DescriptionBanquet of the Italian American Sportsmen's Club Nov. 28th 1926, Trenton N.J.
As with many immigrant groups in the state, Italians have a long history in Trenton, New Jersey, with the first immigrant arriving in 1714 in Amwell Township. From the 1890 through 1921, Italians were the largest immigrant group in Trenton. Most immigrants were from areas south of Rome and Sicily, and, due to the abundance of jobs in the industries of Trenton during the turn of the century, they settled in the Chambersburg area of Trenton, known to others as "the Burg."
While Americanization was encouraged , since wages were low, hours long, and conditions dangerous, many Italians banded together in family units and small concentrations of people from their hometown in Italy, or "paesani." Social clubs were a means for immigrant men (women were often not allowed as members) to socialize and gather around an activity which they used to do in their hometown in Italy, such as hunting. It was in 1921 that the Italian American Sportsman's Club was formed in Trenton; in the 1970s with the advent of the National Women's Rights Movement and second generation Italian Americans now taking shape, that the club's parameters were expanded to change with the times. Many of the older generation fought fiercely to preserve the more traditional values and purpose of the club, which brought about power struggles and jealousy, and which led to the club's eventual dissolution.

Genreblack-and-white photographs, photographs

Time PeriodThe Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)

Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3DR2X3P

LanguageEnglish

CollectionNew Jersey Historical Society

Organization NameNew Jersey Historical Society (Newark, N.J.)

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