Alliance Colony

The Alliance Colony was a utopian community that was founded in Alliance, New Jersey on May 10, 1882. The Alliance Colony was a Jewish Agricultural Society. It was named after the Alliance Israélite Universelle of Paris and was founded by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society of New York and Philadelphia. [ [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1265&letter=A&search=alliance%20colony JewishEncyclopedia.com - ALLIANCE ] ]

Beginnings

After numerous pogroms in Russia, many Jewish families left and moved to America. They settled across the country, but many wished to continue living in fairly contained communities with like minded people.

The Alliance Colony was the first Jewish Agricultural Society in New Jersey.Fact|date=February 2008 It followed the creation of communities in places such as South Dakota and Oregan. Alliance was founded by a core group of twenty-five settlers but many more followed and by the end of the first summer, there were 60-70 families living in Alliance.

The land that was settled consisted of more than convert|1000|acre|km2 that needed to be cleared. Community members gained practical experience by working for community members. The Hebrew Emigrant Aid Society paid workers weekly during the period in which land was cleared. Alliance was also supported by local politicians who arranged for 1,000+ army tents for the community for shelter until permanent housing could be built. [Eisenberg, Ellen. Jewish Agricultural Societies in New Jersey, 1882-1920. Syracuse UP, Syracuse: 1995. 90-122.]

Community philosophy

As many Jewish families, immigrated to America, they tended to gather in tenements in large cities, such as New York. As the numbers of Jewish people in America increased, so did anti-Semitism. Some Jewish thinkers and community leaders proclaimed that recent Jewish immigrants ought "to become tillers of the soil and thus shake off the accusation that we were petty mercenaries living upon the toil of others." [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/22/nyregion/22colony.html The Last of the Jewish Farmgirls - New York Times ] ]

The Alliance Colony, like other Jewish Agricultural Societies, was often supported by charities and philanthropists such as the Hebrew Emigrant Aid Society and the Baron de Hirsch Fund.

The community was based on a peaceful co-existence and attempted to emulate some of its leaders, one of whom was described as "free of egotism, honest, and peaceful. He never showed anger and when he argued it was in a friendly tone and with an earnest, pale face illuminated by a smile that gave a strong impression of saintliness." [Eisenberg, Ellen. Jewish Agricultural Societies in New Jersey, 1882-1920. Syracuse UP, Syracuse: 1995. 90-122.]

Community makeup

The Alliance Colony was primarily a farming community but also included various craftsmen - cabinetmaking, blacksmithing, masonry, etc. - as well as a clothing factory.

In 1901, there were 151 adults at Alliance and 345 children, 27 of whom were married. There were 78 farms worth $135,250. The community owned convert|1886|acre|km2 of land, of which 1,354 were cleared. [Brandes, Joseph. Immigrants to Freedom: Jewish Communities in Rural New Jersey since 1882. U of Pennsylvania P, Philadelphia: 1971.]

There were numerous buildings in the community, many of which focused on communal gathering. Alliance focused on education, building several well recognized schools as well as four synagogues, and a Jewish cemetery. [ [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1265&letter=A&search=alliance%20colony JewishEncyclopedia.com - ALLIANCE ] ]

Today

All of the Jewish Agricultural Societies of the late 1800s and early 1900s have faded away.

Not much of the Alliance Colony is left today, but the cemetery still exists and it is still visited. The last known survivor of the Alliance Colony celebrated her 100th birthday in 2005. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/22/nyregion/22colony.html The Last of the Jewish Farmgirls - New York Times ] ]

Nevertheless, the Jewish Federation of Cumberland County is currently working on building a Jewish Heritage Center on the property to commemorate the community's history, the history of Jews in America and their participation in farming. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/23colnj.html Preserving the History of a Colony - New York Times ] ]

References