American Geographical Society
"Great Opportunities for the Many of Small Means": New Jersey's Agricultural Colonies
Author(s): Deborah E. Popper
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Geographical Review, Vol. 96, No. 1 (Jan., 2006), pp. 24-49
Published by: American Geographical Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30034003 .
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"GREATOPPORTUNITIES
FORTHE MANYOF SMALLMEANS":
NEWJERSEY'S
AGRICULTURAL
COLONIES*
DEBORAH E. POPPER
ofRussianJews
PogromsintheRussianPalein 1881setoffa waveofimmigration
to theUnitedStates.Mostwentto thecities,butan important
with
thesupportof
group,
becamepartof an experiment
in Jewish
colonies.
philanthropic
organizations,
agricultural
SouthJersey's
Allianceand Woodbinewerethemostsuccessful.
Bothwereestablished
on
theimportance
thefunders
land,andthelandscapethatemerged
undeveloped
placed
suggests
on usinglandscapeas a meansof Americanization.
Jewish
colonies,
Keywords:
agricultural
NewJersey,
RussianJewish
migration.
ABSTRACT.
The year1881wasespecially
forRussianJews.
difficult
PogromsacrosstheJewish
and by 1915morethan
Pale in southwestern
Russiasetoffa waveof emigration,
had
number
left
the
The
went
to theUnitedStates,
million
Jews
3
largest
region.
wheretheyaccountedforthesecondlargestgroupof newimmigrants.
NewYork
Lower
crush
of
East
with
its
intense
and
became
Side,
noise,
smells,
people,
City's
theirnewculturallandscape.My grandfather
was a fairly
member
of this
typical
he arrived
wave.A tailor,
inNewYorkin1905fromKiev,hopingfora betterlife.My
motherremembered
all thechildren
wanat night,
sleepingin a bed in thekitchen
thepushcarts
and,afterthey
deringthrough
duringtheday,playingin thestreets,
to reconnect,
to shopand
to theold neighborhood
had moveduptown,returning
and
in
the
familiar
to
eat
knishes
and
delicatessens.
chat,
pastrami
toAmerica
Thiswasa veryAmerican
story-onethatmanywavesofimmigrants
Thenarrative
I absorbedgrowing
featured
a form
can tell-butwitha difference.
up
Wavesof immigrants
withinAmericanexceptionalism.'
of Jewish
exceptionalism
land.Withthatland they
weredrawnto America's
abundant,free,and productive
waveswenttoproducedotherwaves-amberwavesof grain.Thesetwodifferent
gether-exceptforthe Jews-because,unlikeotherethnicgroupswho came to
America,EasternEuropeanJewswereurbanwhentheyarrivedand stayedurban
fromowninglandandfarmafterward.2
In mostofRussiatheyhadbeenprohibited
or craftsmen.
ing,so theyworkedinsteadas middlemen
WhatI wastaught,
muchRussianJewish
immigrant
expealthoughitreflected
bothforJewsand non-Jews.
rience,was incompleteand overdrawn
ManynonAnd
cities.
most
new
filled
America's
Jewish
Jewish immigrants
although
immigrants
Allianceand Woodbine,twoagriculheadedto thecities,somebecamefarmers.
at theendofthenineteenth
withsubturalcoloniesformedin NewJersey
century
* Theauthor
Frank
Rachel
Nicholas
Michael
thanks
Charles
Milder,
Golden,
Geisler,
Sarajane
Popper,
Popper,
andanonymous
reviewers
fortheir
Peter
theGeographical
Review
Slome,
editors,
comments,
Wacker,
Lyn
Siegel,
interest,
andtechnical
help.
ofStaten
DR.
POPPERisanassociate
ofgeography
attheCollege
Island,
professor
CityUniversity
ofNewYork,
Staten
NewYork10314,
anda visiting
associate
atthePrinceton
EnviIsland,
professor
NewJersey
ronmental
Princeton
Princeton,
Institute,
University,
08540.
TheGeographical
Review96 (1): 24-49,January
2006
SocietyofNewYork
Geographical
Copyrightc 2006bytheAmerican
NEW JERSEY S JEWISH COLONIES
25
are particularly
stantialfundingfromJewishphilanthropic
interests,
interesting
intendedto providea counterpoint
to theLowerEast
becausetheywereexplicitly
cultural
culturalidentity.
Side,an alternative
landscapethatwouldbuilda different
in ways
The agricultural
were
to
land
colonies
intended bringpeopleand
together
and productive
thatwouldproducean environment
thatwas pastoral,healthful,
and narrative.
andwouldthusshiftperception
oftheRussianJewish
ofthesecoloniesenlarges
An examination
understanding
encounter
withtheUnitedStates.Thisarticlelooksat theirculturallandscapesfor
in themakvaluesand ideaswerenegotiated
whattheyrevealabouthowdisparate
and
communities
Alliance
Woodbine
were
of
designedin a
immigrant
ing place.
briefmomentratherthanevolvedovertime.Theywereverymucha productof
and thesettlers'
boththefunding
ideasaboutwhatcommunities
philanthropists'
them.
shouldsupportthemselves
within
shouldlookandfeellikeandhowresidents
to intensepressures,
andeachsetofparticiBothofthesegroupswereresponding
of
As
the
had
own
of
sense
them.
Russian
its
Jewish
migration
pants
way making
were
in
the
midst
of enormous
heatedup,Americansettlement
patterns
already
frompredominantly
ruralto
upheaval.Between1881 and 1920thenationshifted
from
to
from
industrial,
urban,
predominantly
predominantly
agricultural majority
In
easternto muchmoredispersedacrossthenationalterritory.
predominantly
thefoundingmembersweighed
theJewish
settlements,
establishing
agricultural
and
versusindustrialization,
individualism
versuscommunitarianism,
agriculture
had
To be successful,
theJewish
settlements
versussecularism.
agricultural
religion
to serveas a meetinggroundbetweentheideologythatgaveriseto themand the
thatwouldallowthemto surviveand finda nichein a toughmarket
practicality
itsbuilders'poorroadmapto
The cultural
landscapethatarosereflected
economy.
thefuture,
butitwastheirbesteffort
at adaptationto a worldintransition.
THE JEWSIN RUSSIA
In the188oswellover3 millionJews,
morethanhalftheworld'sJewish
population,
in theareaof Russiacalledthe"Pale."Theyreprelivedundersevererestrictions
sented95percentofRussia'sJewish
1992,98).A resultof
population(Lederhendler
to the
joiningRussia'sacquisitions
fromtheeighteenth-century
Polishpartitions
a frontier
area.The expansionenlargedthe
Ukraine,thePale couldbe considered
sizeoftheRussianEmpire,itsethnicdiversity,
and itsJewish
populationbecause,
to
the
Poland
had
had
prior
partition,
Europe'slargestJewish
population.Russia's
Jewish
1992,98), and,alpopulationtripledbetween1825and 1880(Ledenhendler
of
Russia's
total
Jews
3.5
only percent
population,
theyconstithough
represented
andZuckerman
tuted12percentoftheinhabitants
ofthePale (Goldscheider
1984,
homeundertook
94). Forbettercontrolofitsnewarea,theRussiangovernment
steadingprogramsand sentnumbersof groupsintotheregionto settle.In 1804
to include"colonialJews"
AlexanderI expandedthoseeligibleforhomesteading
colonies
were
in1806,severalJewish
established
and,starting
(Brutskus
agricultural
1913;Baron 1964,92). New citiesgrew up as well. Withinthe Pale, clear regional
26
THE
GEOGRAPHICAL
REVIEW
differences
existedamongJews.Eli Lederhendler
thatRussian
(1995,18) suggested
thana mosaicofverydifferent
lessan identity
communities.
Jewsrepresented
They
in howtheyhad beenaffected
differed
to
or
the
forces
of
modernizaby receptive
Russianpolicieseventually
enforced
somecommonidentity,
which
tion,forexample.
in theUnitedStates.
developedfurther
thenineteenth
conditions
forJews
varied,
Throughout
century
changing
espe-
era oftheearlynineciallywiththeascensionof eachnewczar.The colonization
teenthcentury
was followedbya periodduringwhichJewswereprohibited
from
inthecountryside.
the186osand1870s
someJews
wereabletoenter
settling
During
Russianschoolsand universities,
and a limitednumberofmerchants,
skilledartisansand craftsmen,
to resideoutsidethe
and university
werepermitted
graduates
Pale.Butbeginning
in the1880swiththeascendanceofAlexander
III (1881-1894)
and his counselor,Konstantin
whatever
Pobedonostsev,
looseninghad occurred
wasretracted,
andtheassimilation
educationaland
managedundermoreinclusive
The
wave
of
halted.
followed
a
employment
policies
legislation
pogromsin more
than1oolocalitiesduringthespringand summerof1881and wasostensibly
to reduceviolenceagainstJews.The increasedrestrictions
on them,however,
accentuated socioeconomicand culturaldifferences
withoutstoppingtheviolence.Jews
wereforbidden
evenwithinthePale,and certaincities
to settlein ruraldistricts
wereruledoff-limits
forsettlement.
StrictquotaswereimposedforJewish
students.
Those
skilled
were
from
the
or
Jews prohibited entering legalprofession government.
Pale
were
to resideoutsidethe
craftsmen
who had beenpermitted
requiredto return.It becamea criminaloffense
fora Jewto use a Christiangivenname.Jews
couldnotmovefreely,
ownprivateland,or enternumerousoccupations.3
Atthesametime,theJewish
faster
thanwas
populationin Russiawasgrowing
between
1820
and
1880it
to
Solow
thatof neighboring
Baron,
groups.According
whiletheRussianpopulationhad an 87percentincrease;
increasedby150percent,
in somesectionsofthePale,theirgrowth
wasnearlyfourtimeslargerthanwasthat
oftheirneighbors
Baron
to stronger
aid orgaattributed
thisdifference
(1964,76).
nizationsand medicalcareamongtheJews(p. 78).
As thenumbersand needsoftheJewsrose,theirfinancial
positionbecameintheRussianeconomy
tomodernize
creasingly
fragile.
Theywereharmedbyattempts
ofwhichtheyhad
The smallcraftworkshops
and to increaseand controlexports.
beenpartas ownersandworkers
lostbusinessto thenewindustrialized
production
fromtheguilds,employedethnicRussians(Baron
which,in responseto pressures
businessesmainlyfocusedon goodsfortheirownlocal
1964,99-100).The Jewish
or carpenshoemakers,
markets;
butchers,
tailors,
glovemakers,
manywerebakers,
ters.Forcedintofewer
and feweroccupationsand markets,
ended
they
up competandZuckerman
witheachotherfortheavailablebusiness(Goldscheider
ingfiercely
and Jewslosttheir
1984,95-98).New railroadsalso changedspatialrelationships,
forlandlords(Sorin
rolesin thecountrytownsas innkeepers
and intermediaries
1992,22). Jewswere increasinglyconcentratedinto a smallernumberof places and
fields.Thisseparationdid notstopthepogroms-morefollowedin the189os.Be-
NEW JERSEY'S JEWISH COLONIES
27
tween1881and 191o,Jewish
washigh,witheachyear'sfigures
emigration
risingor
in directresponseto specific
falling
pogromsandpassageofharshnewrestrictions
[19141
1969).
(Joseph
WHAT IS TO BE DONE?
ThoselivingwithinthePale werepartof Europe'sintellectual
ferment,
grappling
withhowto organizesocietyand howto liveone'slife.WithinthePale one could
findmajorsplitsbetweenthe maskilim,
the Enlightenment
streamof Jews,the
and thesocialist(Goldscheider
and Zuckerman
Hasidim,themoremystical,
1984,
Odessawasknownas an especially
vibrantcity.In AmosOz's memoirof
116-125).
as
characterized
up in Israel(2005),Odessanswerealmostautomatically
growing
broad-minded
andlesstiedtotradition.
StevenZipperstein
described
themas open
toandaccepting
ofthenewand/orthedifferent,
morecivicthanreligious
35).
(1983,
"IfOdessacouldbe comparedat all [toothercities]itwasonlyto theportcitiesof
likeChicagoand San Francisco,
America,and thenonlyto thoseon thefrontier,
wherea mixtureof enterprise,
license,and violencecombinedto createenvironmentsfreefromtherestraints
ofthepast"(1985,1).
A keymovement
fortheagricultural
colonies,theAm Olam (EternalPeople),
wascentered
in Odessa.Formedas a discussiongroup,itwasheavilyinfluenced
by
theTolstoyan
ideasthata productive
liferequiredlivingon and working
theland.
Yetthiswas clearlyimpossible
forJewsin Russia.Theirideology,
coupledwiththe
createda strongpushforemigration.
The pullsweretowardsettler
socipogroms,
etiesliketheUnitedStates,Palestine,
andArgentina,
where
could
realize
places
they
theirdreamto "leada realhealthy
and honorablemodeoflife[,].. . owna home
and landas a meansofearninga livelihood,
and ... be truecitizensofouradopted
country"
(Bailey1932,12).
Theconditions
withinthePaleprovoked
a numberofresponses
fromJewsoutsideRussia.How to helpandwhereto helpwerequestionsfordebate.Couldpressurebe placedon Russiato improveconditions?
Could fundsimproveeducation
and training
withinthePale,and ifso,ofwhatkind?The mostimportant
ofthese
the
Alliance
Israelite
and
Universelle
the
Baron
de
Hirsch
Fund
and
itsarm
groups,
theJewish
Colonization
liketheAmOlam,werestrongly
influenced
Association,
by
ideas
that
set
as
the
base
for
and
sociphysiocratic
agriculture
underlying
economy
ety.The Alliancewas foundedin 186oin Pariswiththemissionto protectJewish
citizensand to developa Jewish
theworldthatwas well
community
throughout
in matters
and
The
Baronde HirschFund
educated,especially
Jewish.
agricultural
and theJewish
ColonizationAssociationacquiredland,established
training
proandsentoutsettlers
tonewagricultural
coloniesinArgentina,
Brazil,Canada,
grams,
andtheUnitedStates.4
TheodoreNormandescribed
theseefforts
as among
Palestine,
"thefirst
in plannedmigration
on a largescale"(1985,
2). Theirratioexperiments
an uglytermdependenton the
nale,liketheAm Olam's,was "productivization,"
sensethatJewish
lifemustreston agriculture,
bothformeaningand
physiocratic
foracceptance(p. 119).
28
THE
GEOGRAPHICAL
REVIEW
Thephilanthropists'
ofworking
ofthehealthful,
quality
assumption
improving
thelandreverberated
indifferent
suchwidely
late-ninewayswithother
circulating
ideas
as
and
environmental
determinsocial
Darwinism,
teenth-century
eugenics,
ofnature
ism.Thephilanthropic
interests
therelative
versus
debated
nurture
weights
Howtohelpdepended
andhowtheseapplied
topossible
beneficiaries.
onhowone
oftheBarondeHirsch
administrator
influences.
MosesKlein,
parsedthedifferent
to makebeneficial
useoffunds,
Fund,forexample,
Jews
arguedthatforRussia's
"Thetheory
sort
of
he
wrote:
must
leave
the
Pale.
a
scientific
surety,
they
Implying
a
in medicalsciencethatremedies
diseaseof
established
appliedto cure certain
inoneclimate
elsewhere
tothesamediseases
patients
residing
mayproveinjurious
fortheJews
whenattacking
thoseinother
lands,canbewellappliedtothisremedy
ofGaliciaandRussia"
LetthemgotoPalestine,
toAmerica,
but
14-15).
(Klein1889,
do notspendmoney
inRussia.
fornumbers
to goto
TheAlliance
Israelite
Universelle
provided
earlysupport
in
land
as
as
and
as
of
for
colonies
Palestine,
buying
early 1878 again 1883 part a preofreturn.
TheBaronde HirschFund
ZionistandthenearlyZionistmovement
iminthe189os(Norman
wasanother
addeditssupport
54-68).Argentina
1985,
in
destination
With
from
the
Baron
de
Hirsch
the
Fund,91o
189os.
support
portant
oftheresettlement
in
wereresettled
in1896.Bytheheight
families
infourcolonies
a
in
with
dozen
colonies
had
been
founded
five
acres
1911,
nearly
provinces, 330,000
oflandandoo100,000ooo
wereestabsettlers
inagriculture
Othercolonies
(pp.69-89).5
lishedinBrazil,
Canada,andTurkey.
Inwhatwasthought
ButtheAmerican
of
solution
seemed
especially
promising.
asthecountry
ofsecondchances
be
remade.
This
was
the
could
presumably
anyone
newrailroads
andthenations's
era,andboththeU.S.government
homesteading
intheWest.
Yetwhether
andAmericans
tosetdownnewstakes
Europeans
encouraged
in
the
air.
Whenthe
ofpossibility
thisclimate
to
Jews
hunguncomfortably
applied
in
in
the
United
States
numEastern
European
began 188oJews
major
emigration
A groupof
sincecolonial
hadbeenpartofAmerica
berednearly
230,000.6 Jews
days.
in1654from
Brazil.
Atthetime
inNewAmsterdam
arrived
Recife,
Jews
23 Sephardic
thecountry
washometo1,200 Jews.
ofthefirst
U.S.censusofpopulation,
1790,
By
arrived
andrising
the
was50,00ooo
asGerman
Jews
1848theJewish
population
during
In 1861,
with
numbered
mid-nineteenth
Jewish
ninety-five,
century.
congregations
But
New
York
the
thelargest
Jewish
14).
concentration-twenty--in (Marcus1989,
whenthetally
was
wasmuchbelowwhatitwouldbebythemid-192os,
population
and Zuckerman
morethan4 million(Goldscheider
1984,158-159).
ofwhatcouldandshouldbedonewiththe
American
tookupthequestion
Jews
to NewYork.Thispattern
ofconcennewimmigrants,
mostofwhomwentdirectly
arrivals
trationmadeboththelargephilanthropic
and
earlier
Jewish
ungroups
fromnegativestereotypes,
butmuchmilderin form
easy.AmericanJewssuffered
Priorto thearrivalof theEasternEuropeanJews
thanEuropeananti-Semitism.
weresmalland had increasedgradually
theyfeltlessat riskbecausetheirnumbers
(Heinze 200oo4,
15).Withtherapid increase,especiallyof unassimilatedJews,Ameri-
NEW JERSEY'S JEWISH COLONIES
29
can-bornJewsworriedthatAmerican
anti-Semitism
wouldbecomemorevirulent.
withtheroughnewimmigrants
Theyworriedthattheywouldbe lumpedtogether
and seenas lessAmerican;
wondered
whether
thenewimmigrants
wouldrethey
The
mainso foreign
and un-American. philanthropists
advocateddispersalto the
Plan.In operationbenation'smanysmallercities,eventually
theGalveston
trying
to entertheUnited
tween1907and 1914,theplandirected
newJewish
immigrants
Texasinthehopesofdiverting
theNorthStatesthrough
themawayfrom
Galveston,
eastand intotheSouthwest.7
Thephilanthropists
directed
sometofarming
as theproductive
modeoflife,and
to
if
colonies
seemed
offer
a
Atthesame
solution.
agricultural
promising,uncertain,
facedtheskepticism
behindsuchquestionsas:
time,colonistsand theirsupporters
"Can a Jewbecomea successful
farmer
is a questionfrequently
asked,and almost
in
the
answered
Those
who
the
1901,5).
negative"
invariably
supported
(Stainsby
a positive
coloniespointedto theirbeginnings
withgreatoptimism,
butdelivering
verdict
to thequestionwasessential.
In an eraofgrowing
academicempiricism,
the
of
settlement
and
was
a
to
test.
to
viability Jewish
proposition try
agricultural
WHERE WILL IT BE DONE?
The earliestJewish
werescarcely
agricultural
experiments
planned-asagriculture
or experiment-and
were
they
trulyworkingagainstmanyodds. Failurewas not
unusualforanyofAmerica's
homesteading
groupsofthetime,all ofwhomwere
anewin unfamiliar
areas,absorbingstart-upcosts,and at riskfromtoo
starting
andfirst
Fewerthan50percent
oforigigreata timegapbetweensettlement
profits.
nal homesteadclaimswereactuallycarriedto patent;thatis,giventitleto theland
colonists'
costswereborne
(Gates1963,37).SomeoftheJewish
start-up
agricultural
the
but
were
a
by
philanthropists, they
poorlycapitalizedgroup.The
particularly
thosewithoutsufficient
philanthropists
specifically
targeted
capitalto acquiretheir
ownfarmsteads.'
Andalthoughitwasdesirable
thatsettlers
haveagricultural
expeFewamongthephilanthropists
themrience,itwasneither
requirednorprevalent.
selvescamefromfarming
thatmighthaveinformed
theirdecisions
backgrounds
on location,equipment,
and repayment.
Smallefforts
to createJewish
coloniesstarted
agricultural
up aroundtheUnited
Statesin 1881and 1882.9
One ofthefirst
colonies,SicilyIsland,begunin 1881in the
Louisianabayoucountry,
combinedplanningbytheemigresin Russiawithfundand severalNewYorkJews.Its twenty
ing fromtheAllianceIsraeliteUniverselle
families
endured
andvegcorn,cotton,
onlyfora veryshorttime.Theyplanted
etables
butmoresuccessfully
raised
andmalaria.
A spring
floodin1882
mosquitoes
washedawayhouses,cattle,crops,and possessions.
No one remainedforanother
season (Davidson 1943,206; Herscher1981).
The HebrewUnionAgricultural
Societyof Cincinnatisenta groupwestto
in southwestern
Cimarron,
Kansas,latertheheartoftheDustBowland an agriculturalheartbreaker.
The 1882diaryof CharlesDavis (1965), sentby thesocietyto
of siteselection.En route,Davis
accompanythegroup,capturedthedifficulties
30
THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
heardfroma railroadlandagentthatthelandchosenbya previousscoutwasvery
to learnmore.At theKansasCity
Alarmed,he determined
poor foragriculture.
he
man
off
to
the
state
sent
one
stop,
agricultural
agentinTopekawhilehewaitedin
KansasCitywiththerestofthegroup,mostofwhomspokeno English.He spoketo
butpoorfor
who saidtheareawas good stockcountry
cowboysat thestockyards
recommended
the
wetter
eastern
He spoketo a railroadagentwho
partof
farming.
notionthat
thestate.The stateagent,however,
subscribedto thethen-prevalent
rainfollowstheplow,so drylandsaroundCimarronwouldbecomesuitablefor
and railhimratherthanthestockmen
oncetheybegan.Davistrusted
agriculture
to diverthisgroupfroma primeopporturoadagent,who,he feared,
weretrying
inCimarron
Whatremains
ofDavis'sdiaryendswiththegrouphappilyarrived
nity.
thecolonylasted
But,liketheLouisianaeffort,
readytopurchasefarmimplements.
onlyverybriefly.
efforts
successful
wasNewOdessa,250milessouthof
One ofthemoreinitially
Am
Olam,and itsmemberswereboth
Portland,
Oregon.It drewon membersof
and moreprepared.Beforeheadingto Oregonsome
moreradicalideologically
NewYork,and Indianain orderto acquirerelworkedon farmsin Connecticut,
inPortland,
toremaininPortsomeweredesignated
evantexperience.
Uponarrival
Thegroup's750acreswerewellwooded,and
landto earnmoneyandlearnEnglish.
eitherbecauseof distreeclearancebroughtincome.But thecolonyfoundered,
overleadershipand ideology(Herscher1981,37-48) or,accordingto
agreements
becauseofthelackofwomen(JAS1954,156).
theJewish
Society,
Agricultural
in NorthDakota.One colonyinA fewgroupsof families
triedhomesteading
andprairie
butdrought
to seventy-one
creasedinsizeat first,
fromtwenty
families,
A fewofthe
in1886uprootedthecommunity.
fires
in1884and1885andcropfailures
in
settlers
movedto Iola,nearDevilsLake(Robinson1912). PaintedWoodscolony,
wrote
to
the
RamseyCounty,metthesamefate.By1890thecountytaxcollector
fewwhosepoorwheatcrop
aid fortheremaining
Baronde HirschFundrequesting
thewinter(Hale 1890).The
foodandclothing
tosurvive
leftthemlackingsufficient
"The moraleffect
ofthe
failures:
had no desireto see such
interests
philanthropic
in general
dissolutionof the'PaintedWoodsColony'upon colonizationinterests
thatin
and thehope whichwe havecherished
be mostdisastrous,
couldcertainly
timewe maybe able to buildup agricultural
pursuitsamongour co-religionists,
would
thusopeninga largefieldforthedispositionof thesurplusimmigration,
receivea set-backfromwhichitcouldnotrecoverfora longtimeto come,"wrote
JacobSchiff
(1886).
OPPORTUNITIES
FOR THE MANY OF SMALL MEANS
SouthJersey's
Alliance,openedin 1882,and Woodbine,begunin 1892, havebeen
coloniesinthenation(Figure1),
considered
themostsuccessful
Jewish
agricultural
lastedthelongest,and receivedthemostfundingand
fortheygrewthelargest,
survivedforat leastthirty
Theiragriculture
years,and the
widespreadattention.
ratherthanbeingabsorbedinto
townsdevelopeddistinctand ongoingidentities
NEW JERSEY S JEWISH COLONIES
Brotmanville
Alliance
Norma.
Rosenhayn
VINELAND
JewishAgricultural
Communities
in South Jersey
Maurice
NEW
31
JERSEY
NYC
PHILA.
Detall
Areaof
Jewish
Colony
River
0
N
30
miles
DELAWARE
BAY
0
3
miles
Woodbine
FIG. 1-Jewish
coloniesin southern
NewJersey.
bytheRutgers
Cartograagricultural
(Cartography
phyLab)
neighboring,non-Jewishcommunities.The New Jerseylocation had several advantagesover Louisiana, Kansas, or North Dakota. New Jerseywas comparatively
close to the philanthropicorganizations,large urban markets,and kinsmen,and
South Jerseyespeciallywas stilllightlypopulated and itsland inexpensive.
was concernedthatit was losing
During thelate nineteenthcenturyNew Jersey
farmersto thenation'snew agriculturallands in theWestand so triedto attractand
retainfarmers.In an 1884speechto thestateBoard ofAgriculture,
New Jersey
ConWilliam
Walter
New
and
South
gressman
Phelps pitched
Jersey's especially
Jersey's
agriculturalland, claimingthatincome and profitswere highestthere(1884). The
Cumberland County developed a
BridgetonCommercialLeague of South Jersey's
brochure
information
on
soils,
crops,yields,and lands availpromotional
detailing
able. It stated:"The lure of freewesternland has carriedthe immigrantawayfrom
New Jerseyand leftthousands of acres of excellentland undeveloped. This land
affordsgreatopportunitiesforthe manyof small means" (BridgetonCommercial
plantedone springwould
League 1913,13).The brochurepromisedthatstrawberries
THE
32
GEOGRAPHICAL
REVIEW
Alliance,NewJersey,ca. 1890
Brotmanville
factory
house
school
store
Maurice
synagogue
cemeterv
men's
bathing
section
common
land
Alliance
bathhouseRiver
women's
bathing
section
cannery
railroad
Norma stop
nottoscale
in thelatenineteenth
Sources:
Committee
FIG.2-Schematicmap ofAlliance,NewJersey
century.
on Arrangements
Lab)
1932;Klein1935(Cartography
byRutgers
Cartography
testimonial
wasneeded,itnoted,NewJersey's
yield$300an acrethenext.Iffurther
PrisonLaborCommissionhad selectedCumberlandCountyas bestforgrowing
farmproduce,and ithad alreadypurchased1,oooacresforthatpurpose.
theAlliAlliance,namedin honorof itsfounding
philanthropic
organization,
inPittsGrove,SalemCounty,
anceIsraelite
wasestablished
Universelle,
only40 miles
and aboutioo milesfromNewYorkCityon theCentralJersey
fromPhiladelphia
railroadline.The purchaseof morethan1,ooowooded acresinvolvedmultiple
of immigracommissioner
parties-alocalrealtorwho also servedas NewJersey's
theHebrew
sellersfromnearbyVineland;and thebuyers,
tion;theLeachBrothers,
who
then
turned
thepurand
the
Alliance
Israelite
Universelle,
Emigrant
Society
chaseoverto theAllianceLandCompany(Brandesand Douglas1971,53).The first
families
arrived
inthespringof1882.Whentheydetrained,
they
groupofforty-three
to shelter
erectedbytheLeachBrothfoundonlythreebuildings
them,all recently
in smallroomsopeningon bothsidesof
housedtwenty-six
families
ers.Thelargest
NEW JERSEY'S JEWISH COLONIES
33
an unfloored
The roomswerejustlargeenoughfora bed,smalltable,
passageway.
and chairs.Each roomcontainedhighstorageshelveson whichto putthefewarin one buildingbutate
The settlers
ticlesownedbyresidents.
cookedcommunally
in
farm
and furniture
that
equipment,
separately theirownrooms.Stoves,bedding,
theHebrewEmigrant
AidSocietywasto providehadbeendelayedin transit.
The planwasto alloteachhouseholda 14-acrefarmwhileleavingseveralacres
in common,to be distributed
as morepeoplearrived.Settlers
beganto clearthe
to
see
whether
theseeds
then
waited
and
trees,put up houses,
plantcrops;
they
few
Initialconditions
werehard,andmostcolonists
wouldbearfruit.
spentthefirst
as
on
the
farms
of
their
hired
laborers
non-Jewish
neighbors.
nearby
yearsworking
Wholefamilies
wouldwalkin searchoffarmsin needofhelp.Theypickedbythe
The first
thengrapes,thencorn,thencranberries.
berries,
season,first
yearswere
for
and
difficult
the
suffered
from
flies, poison
mosquitoes,
especially
group.They
and come
ivy.The childrenwouldbecomehungrypicking,eat theunripefruit,
still
homewithstomachaches.
Butreturning
fromhoursofpicking,
they hadtheir
to EllenEisenberg,
thefirst
esownlandsto tend(Bailey1932).According
arrivals,
morecommitted
to communitarian
peciallythosefromOdessa,wereideologically
the
and
on
land
jointlyas well(1995,
practice,
clearing
together planning farming
viewsarnew
with
more
wanedas
arrivals
individualistic
27). The commitment
rivedand withcleardirection
fromthephilanthropists.
butrequired
Thehomesteads
andfarmsteads
werenotoutright
gifts
repayment,
so thecolonistsneededincome.Manysettlers
failedand left,butrenewedcolonizwas introduced
to provideworkduring
ingefforts
broughtothers.A cigarfactory
thewinterwhenfarming
wouldleavethemfree.The factory
lastedonlytwoyears,
and thenneedlework
servedthesamepurpose.Atfirst
theresidents
workedfrom
homeundercontractfromJewish
in
manufacturers Philadelphiaand NewYork
wereestablished
City.Laterseveralclothingfactories
locally.Newspaperreports
in
in
the
described
the
colonies,butin 1887theysawimpublished 1885
struggles
new
houses
and
stables,happypeople (Geffen
1971, 372)
provement-good
crops,
forAlliance's
citedtheaverageannualprofits
(Figure2). By1889Kleinoptimistically
as $280,excludingproducefortheirown use (p. 49). Less thanhalfthe
farmers
at a timewheneggswereto centsa dozenand a
worker,
averagewagefora factory
loafofbreadsoldfor5 cents,theprofits
ofAlliancefarmers
indicatethedegreeto
whicha agricultural
laborlifewashardlyan Edenicchoice.
Alliancewasthesmallcenterofa colonization
movement,
Thoughstruggling,
withnearbyNorma,Rosenhayn,
all
in
the188os.
and
founded
Brotmanville, Carmel,
Eachofthesehad itsownmixofagriculture
itsownideological
and industry,
bent,
on
and
settlers.
site
of
the
station
used
railroad
Norma,
by
depending auspices
Alliance'sfarmers,
thePhiladelbecamemoreofan industrial
town.Itsbenefactor,
a modelfarmthereand a cannery
so thatthefarmphianMauriceFels,established
in 1882,had a
ersneednotpayto transport
theirproduce.Rosenhayn,
also started
moreunevenhistory.
it nearlycollapsedenStartedwithlesssecuresponsorship,
tirelyafteran epidemicbutrevivedin 1887,inspiredbyAlliance'ssuccess.In 1889
34
THE
GEOGRAPHICAL
REVIEW
thepopulationreached300,and by19l01
itstoodat 8oo,itsworkers
evenlydivided
betweenagriculture
and industry
Itscropswerevaluedat sio,ooo(Stainsby
19l01).
theclothing
12,000. Of itsninemanufacturing
establishments,
industry
employed
thelargestnumberofworkers:
miles
southwest
ofAlliance,also be16o.Carmel,3
MichaelHeilprin,
Withthehelpmainlyofan individual
ganin 1882,
philanthropist,
whoacquiredlandfromW. H. MillerofPhiladelphia
and broughtseventeen
RussianJewsto beginitscultivation.
On 123ofits848acrestheygrewcorn,rye,buckandberries.
wheat,vegetables,
Theyputup houses,schools,andoutbuildings.
They
addedstores,
a library,
school,and synagogue
(Klein1889,57).
Thecoloniesattracted
visitors
whowantedtoassessJewish
andsome
agriculture,
wroteofwhattheysawtojustify
In his1887address
supportformoreimmigration.
to theYoungMen'sHebrewAssociationin NewYork,BenjaminPeixotto,
former
ambassadorto Romaniaand head of B'nai B'rith,theJewish
serviceorganization
foundedinNewYorkCityin1843,forcefully
Jewsshouldhelp
arguedthatAmerican
EasternEuropeanJewsby bringing
themto America.He reassuredhis listeners
abouttheimmigrants'
Ofthe5o,ooonewRussianimmigrants
inthe
dependability:
twopreceding
returned
as
His
on
the
were
27
years,only
paupers. reports
progress
of recentagricultural
likeAllianceaddedpersuasion;
AmericanJews
experiments
could"feelencouraged
to receivethosewhodo comehereandto assistthem:assist
themin a waythattheyshallbe a blessingto themselves
and an honorto Israel"
he said,bothennoblesand allowsforan unbiased
(Peixotto1887,3). Agriculture,
assessment
of Jews'capability,
forrainfallis insensitive
to religion.In arguingfor
Peixotto
Americanized
Eastern
intervention,
explicitly
EuropeanJewsbylikening
themtoearlier,
andtheHuguenots.
Likethem,
worthy
religious
groups,thePilgrims
thisnewgroupwouldriserapidly
tobecomefullyself-supporting
and fullyassimilated.10
CharlesBernheimer,
settlement
houseleaderand superintendent
of theHebrew Educational Society (1910-1918),captured the American Jews'ambivalence
towardtheimmigrants.
a Darwinianview,he wrotethattheexperience
Reflecting
ofRussianJewsmadefora raceofphysically
unattractive
butgoodsurvivors,
prone
to nervousbutnotdebilitating
diseases:"Thefinalresultis thattheJewsat present
area pickedracewhichcan resistpain,misfortune,
starvation,
disease,
grief,
worry,
andevendeathbetterthanothercivilizedraces.Thosewhowereshiftless,
immoral,
drunkards
could not remainJewsunderthemedievalperseculazy,incorrigible
tions.Onlythosewhowerestrong,
and energetic
couldventure
to remain
healthy,
their
thecolonies,
Jews-hence
(Bernheimer
1905,294).Butafter
longevity"
visiting
he foundthepopulation
notjustproductive
muchimproved,
butalsohealthier
and moreattractive-clearly
a salubriouseffect.
WoodbinewasthelargestoftheSouthJersey
colonies,seton 5,300sandyacres
in Cape MayCountyand withtworailroads.Established
bytheBaronde Hirsch
wassomewhat
moreelaboratethanthatofthepreviousdecade's
Fund,itsplanning
the1880ssomeof thephilanthropists
becamemoreascolonies,and throughout
tuteabout what the colonies needed in orderto succeed. Peixotto,forexample,in
NEW JERSEY'S JEWISH COLONIES
35
in about1910o.C Copyright
all
American
HistoricalSociety,
FIG.3-Woodbine,New Jersey
Jewish
reserved.
oftheAmerican
Historical
NewtonCentre,
MasJewish
Reproduced
rights
courtesy
Society,
and NewYork,NewYork.
sachusetts
coloniesas a solutionforthenewimmigrants,
laid
his promotionof agricultural
were
out thetypesof thingsto consider:soil qualityand distancefrommarkets
and
he
that
lessons
be
learned
from
the
the
on
his
list,
Quakers,
high
thought
might
and
other
The
first
families
arMennonites,
fifty
religiousgroups(Peixotto1887).
rivedin thespringof1892.Eachfamily
unitreceived
15acresas theiroriginalgrant,
to whichtheymightlateradd an additional15.Someofthemenhad alreadyspent
timeatWoodbinetheprevious
yearearningsalariesfromtheBaronde HirschFund
on thosein
the
homes.
These
structures
werea decidedimprovement
bybuilding
Alliance-thesmallesthad fiverooms.The towngrewmorerapidlythandid the
otheragricultural
itaddedindustry
to
experiments
(Figures3 and 4). LikeAlliance,
a trying
first
twoyears.A townsitewaslaidoutin1897withfactories.
It
itsmixafter
moreambitiouspublicbuildingsthandidtheothercolonies.It created
had larger,
and homes,
itsownwatersystem,
a powerplantto generate
forfactories
electricity
as
an agricultural
school,and a industrial
school,and itwas incorporated
training
in
first
an independent
to
become
what
was
"known
as
the
1903,
borough
self-govsincethefallofJerusalem"
(Sam AzeezMuseum2003).
erningJewish
community
THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF THE COLONIES
ofthe
The colonieswererawplaces,theirnewnessfullyapparentin theroughness
The
first
andthelookofthepartially
clearedland(Figure5).
buildings
philanthroon thelayoutand buildingstyles,
butlong-standing
pistshad a decisiveinfluence
36
THE
GEOGRAPHICAL
REVIEW
New Jersey
in about1910.C Copyright
American
FIG. 4-Along therailroadtrackin Woodbine,
HistoricalSociety,
all rightsreserved.
oftheAmerican
Historical
Jewish
Jewish
Reproduced
courtesy
NewtonCentre,Massachusetts
and NewYork,NewYork
Society,
inWoodbine,
NewJersey
inabout191o.C Copyright
American
FIG. 5-Workinginthefields
Jewish
Historical
all rights
reserved.
oftheAmerican
Historical
Jewish
Society,
Reproduced
courtesy
Society,
NewtonCentre,Massachusetts
and NewYork,NewYork.
NEW JERSEY'S JEWISH COLONIES
37
lifewerenecessary
institutions
of RussianJewish
as well.The colonieswouldnot
haveexistedwithoutthephilanthropists'
becausestart-up
costsweretoo
support,
The funders,
NewYork,Philadelphia,
and Baltimore
largely
highforthecolonists.
in thattheirimGermanJews,
sharedmanyoftheaimsofAmericanProgressives
MichaelMcGerrdescribesProgressives
as wishingto instill
pulsewas reformist.
and independence
as wellas personalrestraint
in theirtarget
valuesofmutualism
a setofobjectives
withthecolonies'funders
(2003).
verymuchinkeeping
population,
were
associated
with
the
settlement-house
combined
also
which
movement,
They
withsocialmission,emphasizing
healthful
missionary
activity
housing,education,
The philanthropists
and betterworkingconditions."1
setup schools,
job training,
launchedtraining
and
civics
ensure
classes
to
that
programs, provided
immigrants
andallowthemto
acquiredan educationthatwouldfitthemintoAmerican
society
established
creditunionsto helpthesettlers
manage
paytheirway.Theyregularly
theirmoney,to prosper,and to repay theirbenefactors(Joseph [191411969, ix;
oftheBaronde HirschFundbegins
Norman1985).SamuelJoseph's
official
history
Its
work
its
[d] manyofthesocialtech"anticipate
bycelebrating accomplishments.
insocialengineering,'
itsbenefiniqueswhichhavebecomecommonplace
inspiring
sentiment
and practice"(p. ix). Fromthe
ciaries,as wellas others,in "American
Baronde HirschFundand Jewish
ColonizationAssociationcorrespondence
one
canseethatthehighest
foranyeffort,
a factory,
whether
road,orapplicompliment
ance,was to deemit"modern."
The philanthropists
thebuiltenvironment
enlisted
in theircause.Allianceand
Woodbinewerelaid out on a grid,eachblockplattedintoeasilytransferable
lots.
Street
Woodbine's
wereforAmeriprocess.
namingwaspartoftheAmericanization
canpresidents,
and
was
poets, philanthropists.
patriots,
Washington themainstreet,
butone couldliveon thecornerofJackson
and Clayor on Longfellow.
The Baron
de HirschFundenvisioned
andcommissioned
each
houses,
single-family
neatlyset
backon itslot.Largefarmacreagewasattheedgeoftown.InWoodbine,
one ofthe
blockswasdesignated
fora community
withtherisingassumption
park,inkeeping
ofthebenefits
conferred
of
for
byimproving
quality parks thepoorerclasses.Playalso
in
fields
thetownsrapidlydevelopedlocalbaseing
helped Americanization;
ballteamsandleagues-andevena grandstand
linked
(H. Eisenberg
1932,22). Joseph
thecoloniesto earlierAngloandAmericanones:Woodbinehad"a lay-outsimilar
to themedievalEnglishvillage,latercopiedin NewEngland.... The project[,]so
reminiscentof pioneer days,struckthe imaginationof the public press"(1935,50).
NoticeJoseph's
choiceofcomparison,
ratherthanto theequallyplausible-orimmiras agricultural
plausible-Russian
villageor shtetlas markettown.His image
breezed over questions of ownershipand distributionof profitsfromcrops that
distinguishedtheseforms.However,the linkworksbetterwithNew England than
medieval England,with its implicationsof religiouspersecutionand, equally important,the colonies' emphasison freeholding.
"The enthusiasmof the German Jewsforsocial engineeringwas not generally
sharedby theirpotentialbeneficiaries,"
noted Gerald Sorin (1992, 64). The corre-
38
THE
GEOGRAPHICAL
REVIEW
indicates
thattheybelieved
spondencebetweenthelandcompaniesandthesettlers
If
theirrepayment
schedulemade themthevictimsof economicshocktherapy.
merciless
marketforces,
wanted
slow
Americanization
meantaccepting
entry
they
indi1981).Moreover,
(Klein1889;Bailey1932;Brandesand Douglas1971;Herscher
chose
the
to thecolonies.Somesettlers
vidualsvariedin theircommitment
clearly
coloniesbecausetheywantedto farmand hopedto stayon. Otherssawthemas a
andyetotherswereunsure,recruited
straight
waystationon theirroadelsewhere,
atimmigration
centers
in
offtheboatbytheBaronde HirschFundagentsstationed
to helpnewarrivals.
NewYork,Philadelphia,
and Baltimore
The settlers,
broughttheirownexpectamainlynewor nearlynewto America,
andoutlooksvarieddependtionsofcommunity
fromRussia,buttheirexperiences
in
lived
and
on
their
financial
on
where
the
Pale
had
position,education,
ing
they
andreligious
observance.
Alliance's
first
bya small,second
groupwassoonfollowed
theirrole;
wave.SamuelBailey(1932),a memberofthesecondgroup,emphasized
with
a
clearer
sense
ofwhat
the
Odessan
were
they
forward-looking,
intelligentsia,
newcomers.
EllenEisenberg's
shouldbe donethanthatofthefirst
poor,befuddled
Am
of
the
Olam
andthePale's
the
foundational
of
Alliance
impact
emphasized
study
and
those
from
cities
such
as
southeastern
Odessa,Kiev, Elizabethgrad
immigrants,
moregenerally
(1995,91-118).She describestheearliestperiodas Alliance'smost
notjustofnecessity
lotswereestablished
butalso
beforeindividual
communitarian,
in
of
four
to
facilitate
the
intent.
for
clustered
Farms, example,
groups
sharingof
by
fromthenorthOvertime,however,
thenumberoflessideological
Jews
implements.
dominancein theoverallmigration
westernPale rose,reflecting
theirincreasing
ofprivateowner"thesponsors'beliefin thebenefits
stream.Butmostimportant,
as themodelcitizen"
meantthatthecomfortheyeomanfarmer
shipandreverence
as
of
individualistic
a
practices(p. 113).
developed place
munity
in thefounding
ofWoodbine.
MembersoftheAm Olam werealso prominent
hiredbytheBaronde HirschFund
wasH. L. Sabsovich,
One ofthemostimportant
or overseer.
He grewup in Odessa,trained
as thecommunity's
first
superintendent
in Switzerland,
in agronomy
and in Russiaadvocatedtheapplicationofscienceto
in theUnitedStatesin 1887,he workedfora timeas a
Afterarriving
agriculture.
experiment
peddleruntilhe was appointedassistantdirectorof theagricultural
stationin FortCollins,Colorado.The Baronde HirschFund'soffergavehiman
His wife'smemdreamofJewish
rolein hislong-cherished
important
agriculture.
conditions
a manofenormousenergy
and totaldevotiontobettering
oirdescribes
school
administraIn Woodbinehe servedas overseer,
forhiscompatriots.
mayor,
he negotiand farmer(K. Sabsovich1922,36). As local administrator
tor,teacher,
withcontractors
onnewbuildings,
atedwiththestateandcountieson roadbuilding,
tosettleandwiththeBaronde HirschFundon whichblocksshouldbe openedfirst
ment (see forexample,H. L. Sabsovich 1899,19oo, 1901,various dates). He epito-
OdessanJew.
mizedthemodern,civic-minded,
yetphysiocratic
Theshtetls
ofthePale,fromwhichmany
Othercolonists
weremoretraditional.
ofthesettlers
medievalvillages,
accretions
ofbuildings
andwindcame,resembled
NEW JERSEY'S JEWISH COLONIES
39
The marketwas thecenterofthetown,and it servedbothJewish
and
ingstreets.
as partofthetowns,werewithinsightof
non-Jewish
populationswhosequarters,
each other-closerthan in the new colonies (Dobroszyckiand KirschenblattGimblett
1977).As MarkZborowskiand ElizabethHerzogdescribedthem,buildeven the
ings throughoutthe townweretypicallyshabbywooden structures,
Houses
around
the
which
to
the
better-off
market,
residents,
synagogues.
belonged
tendedto be larger,
perhapstwo storied,withthelowerlevelservingas a store.
Most of thehouses,though,wereone-story
surrounded
affairs,
by a smallyard,
a
Zborowski
and
perhapscontainingvegetable
garden.
Herzogarguedthattheshabbinessreflected
a distinct
worldview.
"Thereis no 'Jewish'
The chararchitecture.
acteristic
features
of thebuildingsare theirage and shabbiness.... The general
appearanceofneglectdeclares... thefactthatthehouseis viewedas a temporary
shell.My'shtetl'is thepeoplewho livein it,nottheplaceor thebuildingsor the
street"(1952,61-62), whether
had livedin thembriefly
residents
or fora century;
thenagain,pogromsmightmakeone loatheto investin buildingsthatmightbe
or call attention
to one'swealth.JohnKlierdescribesthelargepublic
destroyed
as
on
buildings unpainted theoutsidebut colorfulwithin(2000, 29-30). David
Roskiesfurther
theshtetl:
"whentheshtetlwas stillhometo millions
disembodies
ofJews,
itwasdescribed,
ifat all,as a stateofmind.... Theveryconceptofa map
was foreign
to theconceptualframework
oftheshtetlinhabitants,
whether
realor
4). YoramBar-Galdividedtheshtetlintotwodistinctrealms,
(2000,
imaginary"
eachwithitsowncoreandperiphery
corehadthemarket
at
(1985).The functional
itscenter;theculturalcorewas thesynagogue.
It was theculturallayoutthemigrantshad broughtwiththem.
Alliance's
thissameprovisional
sense.Bailey'smemoriginal
buildings
conveyed
oir ofthecolony'searlydaysdescribedthehousesas "shanties"
(1932). Theywere
with
one
room
and
a
for
Made
of
cubes,
14-foot
pineand plastered
garret sleeping.
on theinside,theyprovidedlittleinsulation,
and Baileyremembers
theseverecold.
But thebuildingswerelaid out on themoreorderly,
American-influenced
grid,
withmorelandbetweenhouses,and photographs
ofWoodbine'searlydaysshow
houseslikethosethatlinethestreets
whiteframe
ofmanyNewJersey
towns-simple
with
roofs
andcenter
homes,one-ortwo-story
clapboardbuildings steeply
pitched
each
set
on
its
own
some
with
or
One
two
even
havelow,
lot,
chimneys,
porches.
whitepicketfences.Sabsovich-reflecting
theAmericanadoptionof ornamental
lawns-initiated
and receivedsupportfora programto rewardhomeowners
for
their
of
ornamental
and
lawns.
shrubs,
flowers,
beautifying yards,addingplantings
He thoughtthatthiswouldencourageneaterhabitson thepartof thesettlers.
It
wouldalsoadd a noteofpermanence
tothelandscape.He hadstreets
to
resurveyed
makesurethatroadswereproperly
and he addedshadetreesforbeautifistraight,
cation (H. L. Sabsovich 19O00).
The placement
of synagogues
The modelwas notthe
reflected
twotraditions.
Puritanvillagethephilanthropists
in whichthechurchwascentral
likedto invoke,
andfronted
on thevillagegreen.In theshtetl,
thesynagogue-stood
themarket-not
40
THE
GEOGRAPHICAL
REVIEW
atthecenter,
andthehousesradiatedoutfromit.Theshtetl
waslikely
tohaveseveral
different
ortrades,
dispersed
possibly
representing
practices
throughout
synagogues,
andHerzog
thecommunity
rather
a strategic
location(Zborowski
thancommanding
and educational
centers
thatwere
werereligious,
social,cultural,
1952).Synagogues
in
at
hand.
the
a
new
was
to
close
On
other
Odessa
hand,
always
synagogue
designed
be elegant,
withspacefora choir,
morelikea church
60o).
1985,
(Zipperstein
Alliance'sfirst
waserectedin 1888,anotherin 1889,and twomorein
synagogue
The numbers(several)and
lateryears.Woodbinebuiltitssynagogue
immediately.
locations(dispersed)weremorelikethepatternof theshtetl,
and AmericanJews
orconvenience
for
wondered
whether
divisions
bemusedly
religious
theyreflected
rifts
thecomattendance
described
thereligious
within
(Klein1889).EllenEisenberg
in
These
asas
evident
the
of
places worship(1995,91).
synagogues
munity being
sumed a role in the lifeof the communitycomparableto thatof theirPale
mixedwithdiscussiongroups,
counterparts.
Religionand educationwereliberally
Thefirst
andEnglish-language
allheldinhousesofworship.
classes,
synameetings,
brickbegogueswerebuiltofwood,butovertimethemoresolidand substantial
camethebuilding
material
ofchoice.
Thebuildings
wereairyandlight
withmany
thecongregations'
senseofsecurity
atthesametime
windows,
reflecting,
perhaps,
thattheyaccordedmorewiththosesynagogues
builtbyAmerican-born
Jews(Figure6).
and severalcenThe shtetland thecoloniescontaineda cemetery,
bathhouse,
townstendedto locatealonga
tersof learning.
Bothin thePale and New Jersey,
stream.In thePale,itwas understood
thatmenand womenhad separatebathing
sections.Alliancehad itsdesignatedmen'sand women'sbathingsectionsin the
river(Figure2), butthecoloniesaddedindoorplumbingas rapidlyas theycould.
Bothcolonieshad a buildingforritualbathing.The cemetery
was at
traditionally
theouteredgeof thecommunity
was
avoided
and,thoughimportant, normally
andHerzog,376-377).Alliance'scemetery
wasattheedgeoftown--but
(Zborowski
nextto houses(Purmell1981).Woodbine'swas,and stillis,setapartfromthetown,
withno housesadjoiningit.
in thecolonies,and educationtookplacein a variwasvaluedhighly
Learning
orthestudy
thecommunity-in
auditoriums,
etyofplacesthroughout
synagogues,
ofa rabbiorlearnedman.Butformal
educationwasinpublic,notreligious
schools,
in
for
Woodbine
beand English.
Alliance's
students
wenttoVineland highschool.
schoolwithsubstantial
schooland an agricultural
ganbothan industrial
training
investment
These
were
ambitiousendeavors,
fromthephilanthropic
organizations.
facilities.
The Agricultural
School,describedas the first
requiringpurpose-built
in
school
the
United
was
a
feature
ofthetown's
States,
agricultural
high
prominent
landscape,takingup a numberof acresforbuildingsand fieldsat theedgeof the
wastopped
town.Itlookedsolid,withitsbrickstructures,
andtheclassroom
building
to classes.The schoolhad dormitories
and
bya steeplewitha bellto callstudents
beacon(K. Sabsoforanimals.Itwasclearly
to serveas an educational
outbuildings
vich 1922; Bailey1932; Eisenberg1995).
NEW
JERSEY S JEWISH
COLONIES
41
Bothtownsincludedsomecommerce,
butneither
tookon as centrala market
roleas theshtetlonce did. The shtetl'sprominence
as a marketcenterwas itself
andaltering
inthelatenineteenth
inresponse
toeconomicchanges.
declining
century
AllaSokolova'sstudyofPodolia,a regioninpresent-day
describes
theway
Ukraine,
thecenterbeganto servethepoorestJews,
as thewealthier
onesputsomedistance
now the Sam
FIG. 6-The WoodbineBrotherhood
Synagogue,
AzeezMuseumofWoodbineHeritage.(Photograph
bytheauthor,
March2005)
betweenthemselves
and theoldersectionsof town,especiallyas theold market
businessesbecamelessfinancially
lucrative(2000,37-40).Thustheold landscape
wouldhavebeenan uncertain
blueprint.
Alliancelackeda clearcenter.
Iftherewasa gathering
point,itwasthepostoffice
andgeneralstore;memoirsoftheearlydaysmentiopwalkswithfriends
tothepost
office
to checkformailbutreallyto passthetime,to see and be seen(Bailey1932;
42
THE
GEOGRAPHICAL
REVIEW
thatwere
Thegeneral
storeandtheotherstores
H. Eisenberg
1932;Purmell
1981).
streets.
started
laterhada smalltradeandwereinterspersed
alongtheresidential
went
to
and
to
Vineland
Alliance
farmers
tooktheir
sell,
everyone
produce nearby
more
had
there
tobuysupplies
Woodbine,
(H. Eisenberg
1932).
bydesign,
regularly
which
busiofa center
onWashington
waslinedwithshopsanddida lively
Street,
were
the
small
businesses
located
other
on
But
ness,especially Sundays. many
along
homeandbusiness
combined
where
streets,
easily.
becamepartof
rapidly
plans,industrial
buildings
Thoughnotintheoriginal
and
Thefarmers
lackedsufficient
inWoodbine.
thelandscape,
income,
especially
Fund
Alliance's
Baron
de
Hirsch
had
to
sotheagricultural
agent
experiment change.
theterms
oftheexandthenreframed
therepayment
schedule
first
renegotiated
Thefarmers
neededa marinAlliance
wasnotsubsistence.
periment.
Agriculture
an evenlarger
A cannery
wouldhelpas well,providing
ketto keepthemafloat.
foreaseoftransneartherailroad
station
TheNormacannery
wassituated
buyer.
with
wouldbuythe
to
urban
markets.
Factories
workers
canned
the
goods
porting
factories
wouldsave
Rather
thandestroying
farmers'
Jewish
produce.
agriculture,
butnowitwouldsupport
wouldstillrestonJewish
it.Thecommunity
agriculture,
otherwise
have
toliveinthedreary,
that
a larger
andhealthier
community might
difounditspopulation
ofAlliance
cities.12
difficult
equally
By1901 a statesurvey
closer
to
In
Alliance
started
one
and
videdbetween
up
factory
agriculture industry.
in
Woodbine
several
but
River.
Smallonesmight
theMaurice
large
adjoinhouses,
oneslocatedalongtherailroadtracks(Klein1889;Stainsby
1921, 131901;Goldstein
FundArchives
various
22;Baronde Hirsch
dates).
ninemanufacturing
theclothing
OfAlliance's
establishments,
industry-familof
number
the
other
iarto,butlessdesirable
than,
industries-employedlargest
are
more
wouldbe established
that
"Itwashopedthatindustries
workers.
manly
too
towhich,
forthefuture
thanthatofneedlework,
andpromising
unfortunately,
themselves"
have
forced
to
devote
Russian
been
of
the
(Klein1889,
many
refugees
toBaronde Hirsch
Fundapproval,
weresubject
51).Woodbine's
factory
buildings
oftheday,longand lowwith
red-brick
structures
and theywentup as thefamiliar
to
windows
natural
allowing
light complementthe hangingbulbs inside.
large
was
a reliable
sourceofelectricity.
Woodbine's
Industry
plantmadeavailable
power
whenviewing
its
butnotthephysically
dominant
part,especially
partofthetown,
was
a
will
to
there
Even
as
the
towns'
economic
fortunes
vacillated,
keep
landscape.
urban.
thantobecometruly
themsmallrather
ANDINTHEEND
After
aidsocieties
colonies,
1892 theJewish
although
gaveupestablishing
agricultural
theexisting
coloniesuntilafterWorldWarI. It tookuntil1913
theystillsupported
forthemto acknowledgethatretreat(Maze 1952). They maintainedtheirpromo-
theJewish
Jewish
tionofagriculture
Society-later
Agbysupporting
Agricultural
riculturaland IndustrialSociety-and publicationsliketheperiodicalJewishFarmer
(Brandesand Douglas 1971, 93). AfterWorldWarI, RussianJewish
immigration
NEW JERSEY'S JEWISH COLONIES
43
was no longerhigh,and so theexperiment
faded.The philanthropists
alwaysintendedtheirfunding
ofthecoloniestobe temporary.
Woodbine's
School
Agricultural
a
useful
to
view
their
retreat.
provides
prism
gradualphilanthropic
The schoolstartedauspiciously
in 1894and grewrapidly,
addingmoreyoung
menand lateryoungwomenand increasing
thesizeofthestaff.
Growthin enrollwereneeded,
mentdroverequestsformorefundsforexpansion;moredormitories
as werebiggerfacilities
fordiningandnewoutbuildings
foranimalsandforplants.
Aftera decade-longeffort,
thephilanthropic
resistedtherequests.
organizations
Correspondenceback and forthfrom1901to 1915revealsan increasinglyunwilling
funder(Hale 1890;Baronde HirschFundRecordsvariousdates).TheJewish
ColonizationSocietysuggested
in
standards
for
the
school:
more
higher
selectivity adbettertraining
smallerwouldbe better.
Thosewhocameout
ofteachers;
missions;
oftheschoolwouldserveas inspiring
the
But
more
to
examples.
point,thefunders'
ownresources
and
no
felt
should
decreased, they longer they
pouras muchmoney
into this one endeavor (Leven 1915;Meyerson1915).In 1917the school was closed
and turnedoverto thestate.It reopenedin 1921as theWoodbineSchoolforthe
no longerJewish
and no longeragricultural.
Feeble-Minded,
The colonies peaked in 1901(Shapiro 1977,301). Jewishfarming,ultimately,
was
notdonein colonies(Shpall1950,146).Instead,individual
orsmallgroupsoffarmerssetthemselves
in
on
land
outside
the
which
sometimes
up
city
theyhad settled,
withtheaid oftheJewish
Agricultural
Society(Maze 1952).Manyofthesefarmers
weretakingtheirsecondstepin theUnitedStates,leavingtheconfines
ofthecity
knew
but
their
ties
to
it.
had
a
market
theyalready
They
ready-made
maintaining
fortheirgoods,and manysupplemented
theirincomebywelcoming
citydwellers
to profit
fromthefreshairoftheirfarms.13
LeonardRobinson's
census
ofJew191o
ish agriculture
counted3,438farmsacrossthecountry,
in
withnearlytwo-thirds
NewYork,New Jersey,
and Connecticut.
Stateswherecolonieshad existedat one
timetendedto havelargernumbers,
buttheonlystateswithnoneat all wereNevada and New Mexico(1912,59). Jewish
was distinctive,
ifnotunique.
agriculture
farmers
livedin everystate,theyconcentrated
in theNortheast,
AlthoughJewish
theone Americanregionthenlosingfarmsand farmacreage(Davidson1943,23).
Thefarms
leftbehindas insufficiently
forthose
productive
providedan opportunity
ofsmallmeans.
The questionstilllingered,
Could a Jewbecomea farmer?
Studiesshowedthey
could.In his 1921 dissertation
will,I hope,
PhilipGoldsteinstated:"Thishistory
establish
locationand thesatisfactory
educational
and social
that,givena favorable
farmer
willprowithout
whichhe can nowhere
be happy,
theJewish
opportunities
duce as good a cropperacreas hisScotchor Scandinavian
that,thereneighbor;
fore,theopinion thattheJewis unsuitedto farmingis entirelycontraryto theactual
fact"(1921,13).That is,giventherightconditions,Jewswereas agrarianas anyother
group.Responsesto the sociologistGabrielDavidson's 1940squestionnaire,sentto
Jewishfarmersaround the country,revealed that 90 percentof them had come
fromnonagriculturalbackgroundsbut thattheyhad adapted well. Eightypercent
44
THE
GEOGRAPHICAL
REVIEW
FIG.7-A tree-lined
streetin Woodbine,NewJersey.
(Photograph
bytheauthor,March2005)
withfarming
and thoughtit a good lifechoice.
respondedthattheyweresatisfied
Ninety-two
percentthoughtthatJewscouldbe good farmers.
Ninety-five
percent
had good relations
withtheirneighbors,
whooftenwerenotJewish.
Theyhad becomean indistinguishable
partofruralAmerica.
as thenumTheurgent
needtodemonstrate
thatJews
couldfarmhaddissipated
berof farmers
acrossthecountry
and
as
their
communities
dropped
increasingly
feltmarginalized.
The country
was no longerthesameagricultural
it
experiment
had beentwenty
Thechildren
oftheagricultural
colonieshadbecome
yearsearlier.
so Americanized
thattheyengagedin thatmostAmericanofAmericanpractices,
movingon and movingup.14
Allianceand Woodbinebetray
Morethanone hundredyearsaftertheirfounding,
thanlarge(Figure7). AnoccasionalJewish
staron
theiroriginsin smallwaysrather
themostovertsign,and thecemeteries
remain.Alliance,
the
a buildingis probably
firstamongits neighbors,
has actuallydroppedoffthe map,whileonce-nearby
Norma and Brotmanville
persist,but moreas crossroads.Streetnames-Schiff,
Gershel-still
recollect
thefunders.
Eachroadhas an unpredictable
patEisenberg,
withtheold
ternof smallfarmswithorchardsand chickenhousesinterspersed
framehousesor newersuburbanranches(Figure8). Butthetownswerelongago
communities.
absorbedintosurrounding
NEW
JERSEY S JEWISH
COLONIES
45
New Jersey.
March2005)
FIG.8-Fruittreesin Alliance,
(Photograph
bytheauthor,
and to the
Woodbineis moreof a place.On itssouthernend arehorsefarms,
What
was
once
a
northnewdevelopments
areunderconstruction.
largesynagogue
on Washington
Streetopenedas theSamAzeezMuseumofWoodbineHeritagein
is morelikelyto be African
American
2003. The populationofbothcommunities
has subis
more
than
and
which
(Woodbine's
30 percent)
Hispanic(Vineland,
sumedAlliance,is morethan30 percentHispanic).Pentecostal
churcheshavereThe old agricultural
school,turnedoverto thestatein 1917,
placedthesynagogues.
forthose
stilloccupiesthemostacreage.Since1921ithasbeena residential
facility
well
unit
of
the
of
withdevelopmental
as
as
a
disabilities,
Department Human
with
Services.NeitherAlliancenorWoodbinewas gifted
good soils.Theywere
withsandyor tannicsoils.Insteadofbecoming
partofa pinelandand a wetland,
orotherwise,
centers
ofexpanding
Jewish
todaybothadjoinconservaagriculture,
in thecase ofAllianceand a stateparkfor
tionlands-theNatureConservancy's
butmisplaced,
ambiWoodbine.That,too,is a typicalAmericanstory-ofworthy,
tion.
NOTES
as exceptional
in the
1. Daniel Elazarhas anotherexceptionalism:
AmericanJewish
experience
contextof world Jewry(1995,22).
in introducing
the
2. In hismuch-reported
LawrenceSummers,
2005speech,HarvardPresident
ofwomeninthesciences,
alludedtootherunderstudied
andpoorly
subjectoftheunderrepresentation
and agriculture.
to Goldscheider
and
understood
cases,one ofwhichwas Jewsin farming
According
Zuckerman(1984,166),lessthan25 percentof Jewish
between19ooand 1902identified
immigrants
46
THE
GEOGRAPHICAL
REVIEW
themselves
as laborers,
or farmers,
servants,
comparedwith80 percentforotherimmigrant
groups.
Someclearlydid farm,
and manyhad theirownkitchen
however,
gardensand chickens.
and Zuckerman
that3 percentof Jewsin thePale earnedtheirliving
3. Goldscheider
reported
fromagriculture
andthat40 percent
wereartisansandlaborers,
withthelargestnumberin theclothofRussianJewsin agriculture,
comas 2.33percent
ingtrades(1984,95). SolowBarongavethefigure
paredwith90opercentofRussians(1964,233).
andcolonization
movements
a complexweb,withfundsfromthose
formed
4. Thephilanthropic
suchas Baronde Hirschand theRothschilds
whosemissions
sparkinga varietyof organizations,
couldincludeland acquisition,
or training
and couldreinforce
each others'work.The
resettlement,
HebrewEmigrant
Aid Society,
an Americanphilanthropy,
was anotherkeyorganization
withinthe
UnitedStates,butitwaslessovertly
physiocratic.
coloniesdeclined,
becauseofconflicts
andthesettlers
betweenthefunders
and,
5. TheArgentine
becauseof laborunrestin Argentina
thatsomeofthecolonistssupported(Norman1985,
especially,
theArgentine
129).In response,
clampeddownon immigration.
government
6. Fora tableofpopulationand sourceregionthroughout
U.S. history,
see Elazar1995,53.
in allifinancier
Plan,developedbytheGermanAmericanJewish
JacobSchiff,
7. The Galveston
ancewiththeIndustrial
was responsible
RelocationAgency,
forbringing
10,000ooo
Jews
approximately
thatport(Marinbach1983).
through
8. Klein(1935,
farmers
withcapitalwerebuyingabandonedfarms
33-34)discussedhowindividual
in NewEngland.
in upstate
9. The veryfirsttalkof a Jewish
colonywas foran 1825project-Ararat,
agricultural
NewYork-buttheprojectnevermovedfromannouncement
to settlement
(Herscher1981,29). Jews
inAmerican
an 1820-1823
colonization
for36,ooo
mentions
plan,omitted
Agriculture
byotherwriters,
acresin Florida'sAlachuaCounty,whichincludedseventy
families
fromNewYorkand New Jersey
on thenumberof suchsmallcoloniesseemsto be increasing
(JAS1954,16). Information
rapidlyas
offshoots
ofgenealogical
aresharedon theInternet.
volume
research
FormanyyearsUriHerscher's
was thestandardworkon thesubject(1981).He enumerated
abouttwenty
coloniesin additionto
in SouthDakota;an unnamedsettlement
thosein SouthJersey:
and Cremieux,
Bethlehem-Jehudah
in Arkansas;Cotopaxi,Colorado;an additionalcolonyin NorthDakota;Palestine(laterBad Axe),
inUtah,California,
NewWaterview,
andAikenCounty,
Michigan;and,withoutdetail,efforts
Virginia,
SouthCarolina.But he omitsa fewI foundin recentsearches,
particularly
verysmallgroupsthat
startedup afterthefirst
had collapsed.
10. Thistacticwas employed
Foranotherexample,see
bymanyadvocatesfortheimmigrants.
Klein1935,
andAmericanangle,AndrewHeinze,inhisrecentbookon American
lo. Froma different
identities
and psychologies,
notesthatJewshaveoftenbeen depictedas havingthequalities
Jewish
vulassociatedwithAmericanbusinessmen,
buttakento extremes
thatmakethempsychologically
nerable(2004,23).
is moreoftenassociatedwithgritty
thesettlement-house
movement
cities,it also
11.Although
workedin ruralareas.America's
ruralpopulationofmostinterest
to thesettlement
movement
was in
the
movement
Unlike
the
settlement
colonies,
however,
Jewish
Appalachia.
Appalachian
agricultural
did notremaketheplaces;instead,theyfocusedon theregion'speople.Theyestablished
educational
intended
to drawpeoplefromtheirhomesinthehollowsandto takeup crafts
tobe
programs
thought
of
their
Place
was
if
the
one
considers
remade,
however,
(Whisnant
1983).
part
eventually
heritage
major
ofplaceandpeopleintheambitions
oftheTennessee
reworkings
ValleyAuthority
(Boyce2004).
12. Although
thefactories
survive,
helpedthecommunities
theycausedconcernamongsomein
thelabormovement.
AnarticleintheWeekly
Bulletin
Tradesdescribed
Woodbinethus:
oftheClothing
"Itis a charity
on extrinsic
bredtown,a charity
fedtown,anddependent
aid foritsbreathoflife.Ithas
no soulofitsown."Itsfactories
scab"
onlyworkediftheyunderbidunionscale.Itwas"irredeemably
(Sullivan1905,5).
NewJersey
is a thorough
13. Gertrude
1992studyofFarmingdale,
Dubrovsky's
studyofa Jewish
in 1919.
ratherthancolony,established
farming
community,
and Zuckerman
wrote:"Jewsrespondedin diversewaysto theprocessof be14. Goldscheider
entered
themiddle
mobile,becameeducated,
comingAmericans.
Theyweresociallyandgeographically
NEW JERSEY'S JEWISH COLONIES
47
theirreligion"
one canviewas a move
classes,and reformed
(1984,157).Eachone ofthesedirections
of thesuccessoftheRussianJewish
immigrant
awayfromthecolonies.Fora thorough
exploration
oftheiridentity,
see Brodkin1998.
1984;forchangesin perception
group,see Birmingham
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