South Trenton, New Jersey

South Trenton or Southside Trenton is a neighborhood in Trenton, New Jersey, United States, that is home to a diverse array of immigrants from places such as Italy, Latin America, and Ireland and their ancestors. It is Trenton's most diverse neighborhood and borders Hamilton Township to the Southeast and the Delaware River to the West. South Trenton had a brief existence as an independent municipality, from 1840 to 1851.

South Trenton was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 28, 1840, from portions of Nottingham Township. The borough was annexed by Trenton on April 14, 1851."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 164.] [ [http://trentonhistory.org/His/appendixB.htm Chronology of Important Events] , accessed March 25, 2007]

South Trenton is home to Trenton's famed Chambersburg neighborhood also known as "The 'Burg". It is historically Trenton's most diverse immigrant community and had residents hailing from places such as Poland, Slovakia, Ireland, Hungary, Ukraine and Germany though eventually mostly Italian immigrants and their offspring came to dominate the neighborhood. It is known for being the Restaurant District of Trenton as numerous banners hung throughout the neighborhood attest to. Almost all of the restaurants in the neighborhood specialize in Italian cuisine. Chambersburg was also known for its annual celebration called the Feast of Madonna or the Feast of Lights further reflecting its cultural and religious roots. Chambersburg is also home to many members and associates of the "Mafia" in New Jersey's underworld.The past 15 or so years South Trenton has been experiencing a sharp rise in residents from Latin America, especially Puerto Rico. In the southernmost part of South Trenton, and therefore the entire city, known as "The Bottom" the concentration of Puerto Ricans is especially noticeable. But today much has change thier are still large concentrations of Puerto Ricans but more recent Guatemalin, Costa Rican, and Ecuadorin immigrants have came to the neighborhood. Many have set up new stores and businesses. Today South Broad St. in South Trenton is home to Trentons largest population of Latinos.

Landmarks

Landmarks in South Trenton include the First Baptist Church of Trenton located at the corner of Centre and Bridge Street which was founded in 1805. The Sovereign Bank Arena, home to the Trenton Devils ECHL hockey team, was completed in 1999 and hosts hundreds of events per year from hockey games to musical concerts to job fairs as well as the very popular PrimeTime Shootout showcasing some of the nation's best talent in high school basketball (the Sovereign Bank Arena -->] also hosted the highest-scoring game of Lebron James' high school career) in early 2003. It is located at the corner of South Broad St. and Hamilton Ave. The Trenton Thunder stadium, Waterfront Park, is located at the end of Cass St. ] (nicknamed "Thunder Road"). It is the Class AA-affiliate of the New York Yankees (formerly the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox) and counts Tony Clark, Carl Pavano, Trot Nixon, Nomar Garciaparra, David Eckstein, Dioner Navarro, Chen Ming-Wing, Phil Hughes, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, Bret Saberhagen, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, and Roger Clemens (the latter four as injury rehabs) among its former players. The New Jersey State Prison (NJSP) is also located in South Trenton mainly along 2nd St. and has a mural dedicated to the Trenton Thunder along its side that faces Thunder Road.

Another very famous landmark of South Trenton and Chambersburg is the famed and renowned Italian People's Bakery, Known as the "Pride of Chambersburg", It has served the Neighborhood and area bread, and Italian baked goods for over 60 years. It is still family owned and operated by descendants of the same family that started the business over 60 years ago. They now have locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but their main location is in the Heart of Chambersburg at 61-63 Butler Street near the Famous Italian Banquet Hall Roman Hall and also near St Joachims Church and many other legendary Chambersburg businesses.

History

In April 1828, all South Trenton from the Assunpink southward was included in Nottingham Township. Trenton was considered the section north of the creek. Nottingham was divided, however, on April 11, 1842, the territory set off being thenceforth known as Hamilton Township.

In 1831, John A. Roebling migrated from Germany, moving to Trenton in about 1848, when he purchased some acres of land on South Broad Street where his new wire plant would be located.In 1851, South Trenton was annexed as part of Trenton. This also included the areas of Mill Hill and Bloomsbury. 5 years later, the part of Hamilton known as Lamberton was annexed as well. Mill Hill was the sight of some of the earliest known industrial development in Trenton. Residents were mostly working and middle class: industrial workers, clerks, shopkeepers, teachers and government workers. Mill Hill grew rapidly in the second half of the nineteenth century, with some decline toward the end of the century. An analysis of households based on city directories of this period charts the composition of the neighborhood.

Many people consider Chambersburg part of South Trenton and call the area of the Streets of Lamberton, Cass, and Centre as “The Bottom” because of its relative ghetto area and the sharp rise in crime along these streets.

Poles, Hungarians, Germans, Irish, Slovaks, Jews, and, more recently, Central Americans and Puerto Ricans were part of the large influx of immigrants at the early part of the 20th century in Trenton.

But among these groups, the Italians perhaps carved out for themselves the most distinctive ethnic neighborhood — Chambersburg, where some of Trenton’s famous Italian restaurants are located.

Chambersburg was once a quiet, semi-rural, largely Irish-German borough. But in the 1880s, John A. Roebling's Sons Co. and its wire-rope works took off as a major enterprise. They sought low-wage labor, and found it overseas. Producing wire rope for some of the country’s most famous bridges including the Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate, Roebling Works was a substantial manufacturing operation employing a tremendous labor force.

The vast majority of the residential and commercial buildings in Chambersburg date from the late nineteenth century up to the First World War.”2 As the Roebling plant reached the height of its prosperity following the First World War, local stores and other commercial services flourished in the area. Along South Clinton Avenue and Broad Street, “the corner bars, shops, and restaurants… [stood] as witnesses to the vitality of the industrial era.”3

Italians, Slovaks and Hungarians formed the muscle power for Roebling's might. Staying close to the plant, Italians settled in closely packed row houses, radiating northward along Butler, Bayard and Elmer streets. The other ethnic groups tended to settle southward, in company housing.In 1921, the final border was established in 1921, when land past Lamberton was annexed to be part of Trenton.

Decline and rise in crime

The decline of the South Ward began with the building of new suburban homes in the towns surrounding Trenton in the 1950s and 1960s. Many old factories closed and businesses left the area. Many cities experienced urban decay and a rise in crime, and Trenton did as well. In 1958, a young religious fanatic who grew up in a broken home stormed St. Joachim’s Church and shot three nuns, and then escapes out the back as police fired 1,000 rounds at shadows in the front window of the nunnery. Until the late 1960’s crime was sporadic. A South Broad Street home was the site of three burglaries between 1966 and 1970. What made the robberies more interesting was that the building adjacent to them was the home of the Trenton Police Department. Obviously having a precinct next door did not discourage the thieves. However, South Trenton was for the most part unaffected by the Trenton Riots of 1968, while downtown was looted and burned.

Due to the large population of Italian Americans in South Trenton, especially in the Chambersburg section, there is a strong history of Mafia presence in the neighborhood. The Mafia continues to operate in the area, with most members being associates of the Philadelphia Mafia.

A notorious Mafia murder occurred on or around Valentine's Day in 1981, when an ambitious young Trenton gangster named Frank Stillitano was snatched off the street by Mafia thugs who pulled a black hood over his head and drove him away for execution. Stillitano's corpse was found stuffed into the trunk of a car linked to his own brother-in-law 12 days later at Philadelphia International Airport. He had been shot behind the left ear and left knee. Cops from Philly to Trenton to New York knew right away who killed Frank "Frankie Stale" Stillitano, 28: soldiers from the Gambino crime family made the hit to avenge Stillitano's slaying of Trenton capo Nicky Russo's son on March 24, 1979. Trenton wouldn't find out who killed Frankie Stale until May 1997, when Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano came out with a book in which he admitted killing Stillitano and 18 other mobsters, including a Trenton capo he came to admire, John "Johnny Keys" Simone.

In the Latin American areas of South Trenton, Guatemalan gangs have come to challenge the long-established dominance of the Latin Kings in South Trenton and Trenton hosts an annual "Ms. Ecuador Pageant" every July. In addition to the Latin Kings South Trenton is home to many members of the gangs GTO (Guatemalans Taking Over), the Nietas, MS-9, and the Bloods. Most of these divergent groups' members come to a head at the local junior high school for South Trenton, Grace A. Dunn Middle School also known as Junior High School Number Four or simply "Jr.4". This has played a part in making Jr.4 one of five "persistently dangerous schools" in the State of New Jersey according to No Child Left Behind reporting. Despites these realities, South Trenton is by many considered the safest neighborhood in Trenton with relatively low rates of violent crime when compared with other parts of New Jersey's Capitol City.

There was a sharp rise in crime during the mid 1990's but as of 2008 due to Trenton Police Department's new tactics crime is down to a low level in South Trenton.

In Books

Chambersburg is the location for and is mentioned frequently in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series.

References