Pietro and Maria Botto House | |
Location | 83 Norwood Street, Haledon, New Jersey |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40°56′5.14″N74°11′19.36″W / 40.9347611°N 74.1887111°W |
Built | 1908 |
NRHP reference No. | 74001188 |
NJRHP No. | 2333 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | July 30, 1974 [2] |
Designated NHL | December 17, 1982 [3] |
Designated NJRHP | July 1, 1974 |
The Pietro and Maria Botto House, also known as Pietro Botto House, at 83 Norwood Street, Haledon in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States, is where leaders of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union spoke to the 25,000 striking workers of the Paterson Silk Strike of 1913. [3]
The original owners, Pietro Botto (1864–1945) and his wife Maria Boggio (1870–1915) were both immigrants from Biella, Italy. They married in 1885 and arrived in the United States in 1892 with their first daughter, Albina. The couple lived in West Hoboken (now Union City, New Jersey) for fifteen years and had there three more daughters, Adelia, Eva, and Olga. They saved their money until they could afford to build their own home in Haledon. In 1908 they finally moved into their new home, which was large enough to accommodate the entire family and included three additional rooms on the second floor that were rented for additional income. [4] [5]
Pietro Botto and the couple's daughters worked as weavers in that town's Cedar Cliffs mills, while Maria did some "outwork", cleaning and snipping imperfections from finished bolts of silk. In weekdays, she also served meals to boarders and working men in her dining room. As it was situated on a country hillside near the trolley line, especially on Sundays and holidays the Botto House became a popular meeting place with its bocce court, the card tables and the cooking provided by Maria and her daughters. [4] [5]
During the Paterson Silk Strike of 1913, Paterson's mayor refused to allow the strikers to assembly in the city. Pietro and Maria Botto, at the urging of Big Bill Haywood, invited the strike organizers to hold rallies at their home in nearby Haledon, where the workers were not on strike, counting on the support of the local socialist major William Brueckman. The Botto House became the Sunday rallying point from March 3 to the end of the strike in June. During this time Maria kept the house in order and fed the activists who addressed the crowd either from the balcony or from in front of the house. In addition to Haywood, these speakers included Upton Sinclair, Carlo Tresca, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Adolph Lessig and Patrick L. Quinlan. Despite not being part of the strike himself, Pietro could not find work after the strike, nor could his daughter Eva, who was blacklisted. [5] [6] Maria got sick and died only two years after the silk strike. [4]
Because it served as a haven for free speech and assembly for the laborers, the Botto House was placed on both the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1974. [2] [1] [7] It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1982, [3] [8] the first Italian American site to be placed on the nation's most distinguished roster of historic sites. [5] [7]
In 1983 the Pietro and Maria Botto House opened to the public as the American Labor Museum, a non-profit 501(c) educational institution that commemorates the events of 1913 and more in general, is dedicated to "teaching the public about the history and contemporary issues of workers, the workplace, and organized labor with special attention to the ethnicity of working people." The museum features changing exhibits, restored period rooms and Old World Gardens that reflect the lifestyle of an immigrant family of the early 1900s, and a free lending library. It also offers lectures, poetry readings, teachers' workshops, and other educational programs. [7] [9]
Each year, the American Labor Museum gives out the Sol Stetin awards, which "honor outstanding individuals for their contributions toward improving the lives of working people." [10] Previous recipients include:
Passaic County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county, with a population of 524,118, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 22,892 (+4.6%) from the 2010 census count of 501,226, which in turn reflected an increase of 12,177 (+2.5%) from the 489,049 counted in the 2000 census. The most populous place in Passaic County is Paterson, with 159,732 residents at the 2020 Census, more than 29% of the county's population, while West Milford covered 80.32 square miles (208.0 km2), the largest total area of any municipality and more than 40% of the county's area.
Haledon is a borough in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,052, an increase of 734 (+8.8%) from the 2010 census count of 8,318, which in turn reflected an increase of 66 (+0.8%) from the 8,252 counted in the 2000 census,.
North Haledon is a borough in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 8,927, an increase of 510 (+6.1%) from the 2010 census count of 8,417, which in turn reflected an increase of 497 (+6.3%) from the 7,920 counted in the 2000 census.
Paterson is the largest city in and the county seat of Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was the state's third-most-populous municipality, with a population of 159,732, an increase of 13,533 (+9.3%) from the 2010 census count of 146,199, which in turn reflected a decline of 3,023 (-2.0%) from the 149,222 counted in the 2000 census. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 156,661 in 2022, ranking the city as the 165th-most-populous in the country.
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The Great Falls of the Passaic River is a prominent waterfall, 77 feet (23 m) high, on the Passaic River in the city of Paterson in Passaic County, New Jersey. The falls and surrounding area are protected as part of the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park, administered by the National Park Service. The Congress authorized its establishment in 2009.
The 1913 Paterson silk strike was a work stoppage involving silk mill workers in Paterson, New Jersey. The strike involved demands for establishment of an eight-hour day and improved working conditions. The strike began in February 1913, and ended five months later, on July 28. During the course of the strike, approximately 1,850 strikers were arrested, including Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) leaders Bill Haywood and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn.
The New Jersey Digital Highway (NJDH) is a collaborative initiative led by cultural heritage institutions—including libraries, museums, archives, state agencies and other organizations—in New Jersey to provide online access to cultural and historical information about the state. The main participating institutions include Rutgers University Libraries, the New Jersey State Library, the New Jersey Department of Archives and Records Management, the Pietro and Maria Botto House, and the New Jersey Historical Society, with other institutions around the state providing additional collections.
Downtown Paterson is the main commercial district of Paterson, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The area is the oldest part of the city, along the banks of the Passaic River and its Great Falls. It is roughly bounded by Interstate 80, Garret Mountain Reservation, Route 19, Oliver Street, and Spruce Street on the south; the Passaic River, West Broadway, Cliff Street, North 3rd Street, Haledon Avenue, and the borough of Prospect Park on the west; and the Passaic River also to the north.
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List of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Passaic County, New Jersey
The 1926 Passaic textile strike was a work stoppage by over 15,000 woolen mill workers in and around Passaic, New Jersey, over wage issues in several factories in the vicinity. Conducted in its initial phase by a "United Front Committee" organized by the Trade Union Educational League of the Workers (Communist) Party, the strike began on January 25, 1926, and officially ended only on March 1, 1927, when the final mill being picketed signed a contract with the striking workers. It was the first Communist-led work stoppage in the United States. The event was memorialized by a seven reel silent movie intended to generate sympathy and funds for the striking workers.
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Reinhardt Mills, later Boris Kroll Mills, is a historic silk mill complex located in Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. Part of the complex has been redeveloped as the Paterson Commons apartments with future plans for additional redevelopment. The Philip's Academy Charter School opened a campus on the site in 2016. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 2003.
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Ailsa Farms, also known as Haledon Hall and Hobart Manor, is a historic house located at 300 Pompton Road in the township of Wayne in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. It was purchased by the state of New Jersey in 1948 from the family of Garret Hobart, 24th vice president of the United States and is now located on the campus of William Paterson University. Ailsa Farms was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 1976, for its significance in architecture, politics, and social history.
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A silk mill is a factory that makes silk for garments using a process called silk throwing. Traditionally, silk mills were concentrated in Japan, England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Italy and Switzerland.
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Sol Stetin was a Polish-born American labor union leader.
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