Linden, industrial city, Union County, northeastern New Jersey, on Arthur Kill, at the mouth of the Rahway River, adjoining Elizabeth; incorporated as a city 1925. Manufactures include refined petroleum, chemicals, motor vehicles, and metal products. The original settlers of the area were Dutch; they were supplanted by the English in 1664. Oil refineries and chemical plants were first established here about 1900. The city is named for its linden trees. Population 37,836 (1980); 36,701 (1990); 39,394 (2000).
