and 732 respectively.[6]
See also
References
- ^ Now you can call, if your calls don't work some business lines aren't set up to all to new area codes., The Virginian-Pilot, November 1, 1995. Accessed June 8, 2007. "When the first area code, 201, was introduced in New Jersey in 1951, phone-numbering experts thought there would be enough codes with a middle digit of '0' or '1' to last well into the next century."
- ^ a b 1951: First Direct-Dial Transcontinental Telephone Call, AT&T, accessed May 12, 2007.
- ^ About Verizon New Jersey: Years 1931 to 1969, Verizon Communications, accessed May 12, 2007.
- ^ a b About Verizon New Jersey: Years 1985 to 1998, Verizon Communications, accessed May 12, 2007.
- ^ Newman, Andy. "New Area Codes Introduced", The New York Times, June 2, 1997. Accessed January 23, 2008.
- ^ McKay, Martha. "New Jersey Assigned New Area Codes.", The Record (Bergen County), April 18, 2001. Accessed August 11, 2001. "The new New Jersey area codes -- 551, 356, and 848 -- were announced this week and will be introduced next year in the regions currently served by 201, 973, and 732, respectively."
External links
| State of New Jersey Area Codes: 201, 551, 609, 732, 848, 856, 862, 908, 973 |
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North: 845 |
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| West: 862/973 |
201/551 |
East: 212/646, 347/718, 914, 917 |
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South: 347/718, 917 |
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| State of New York Area Codes: 212, 315, 347, 516, 518, 585, 607, 631, 646, 716, 718, 845, 914, 917 |
