Alliance Colony facts for kids
The Alliance Colony was a special Jewish farming community. It started on May 10, 1882, in Pittsgrove Township, New Jersey, in the United States. The colony got its name from the Alliance Israélite Universelle in Paris. It received money from groups like the Hebrew Emigrant Aid Society and The Baron De Hirsch Fund.
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A New Start: History of the Colony
After a leader in Russia was killed, Jewish people faced a lot of violence and persecution. This caused many families to leave Russia and move to America. Many first lived in crowded apartments in Manhattan's Lower East Side.
As more Jewish people came to America, they wanted to leave the crowded cities. Some Jewish thinkers believed that new immigrants should become farmers. They felt this would help them be more independent. Many settled in different parts of the country. But they still wanted to live in mostly Jewish areas. They knew that being able to support themselves was very important. This led them to start farming communities. The Alliance Colony began with 43 families. By the end of the first summer, 60 to 70 families lived there.
The settlers each received about 15 acres (61,000 m2) of land. This land needed to be cleared and farmed. The immigrants didn't know much about farming. They found it hard to farm the sandy soil in South Jersey. But their neighbors helped teach them. A group called HIAS paid workers while they cleared the land. Local politicians also helped the colony. They arranged for over 1,000 army tents for shelter. These tents were used until permanent homes could be built.
Life in the Alliance Community
The Alliance Colony was mostly a farming community. But it also had many skilled workers. There were cabinetmakers, blacksmiths, and masons. Later, a clothing factory was built. This factory is still open today.
In 1901, the colony had 151 adults and 345 children. There were 78 farms, worth a lot of money. The community owned 1,886 acres (7.63 km2) of land. About 1,354 acres of this land were cleared for use.
Education was very important in Alliance. They built several well-known schools. They also built four synagogues, which are Jewish places of worship. At least one synagogue is still used today. The community also had a Jewish cemetery.
Alliance Colony Today
Most Jewish farming communities from the late 1800s and early 1900s no longer exist.
But parts of the Alliance Colony are still here today. The cemetery is still used by Jewish communities nearby. It is kept in good condition. The home of Moses Bayuk, who helped start the colony, is still standing. There are plans to turn his home into a cultural center and museum.
Lillian Greenblatt Braun was the last known person who lived in the Alliance Colony. She turned 100 years old in 2005. She passed away in 2015 at the age of 110.
The Jewish Federation of Cumberland, Gloucester & Salem Counties is building a Jewish Heritage Center. This center will be on the colony's land. It will share the history of the community. It will also tell the story of Jewish people in America and their role in farming.
The old Tifereth Israel synagogue was built in 1889. It stopped being used in 1996. It is one of the few 19th-century synagogues still standing in the United States.
In 2017, William Levin and his wife Malya Levin started a project. It's called the Alliance Community Reboot project (ACRe). They want to bring farming life back to the old Alliance Colony. They are working with a local Jewish farmer, Nathan Kleinman. He has planted old types of grains and plants on land owned by the Levins. This land is near the old Tifereth Israel synagogue. They plan to grow their farming efforts in the future.
Notable people
People who were born in, lived in, or were connected to the Alliance Colony include:
- Stanley Brotman (1924–2014), a judge for the United States District Court.
- Joseph B. Perskie (1885–1957), a Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.
- George Seldes (1890–1995), an American investigative journalist and writer. He was known for his newsletter In Fact.
- Gilbert Seldes (1893–1970), an American writer and critic of culture.
