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CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Gift of 
 HERBERT GUSSMAN 
 
The original of tinis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://archive.org/details/cu31924050867930 
 
The Jewish Colonies of 
 South Jersey. 
 
 Historical Sketch of Their Establishment 
 and Growth. 
 
 Prepared and Issued by the Bureau of Statistics of 
 New Jersey. 
 
 WILLIAM STAINSBY, Chief. 
 
 CAMDEN, N. J. 
 
 S. Ch^w & Sons, Printbrs, Front and Market Sts. 
 
 1901. 
 
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The Jewish Colonies of South Jersey. 
 
 Historical Sketch of Their Establishment and Growth. 
 
 THE JEWISH COLONY AT ALLIANCE. 
 
 The first Jewish colony in South Jersey was located in Pitts- 
 grove township, Salem county, in 1882. When the persecuted 
 Jews were driven from Russia a number of wealthy and influen- 
 tial Hebrews in the city of New York formed the Hebrew Aid 
 Society, whose object was to give assistance to their fellow re- 
 ligionists who were thus cast out from the places of their birth 
 and compelled to seek shelter and subsistence among strangers 
 in a strange land. 
 
 This society purchased about eleven hundred acres of land in 
 Pittsgrove township, in the county of Salem, a little over six miles 
 northwest of the borough of Vineland, Cumberland county, and 
 about two miles from Bradways Station, on the line of the New 
 Jersey Southern Railroad. The society contracted with Messrs. 
 George Leach & Bro., Vineland, to erect three temporary build- 
 ings, or barracks, each to be 24 feet wide and 150 feet in length. 
 Only three days were given for the erection of these buildings, 
 which were of the rudest possible character, but longer time could 
 not be granted, as the emigrants were on the way and shelter must 
 be ready for them upon their arrival. In a few days the exiles 
 landed from the steamer and were conveyed to the site of the new 
 colony. 
 
 They had been cast out as paupers; their humble homes in 
 Russia had been taken from them, and they fled as did the Pilgrim 
 fathers from tyranny and relentless persecution to a land they 
 knew not, but with the promise of such assistance as would en- 
 able them to make homes for themselves and children, and where 
 they would be free to worship God in their own way, assured of 
 
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THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 liberty and the protection of the laws. The expense of their 
 transportation was defrayed by the society and they came with 
 the most scanty supplies of clothing and food, and took shelter in 
 the rude barracks which had been so hastily erected for their ac- 
 commodation. 
 
 The refugees numbered about two hundred and fifty men, 
 women and children and they marched stolidly along over the 
 field from the railroad to the location where they were to carve 
 out for themselves new homes of greater comfort than they had 
 ever before been able to enjoy. They were very secretive peo- 
 ple and it was found that, notwithstanding they had been robbed, 
 outraged and abused by the Russian officials, some of them had 
 managed to hold on to a little money, which was very helpful to 
 them in the new land. The exiles excited a great amount of 
 curiosity among the people of the vicinity by their humility; they 
 would doff their hats on the approach of a neighboring farmer 
 or visitor and stand with bowed heads, as if they feared every 
 moment to feel the blow of the knout or hear the harsh voices 
 of the Russian officers ; that, however, is a thing of the past ; they 
 have lost their servile appearance, but are still quite courteous 
 and polite to visitors. 
 
 The society proceeded to allot the land in tracts of fifteen 
 acres to each family, on which before the winter set in, humble 
 cabins, twelve by fourteen feet, were built and occupied by the 
 families ; in the case of a large family, a lean-to was added. The 
 society deeded these farms to occupants, charging each one hun- 
 dred and fifty dollars, and giving the term of payment at thirty- 
 three years, without interest. 
 
 After two or three years the Hebrew Emigrant Aid Society 
 gave place to the Alliance Land Trust, which gave its name -to 
 the settlement. Not only did these prosperous Hebrew mer- 
 chants of New York thus provide small farms for these outcast 
 people, but they sent a committee from New York to Vineland 
 to ascertain if anything further was necessary to be done for 
 them ; singular to say not a single member of the colony came to 
 Vineland to meet the gentlemen from New York. After a 
 lengthy interview with Mr. George Leach, of Vineland, who was 
 very thoroughly acquainted with the condition of the colony, 
 the committee returned to New York, and the result of their 
 
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THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 5 
 
 visit was the immediate remittance of Mr. Leach of the sum of 
 $7,000, to be distributed, $100 to each of the seventy families, 
 to enable them to secure the agricultural implements needed. 
 
 Of course, it was necessary to give support to these people 
 through the first winter. The open days were utilized by them 
 in clearing the land, freeing it from stumps and getting it ready 
 for cultivation. Through the winter some work was done in the 
 houses in making clothing, to which these people seem most 
 readily to adapt themselves; manufacture of cigars, knitting of 
 woolen caps, capes, etc., by which the families were enabled to 
 earn something toward their support. In the spring, active farm- 
 ing and trucking operations began, and from that day to the 
 present time the result has been a steady uplift and improvement 
 in the moral, social and financial condition of the people. Can 
 a Jew become a successful farmer, is a question frequently 
 asked, and almose invariably answered in the negative, but a 
 careful and impartial investigation of the work accomplished by 
 these colonies will justify a more hopeful conclusion. A visitor 
 will observe good houses, improved and thoroughly up to date 
 outbuildings, healthy and well conditioned stock, and crops grow- 
 ing that are admirably adapted to the character of the soil. 
 These and other details of management open to observation, 
 which show a high degree of intelligently directed industry, will 
 justify the assertion that the Jew not only can, but has become, 
 a successful farmer, at least in these settlements. 
 
 The soil at Alliance is a light, sandy loam, not well adapted 
 to cereals, of which but little is raised except a small quantity of 
 corn for home use, but it is as good as any in the country for 
 growing fruits, berries, grapes and sweet potatoes, and to these 
 from the very beginning the people of Alliance have turned their 
 attention with marked success. They raise very fine strawber- 
 ries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, pears, peaches and im- 
 mense quantities of sweet potatoes of very excellent quality. The 
 main market for their berries and fruits is New York, shipments 
 being made by the New Jersey Southern Railroad, which has 
 made careful arrangements for the prompt forwarding and de- 
 livery of consignment, thus enabling the farmers to get their pro- 
 duce to market in good condition and consequently get fair 
 prices. 
 
THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 The convenience of shipment at Norma and Bradways' Sta- 
 tion, which are so located that the mass of farmers do not have 
 to drive over two miles, is a great advantage, as the berries and 
 fruit are not injured by being carried long distances over rough 
 roads, and reach New York markets sound and fresh. The 
 sweet potatoes raised at Alliance have attained such high repute 
 in New York that they command from twenty-five to fifty cents 
 per barrel more than can be obtained from those raised elsewhere. 
 
 The farms have a very neat appearance and give evidence 
 of great care in cultivation, no rubbish being permitted to ac- 
 cumulate. The vineyards have been carefully laid out, the vines 
 are healthy and strong and the yield is very large; but little at- 
 tention is given to wine making, as shipments of the grapes in 
 fresh and sound condition to New York markets is found to yield 
 more satisfactory results. 
 
 In the shipment of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, 
 etc., great care is exercised in selecting and packing, and .they 
 have thus secured a good reputation in the markets. 
 
 The farmers of Alliance have good stock, the cows especial- 
 ly being of the very best ; the poultry also will compare favorably 
 with any in this section of the State. As cows and poultry are 
 prime factors in solving the problem of family subsistence, they 
 receive a vast amount of care and attention. The Jew farmer 
 will give the stock the best to be obtained and the strictest atten- 
 tion to its comforts and health to the verge of his own self de- 
 nial. Special details of items of crops could not be obtained, 
 but the berry and fruit crop of 1899 amounted to $40,000. The 
 sweet potato crop realized for these thrifty farmers SiS.ooo. 
 
 Manufacturing in Alliance has not advanced as rapidly as 
 in the later colony at Woodbine ; there is one large factorv, which 
 is operated by the Alliance Cloak and Suit Company, of which 
 Mr. Abraham Brotman, a thoroughly wide awake and progres- 
 sive man, is the head. The factory is located on the northern 
 portion of the tract, which is known as Brotmanville. 
 
 In this factiry, A. Brotman employs fifty-five hands; T. 
 Eskin thirty, and T. Brod fifteen. They are all engaged in the 
 manufacture of ladies' and children's coats and cloaks. The 
 operatives average about $12 per \\-eek, and the wages are paid 
 weekly and in cash. A large new three-story factory has been 
 
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THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 7 
 
 erected a short distance from Mr. Brotman's, but is not yet oc- 
 cupied. 
 
 The colony at AlHance has had a hard struggle, but has 
 passed the experimental stage and is now fairly on the road to 
 success. It has recently passed from the control of the Alliance 
 Land Trust to the Board of Trustees of the Baron de Hirsch 
 Fund; these trustees propose to extend immediately material aid 
 to the colony. They will spend $10,000 in public improvements 
 and build twenty fine dwellings. This, the first colony establish- 
 ment in South Jersey, has not had the success which has crowned 
 the colony at Woodbine, but it must be remembered that Alliance 
 has not had, hitherto, the benefit of large appropriations from the 
 Baron de Hirsch Fund as have been given to the people of Wood- 
 bine. 
 
 ROSENHAYN. 
 
 In 1882 the land now occupied by the prosperous Jewish 
 colony of Rosenhayn was a wilderness of pine and bushlands. 
 The Hebrew Emigrant Aid Society of New York City, which 
 established the colony of refugees at Alliance, located six Jewish 
 families at this point, which has now grown to be a village of 
 some note with a population of 800. It is located on the New 
 Jersey Central Railroad, midway between the cities of Bridgeton 
 and Vineland, and about two and a half miles northwest of the 
 village of Carmel. The town site has a broad, well-shaded 
 avenue over one mile in length, with excellent sidewalks and very 
 few cross streets; this avenue runs directly from north to south 
 and fronting it are nearly all the dwellings. 
 
 Rosenhayn has a more elevated position than Carmel ; thfere 
 are no swamps, and with proper sanitary regulations the settle- 
 ment should be in a healthy condition. It has railroads, express, 
 telegraph and telephone offices; there are some two hundred 
 houses, with about two hundred and thirty families resident in 
 the village and on surrounding farms. The population is com- 
 posed almost exclusively of Russian and Polish Jews, who, freed 
 from the oppression and tyranny to which they had been so long 
 subjected, are rapidly advancing in intelligence and acquiring a 
 higher degree of civilization. The population of Rosenhayn is 
 
THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 about equally divided between industrial and agricultural pur- 
 suits; there are nine manufactories; the articles manufactured are 
 clothing, hosiery, foundry work, tinware and brick. The num- 
 ber of hands employed in these factories is divided as folows: 
 Clothing, i6o; brickyard, 17; hosiery, 5; foundry, 4; tinware, 2. 
 The average wages of the operatives is $10 per week, which is 
 paid every week in cash ; there are no stores connected with these 
 factories. The character and condition of the dwellings of the 
 workmen is good ; about fifty per cent, of the employes own the 
 houses they occupy. 
 
 The proximity of Rosenhayn to New York and Philadel- 
 phia insures these colonies a large amount of work in the fall 
 and winter seasons from these cities, but at very inadequate 
 wages. The work made in the clothing factories is principally 
 shirts, ladies' wrappers, cloaks and white goods of various kinds. 
 Careful attention is not paid to ventilation, and when the condi- 
 tion of the weather requires the closing of the windows the air 
 in the shops is very impure. In addition to the factories, gar- 
 ments are made in many of the homes. 
 
 The farming portion of the community appears to be fairly 
 prosperous. Of the 1900 acres comprising the tract, about one- 
 fourth is under cultivation; the farms are in excellent order and 
 exhibit evidences of skillful manipulation in clearing the soil of 
 stumps, roots and noxious weeds. The soil, as in other colonies, 
 is not well adapted to the raising of cereals, and the attention of 
 the farmers is given to the culture of fruits and vegetables. 
 The shipment of berries, sweet and white potatoes and other 
 vegetables to the New York market is very large, and the rail- 
 road station presents an animated scene as the farmers bring in 
 their produce on shipping days; large quantities of grapes are 
 also raised for shipment; wine making is largely carried on, and 
 the vineyards, being carefully cultivated, present a thrifty and 
 strong appearance. The great source of profit, however, is the 
 sweet potato crop ; the yield is enormous and of such fine qual- 
 ity as to command the very highest prices in the New York mar- 
 ket. The farmers here are planning for the construction of a 
 canning factory to avoid the shipment of berries and tomatoes. 
 The farmers of Rosenhayn are hard workers and do not count 
 the hours of labor; from the earliest dawn until sundown they 
 
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THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 9 
 
 are hard at it, and their untiring industry is winning its reward 
 in ownership of the fine farms and the feehng of independence 
 that emancipation from oppression and poverty brings. 
 
 About fifty per cent, of the farmers have their farms clear of 
 incumbrance; it was a hard struggle and uphill work for years, 
 but their perseverance and economy have at last brought them to 
 a fair degree of success. 
 
 The farmers of Rosenhayn have good stock and keep it in 
 excellent condition; a Jew may be trusted to take the best pos- 
 sible care of his horses and cows; he regards them as very potent 
 factors in winning his way upwards, and thej^ are treated as well 
 as the family. Considerable attention is paid to poultry raising, 
 and, as in the case of the other colonists, these people seem to 
 have the knack of doing it well. The farm dwellings are small, 
 but with their surroundings are neatly kept, and the outbuildings 
 are also in reasonably fair condition. The annual value of crops 
 raised is between $10,000 and $12,000. There is now no ques- 
 tion but that the Jews can make a success of farming. These 
 colonies located in South Jersey have demonstrated that fact be- 
 yond controversy. 
 
 It must be remembered that these people came here in the 
 condition of paupers with but little experience in farming and 
 that little acquired under entirely different circumstances of cli- 
 mate, soil and farming methods, but they have proved to be apt 
 pupils. The very liberal aid extended to the colonists in starting 
 them out is a great incentive to industry, economy and persever- 
 ance. 
 
 The land is at first divided into small farms, small buildings 
 erected and a family is given one rent free for two years ; after 
 that small payments are required annually until the farm is paid 
 for in full. 
 
THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 THE JEWISH COLONY AT WOODBINE, CAPE MAY 
 
 COUNTY. 
 
 In "The Study of the Jewish Colonies of South Jersey," 
 there is none that presents featui-es of more absorbing interest 
 than the settlement at Woodbine, which is the direct application, 
 in practical form, of the philonthropic and beneficient designs of 
 the late Baron de Hirsch, which have been faithfully considered 
 and carefully carried out by the Board of Trustees of the great 
 fund which the late Baron bequeathed for the amelioration of the 
 condition of the persecuted Jews of Russia and their uplift in 
 business, moral and social life; it bears the title of the Woodbine 
 Land and Improvement Company. 
 
 The experiment of planting a colony in the bushland of 
 South Jersey was certainly a bold one ; to take the bush and wood- 
 lands, clear and subdue the soil and woe it to productiveness and 
 fruitfulness was a stupenduous enterprise and required careful 
 thought and planning, ceaseless and untiring activity and energy 
 to produce satisfactory returns. It has been, however, as the 
 facts detailed in the paper here presented will establish beyond 
 cavil or dispute. This settlement was mapped out in 1891 
 
 Woodbine is located in Upper Township, in the northwestern 
 section of Cape May county; it is fifty-six miles from Philadel- 
 phia and twenty-five from Ocean City and Atlantic City. Two 
 railroads — the West Jersey and Seashore and the South Jersey — 
 give direct communication with the neighboring towns and with 
 Philadelphia and New York. The tract comprises 5,300 acres, 
 1,800 being now cleared and improved; the soil is of a loamy 
 character, being a mixture of sand, clay and gravel, suitable for 
 such crops as fruits, vegetables, rye, oats, clover, grass, etc. 
 The soil, naturally warm and level, is easily worked and when 
 once cleared of stumps and roots is subject to easy drainage and 
 well manures and fertilizes ; it is rich in the mineral constitu- 
 ents though somewhat deficient in humus owing to the frequent 
 forest fires, but this being remedied by a resort to green manur- 
 ing, i. e., the plowing under of crimson clover, rye, buckwheat 
 etc., the form of which is here of very full and luxuriant growth; 
 when sown in the middle of September it is ready to cut early 
 
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THE JEWISH COLONIES OP SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 in the following May, thus giving opportunity for a second crop 
 of sweet corn or potatoes. There is no haphazard farming on 
 this tract, but all conditions of the soil have been studied and the 
 operations shaped accordingly. Analysis of all manures and fer- 
 tilizers has been made and only those are used which exhibit the 
 greatest adaptability to the nature of the soil and which it most 
 readily absorbs. 
 
 THE BARON DE HIRSH AGRICUI,TURAL AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. 
 
 The trustees of the fund recognized the fact that measures 
 must be taken for the instruction of the rising generation and 
 their training in theoretical and practical farming ; the conditions 
 existing in this country were entirely different from those of the 
 land from whch they came and while little could be done to bring 
 the heads of families to understand and adapt themselves to these 
 new means and methods, the new generation could be readily 
 trained and instructed. 
 
 The organization of this school was effected in October, 
 1894, after a considerable preparatory work had been done by a 
 class made up of the sons of settlers located upon the tract, who 
 spent the fall and winter of 1893 and the spring and summer of 
 1894 in clearing and improving the land. 
 
 These boys were also given instruction in English, arithmetic 
 and other subjects; during the winter months a series of lectures 
 was given on various practical agricultural subjects, illustrated 
 by stereopticon views, once in each week. These lectures the 
 parents of the boys were permitted to attend. 
 
 During the preparatory period of the year (March to Oc- 
 tober, 1894,) forty-two students were registered. The erection 
 of the buildings, all excepting the large school, was mainly the 
 work of the future students. In October, 1894, the first regular 
 class was organized ; the course of instruction combined theo- 
 retical teaching and practical appliction; the boys were taught 
 the English language, history of the United States, arithmetic, 
 drawing, land measuring, botany in its application to horticulture, 
 chemistry in its relation to soils and crops, the proper feeding of 
 domestic animals and entomology. The practical portion of the 
 work was carried on mainly in the greenhouse, and included the 
 preparation of soils, the potting of flowers, propogation by seeds 
 
THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 and cuttings, preparation and care of cold frames and hot-beds 
 and the grafting of roots. 
 
 The land was in good condition in the spring of 1895, and 
 the fifteen students had practical application of their winter 
 studies in getting in the seeds and plants, which comprised fruit 
 trees, grape vines, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cur- 
 rants, gooseberries, onions, cabbage, potatoes (white and sweet), 
 carrots, beets, peas, beans, sweet corn, in fact vegetables of all 
 kinds, together with broom corn, millet, sugar beets and several 
 kinds of grasses, which were grown for commercial and experi- 
 mental purposes. During the four months, from October, 1894, 
 to February, 1895, the students spent from twelve to fifteen hours 
 per week in the machine shops, where they became acquainted 
 with the handling of tools and the operating of machinery. 
 
 The second year opened with a class of twenty-two. The 
 buying and mixing of manures and fertilizers, with instructions 
 in comparative anatomy and physiology were added to the cur- 
 riculum. Great care was bestowed upon the orchards and vine- 
 yards and the growing of forage plants, made necessary by the 
 absence of meadows and natural pasture lands. The end of the 
 second year brought with it assurance of the success of the 
 methods employed. In September, 1896, an exhibit was made 
 at the Cape May County Fair of corn, preserved fruits, peaches, 
 grapes, melons, flowers, floral designs, poultry, etc., representing 
 the average of the farm products. First premiums were award- 
 ed the school for all the exhibits except corn, and for this second 
 premium was given. This year there were twelve graduates; 
 one entered Storr's Agricultural College, Conn; two were re- 
 tained as assistants on the school farm; one secured a position 
 as gardener at the Jewish Hospital in Philadelphia; another as 
 florist in New York, the remainder went to work on the farms 
 of their parents; certainly a very promising result. 
 
 The third year opened with twenty-one students ; the course 
 of studies was enlarged and the hours of practical work increased. 
 The acreage under cultivation was as follows : 
 
 Orchards 13 acres. 
 
 Blackberries and raspberries 6J4 acres. 
 
 Strawberries 654 acres. 
 
 Corn and forage plants 21 acres. 
 
 Vegetables 6 acres. 
 
 Grapes 4 acres. 
 
 Nursery 1 acres. 
 
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THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 13 
 
 Three acres of strawberries in bearing yielded an average 
 of 3,800 quarts per acre; the best acre gave a total of 4,728 
 quarts. 
 
 The fourth year opened in October, 1897, v\rith tvirenty-one 
 students; the studies were about the same as those of the pre- 
 vious year, but an addition was made to the practical work in the 
 care and management of the dairy, testing of milk by various 
 methods, poultry raising, etc., instruction in higher mathematics. 
 During the winter two exhibits were made — one at the Annual 
 Fair of the Hebrew Literature Society of Philadelphia, where 
 several diplomas were awarded, the other at the Washington 
 Feather Club, of Washington, N. J., where the school received 
 first and second premiums for poultry. At the close of the year 
 several of the graduates secured excellent positions as instruc- 
 tors. 
 
 There are now in the school ninety-six students, several of 
 them girls ; the latter, in addition to their educational studies, are 
 being instructed in housekeeping, dairying and floriculture. The 
 school farm contains 270 acres, 175 of which are under cultiva- 
 tion, and, with the growing crops, presents a very attractive ap- 
 pearance. The yield of the farm in 1899 was as follows: 
 
 White potatoes no to 175 bushels per acre. 
 
 Sweet potatoes 35 to 50 barrels per acre. 
 
 Corn 25 bushels (shelled) per acre. 
 
 Tomatoes (partial failure) 3 tons per acre. 
 
 Peas, beans, onions, salad, etc., very large yield. 
 
 Fruits. 
 
 Strawberries Average of 2,500 quarts per acre. 
 
 Raspberries . . .' Average of 1,600 quarts per acre. 
 
 Blackberries Average of 3,000 quarts per acre. 
 
 Grapes Average of 3,000 pounds per acre. 
 
 The orchards are quite young, but the average showed : 
 
 . Peaches .' 4 baskets per tree. 
 
 Pears 5 baskets per tree. 
 
 Plums 6 baskets per tree. 
 
 Apples were not yet bearing. The promise for 1900 of all 
 these fruits is for a very large yield, as all the trees are well set. 
 
14 THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 BUII,DINGS. 
 
 The buildings on the farm have been carefully designed for 
 their respective purposes ; the offices are located in a large frame 
 building, with four rooms on the lower floor and school room, 
 library, chemical cabinet, library and reading room on second 
 floor. The library is well supplied with books on science, agri- 
 culture, history, reference and general literature, with numerous 
 maps, charts, etc. 
 
 The reading room has a full supply of daily and weekly 
 papers, magazines, etc. The chemical laboratory is where the 
 constituent elements of products are determined and arranged 
 in cases and analysis of fertilizers are made, and the results pre- 
 served in jars. 
 
 Hirsch Hall, the home of the students, is a building 46x72 
 feet, three stories high, with large verandas, and is admirably 
 arranged and fitted; the basement has a large dining-room for 
 the boys, lavator}', laundry, supply, storage rooms, etc. ; the 
 second floor has large reception room, parlors, teachers' dining- 
 room, and two large dormitories at the extremes of the building, 
 facing respectively north and south. These are very neat and 
 clean, fitted with iron cots with wire springs and hair mattresses. 
 Rooms for the matron and teachers are also on this floor. The 
 third floor has store rooms and two dormitories, the same size 
 and immediately over those on the second floor, and are fitted in 
 similar manner. Careful attention is paid to sanitary conditions, 
 light and ventilation. The dormitories, being- constructed at the 
 extreme ends of the building, with Large windows and air shafts, 
 receive light and air from three sides. There are accommoda- 
 tions for twenty-eight students in each of the dormitories; the 
 heat is supplied from the hqilerjf^use, which is located in a sep- 
 arate building; the water' supp'ly is ample and large pipes extend 
 up to third floor, where also is fire hose on reels ready for instant 
 use. Fire escapes are also conveniently arranged for the exit 
 of the inmates in case of fire, making the building in all points 
 thoroughly equipped. 
 
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THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 THE DAIRY. 
 
 The dairy provokes the admiration of all who visit it, per- 
 haps there is none in the State where the sanitary conditions are 
 more carefully looked after. The building is 30x60 feet, pro- 
 vided with every modern appliance for the care and comfort of 
 the stock. 
 
 At the southwest corner of this building the students have 
 constructed a silo thirteen feet in diameter and twenty-nine feet 
 high, with a capacity of eighty tons. In the construction of all 
 the buildings on the farm the students have done a large part 
 of the work. 
 
 The front of the dairy building is two stories high, contain- 
 ing feed room, mows and large creamery, with all the latest im- 
 proved machinery for the treatment of the milk and making but- 
 ter. Here the milk is brought direct from the cows, placed in 
 a cooler which reduces the temperature to fifty degrees or less, 
 sterilized, bottled and placed in the refrigerator ready for sale, 
 or goes to the separator. The butter made here is of a very super- 
 ior quality, its purity being guaranteed, and commands the high- 
 est prices. The creamery contains all the machinery, operated 
 by steam power, for treatment of the milk and making butter. 
 A guaranteed analysis of the milk is furnished to customers semi- 
 monthly. The herd consists of twenty cows, six heifers and two 
 bulls ; the cows are mostly Alderneys and Jerseys ; one bull is a 
 registered Guernsey, the other a Holstein. The quantity of milk 
 given by each cow at milking is weighed and noted on the regis- 
 ter; frequent analysis determines the quality of the milk of each 
 cow, a portion being daily retained for that purpose. Every pre- 
 caution is taken through all the operations to secure the absolute 
 purity of the milk. The students assigned to do the milking, 
 when' that time arrives, are required to give their hands and arms 
 a thorough washing, clothe themselves in white canvas suits and 
 then proceed to work. 
 
 No one, not especially designated, can enter any part of the 
 dairy or go through it in passing from one building to another. 
 The building is completely screened with wire netting, so that the 
 animals experience no annoyance from flies, gnats or mosquitoes. 
 
i6 THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 A multitude of windows make the cow house very hght and airy \ 
 steam pipes, running through the building, maintain a comfort- 
 able temperature in the winter. The average amount of mlik 
 daily from each cow is about two gallons. 
 
 The cows are very carefully groomed twice daily; the cow> 
 house is kept conspicuously neat and clean; there is a trough 
 running through the heads of the stalls the entire length of the 
 building to give a constant supply of fresh running water to the 
 stock ; the stalls are fitted with patent yokes, fine feed boxes, salt 
 cups, etc. ; a trench back of the cows carries off the voidings of 
 the animals to manure pits outside the house. The herd is care- 
 fully inspected once every month by Dr. Tremaine, of Bridgeton, 
 and if any cow is found ailing in any way it is at once isolated 
 from the herd and so kept until it recovers or is condemned. A 
 wagon conveys butter, milk and vegetables to Ocean City through 
 the season. The milk from two or more cows is set apart for 
 the use of infants. 
 
 POULTRY. 
 
 The school has scored a great success in the raising of poul- 
 try. There are four large poultry houses, and four more being 
 construtced. These are all models in arrangements and appoint- 
 ments; incubators of the latest and very best models are in use, 
 and stretching out from these are the wire screened apartments 
 wherein the different broods are confined ; the age of any chicken 
 is thus determined by the number of the apartment he occupies. 
 
 Enclosed steam pipes give the poultry house a moderate tem- 
 perature in the coldest weather. The sanitary condition of these 
 houses is perfect; they are thoroughly cleaned every day by the 
 students who have that turn of duty. The poultry raised here 
 is pretty sure to command a premium where ever exhibited. 
 
 It would make this study too lengthy to speak in detail of the 
 large greenhouses for the growing of flowers and vegetables, the 
 barns or the new creamery building, which is now being con- 
 structed, as well as a large barn for the accommodation of the 
 eight horses employed on the farm. There are also blacksmith 
 and wheelwright shops ; in the former the farm tools are made, 
 rehandled and repaired ; in the latter the wagons to be used on 
 the farm are made and repaired. 
 
THE JEWISH COEONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 17 
 
 THREE YEARS COURSE. 
 
 A brief synopsis of the students' three years course is of in- 
 terest : 
 
 First Year — Winter Term — School twenty-eight hours per 
 week. Taking care of stables, poultry yards and domestic ani- 
 mals; milking; work in wood working shop and in the fields, 
 twenty-eight hours per week. 
 
 Summer Term — School fourteen hours per week. Care of 
 stables and animals ; work in field and garden ; planting and tak- 
 ing care of the growing crops and harvesting; eight hours per 
 day, five days in week. 
 
 Second Year — Winter Term — School twenty-eight hours 
 per week. Work in the greenhouses, cold farmes, hot-beds; 
 work in the orchards, including trimming and grafting; work in 
 the blacksmith shop ; twenty-eight hours per week. 
 
 Summer Term — School fourteen hours per week. Care of 
 orchards and small fruit plantations, greenhouses and open 
 ground floriculture and work on the nursery grounds; eight 
 hours per day, five days in week. 
 
 Third Year— Winter Term — School twenty-five hours per 
 week. Continuation of work of second year and work in the 
 wheelwright shop ; thirty hours per week. 
 
 Summer Term — Undergraduates are sent out to farms in 
 New Jersey and other States for practice and to familiarize them- 
 selves with local conditions of farming. The demand for these 
 boys is always in excess of the supply, and they readily command 
 $20 per month and board. 
 
 The course for the girls comprises the same hours for study 
 in the school, the remaining time is devoted to sewing, cooking 
 for the boys, caring for the poultry, dairy work and instruction 
 in housekeeping under direction of the matron. 
 
i8 THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 THE FACULTY. 
 
 Prof. H. Iv. SABSOVICH, M. A., 
 
 Siiperintcndent and Instructor in Theoretical Agriculture. 
 
 THOMAS E. GRAY ATT, B. S., 
 
 Instructor in Mathematics and English. 
 
 JACOB KOTINSKY, B. S., 
 
 Instructor in Natural Sciences. 
 
 JOSEPH PINCUS, B. A., 
 Farm Superintendent and Instructor in Dairying. 
 
 FREDERICK SCMIDT, 
 
 Instructor in Horticidture and Floriculture. 
 
 SIMON BRAILOWSKY, 
 Instructor in Wood and Iron Work. 
 
 ACHILLES JAFFE, 
 Instructor in Religion. 
 
 There are now ninety-six students, several of the number 
 being girls. Every applicant for admission must be at least 
 fourteen years old, in good health, and must submit to the Super- 
 intendent testimonals of good moral character. Applicants must 
 be prepared to pass the third grade examinations as given 
 in the public schools of Cape May county. Tuition is free to 
 all regular students ; board and lodging at actual cost. To those 
 students whose parents are unable to support them while at 
 school board and lodging will be given gratuitously and offset 
 by the labor of the students on the school farms; students must 
 furnish their own clothing. Voluminous reports are prepared 
 by Prof. Sabsovich, showing every detail of the work in school 
 and on farm, and are submitted to the Board of Trustees at the 
 close of each term. 
 
THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 19 
 
 THE NEW COLLEGE. 
 
 Two years ago it was found that the school building was 
 entirely too small to accommodate the rapidly increasing number 
 of students, and the Board of Trustees of the Baron de Hirsch 
 Fund was applied to for an appropriation for a new building; 
 this was granted, and the Jewish Colonization Society of Paris 
 also made a very liberal contribution to the building fund of the 
 new college. 
 
 It is now being built and will be completed and dedicated 
 with appropriate ceremony in September. The building is of 
 brick, 663-^x78 feet, and three stories high; the basement story 
 is ten feet high and will contain gymnasium, bowling alley, bath 
 rooms with shower baths, wash rooms and water closets, bicycle 
 storage room and boiler room, etc. The second story is thirteen 
 feet high and. will have a fine hall, reception room, parlor, chem- 
 ical labratory, two large school rooms, photographic room and 
 two cloak rooms. The third story is fifteen feet high with large 
 hall, two large school rooms and an assembly room for lectures 
 and entertainments, which will seat about three hundred persons. 
 There is also a loft for storage, thirteen feet to the peak, and is 
 surmounted by a fine belfry. The front entrance will be very 
 ornate, with large arched twin windows each side with stained 
 glass. The very latest and best arrangements will be adopted 
 for light, heat and ventilation, also drainage; the furnishings 
 will be of the best. 
 
 The grounds will be made beautiful with trees, shrubbery, 
 plants and flowers. The cost of the building will be about 
 $25,000, exclusive of furnishings and apparatus ; it is to be made 
 thorough and complete in all its appointments. Hirsch Hall, 
 which is near the new college, will still remain as the boarding 
 house of the teachers and students. 
 
THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 THE WOODBINE LAND IMPROVEMENT COMPANY. 
 
 The incorporation of the Baron de Hirsch Trustees for 
 this settlement bears the above title. The 5,300 acres com- 
 prised in the tract were purchased on the 28th day of Augast, 
 1891 ; the first settlers came in the spring of 1892, and consisted 
 of fifty families, in all about three hundred persons. The colon- 
 ists were brought on from Northwestern and Southwestern Rus- 
 sia and Roumelia; to each family was assigned fifteen acres of 
 land, with the privilege of acquiring fifteen acres more, if they 
 desired to do so. It was originally designed for a purely agri- 
 cultural colony, no manufactures being contemplated, but as the 
 school and other farms became productive and the farmers 
 sought to dispose of the surplus of the products above their 
 family needs the fact was recognized that where a battalion of 
 producers was created it was absolutely essential that there should 
 also be a bridge or division of consumers. This condition of 
 affairs was promptly seen and was immediately provided for. 
 
 The town site was laid out in 1897, comprising 800 acres, 
 275 of which have been cleared. Manufactories were located 
 by erecting buildings, the corporation granting such concessions 
 as induced manufactuers to remove to Woodbine. Houses were 
 built for these operatives, and to-day the town contains a popu- 
 lation of over fourteen hundred. 
 
 There are one hundred and sixty Jewish and thirty-four 
 Gentile families; fifty per cent, of the people own their own 
 homes. Forty per cent, of the population is engaged in agri- 
 culture and sixty per cent, in industrial pursuits. Of the busi- 
 ness men, twenty in number, fourteen own the properties they oc- 
 cupy; of the farms, fifty in number, sixteen have been entirely 
 cleared of incumbrance and deeds given ; the remainder are under 
 lease and the farmers are rapidly extinguishing their indebted- 
 ness, $1,100 having been paid off in the last four months. 
 
 The townspeople are taking great pride in the improvement 
 of their properties, and are setting out shrubbery and ornamental 
 plants and flowers. 
 
THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 The public buildings comprise a synagogue, erected at a 
 cost of $7,000; a Baptist Church, cost of building, $2,500, for 
 which the ground was generously donated by the Woodbine 
 Company; a public bath-house, built at a cost of $2,500; two 
 school buildings, one built by the colony at cost of $2,500, the 
 other by the township at a cost of $2,000. There is a fine hotel 
 opposite the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad Company sta- 
 tion. The total valuation of property in Woodbine is $250,000, 
 of which sixty-three and one-half per cent, is owned by the 
 Woodbine Land Improvement Company and thirty-six and one- 
 half per cent, by other parties ; the value of the farm property is 
 $75,000. 
 
 The manufactories are as follows : The clothing factory 
 of Messrs. David & Blumenthal, manufacturers of mens' and 
 boys' clothing. The factory is 50x60 feet, three stories high, 
 with a smaller one-story building 30x40 feet; they employ one 
 hundred and sixty-eight hands, with a weekly pay-roll of $1,000. 
 If they could get sufficient hands they would more than double 
 the capacity of the factory. In a little over one year this firm 
 has built thirty-four houses east of the railroad for their work- 
 people. Their method is one very favorable to the employes. 
 When a workman wants to own a home of his own, he announces 
 it to the firm and pays down $25 ; the house is then built. When 
 it is ready for occupancy he makes a further payment of $50 and 
 is permitted to move in, taking a lease at $7 per month rental, 
 which is credited on the house as paid, so that when the payments 
 amount to a sum sufficient to cancel the balance remaining on the 
 property he is given a deed for it ; no interest is charged. These 
 houses are built at a cost of about $525. 
 
 The Universal Lock Company employs forty hands ; weekly 
 pay-roll of $360. The Woodbine Machine and Tool Company 
 employs twenty-eight hands, with a weekly pay-roll of $225. 
 
22 THE JEWISH COLONIES OF , SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 Louis Schuleman, manufacturer of clothing, employs eigh- 
 teen hands; weekly pay-roll $io8. 
 
 The Woodbine Brick Company employs twelve hands ; week- 
 ly pay-roll of $ioo. 
 
 Iv. Rosine, manufacturer of clothing, employs five hands 
 and pays out weekly $40. 
 
 The average earnings of each family on the tract is a little 
 over $500 per year. There are in the town nine carpenters, four 
 bricklayers, five painters, twenty-four other mechanics. The 
 percentage of the townpeople as to employment is as follows : 
 
 Clothing Factories So per cent. 
 
 Machine Shops 25 per cent. 
 
 Building Trades 12 per cent. 
 
 Storekeepers, Teachers, etc I3peacent. 
 
 There are fourteen miles of streets laid out, four miles of 
 which have been graded and gravelled ; there are twelve miles of 
 farm roads laid out, improved and in excellent condition; an 
 electric light plant has been installed, the power for which is 
 furnished by the Woodbine Machine and Tool Company, which 
 also furnishes the power for the factories; lights are furnished 
 for bath, public and private use; the streets are lighted by twenty 
 arc lights. There are no running streams or surface springs on 
 the Wodbine tract; the water supply is secured from artesian 
 wells, the water from which is pumped into two large tanks, one 
 containing 30,000 gallons and the other 18,000. When full 
 these give an average of 34.29 gallons per capita daily for every 
 man, woman or child on the tract and is excellent water. 
 
 The community is orderly and law respecting and a single 
 policeman is considered a sufficient safeguard. 
 
 A very close and thorough inspection of every part of this 
 colony, both as to its agricultural and industrial conditions, gives 
 conclusive evidence of the industry, thrift and economy of the 
 people. 
 
 The industries are somewhat hampered by the inability of 
 the manufacturers to obtain a sufficient number of operatives to 
 increase their output; the workmen apparently prefer the sweat 
 shops of New York and other large cities with their noisome 
 
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THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 23 
 
 air, confined quarters and reeking filth of their surroundings to 
 the commodious, well-hghted, thoroughly ventilated factories 
 and the free air of the open country. One reason why it is so 
 difficult to get these people away from the large cities lies in the 
 fact that although the manufacturers have labored earnestly to 
 induce them to come out into the country to work it has been 
 found impossible to divert their minds of the fear that the em- 
 ployment will not be permanent and they may be thrown out of 
 employment without means and far from their friends and asso- 
 ciates. 
 
 The Jews who enter upon farm life are hard workers, and 
 from earliest dawn to sundown the hours are spent in the labor 
 of the farm. They are always anxious to find the best methods 
 to pursue in cultivation of the soil and the treatment of growing 
 crops. In taking a tract of fifteen acres for his farm, the head 
 of the family devotes himself to that work, perhaps retaining a 
 son to help him, the rest of the children find employment in the 
 factory and earn sufficient to supply the needs of the family until 
 the farm is well cultivated and productive. There are few 
 drones in the Jewish hive. One of the finest farms in Woodbine 
 is that of Farmer Lipman, which adjoins the northwest corner 
 of the school farm. It is on slightly rising ground, with a slope 
 to the south, and has been brought to a very high degree of cul- 
 tivation. His crops are very fine and every portion of the land 
 shows the greatest care exercised and the result of the hard labor 
 that has been expended upon it. Mr. Lipman's comfortable 
 dwelling is surrounded on all four sides by a high grape trellis; 
 the house thus standing, as it were, in a large court, with walls of 
 greenery; the efifect is very pleasant and attractive. 
 
 This farmer has one daughter who is clerk to the school and 
 another earning fair wages in the large clothing factory. There 
 are several other farms in almost equally excellent condition. 
 
 Yes, the Jew can be made a very successful cultivator of the 
 soil ; he bears the elements of success in his quickness to learn ; 
 his ready adaptability to the circumstances by which he is sur- 
 rounded ; his untiring energy and close economy. To assert the 
 contrary is to hetray the effects of prejudice and not conviction 
 brought about by a knowledge of facts. 
 
 The question of erecting an elegant marble monument to 
 
24 THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 Baron de Hirsch has been agitated at the Woodbine colony, but 
 what need of that ? Here, grander than marble shaft or column, 
 more enduring than mausoleum of granite or polished tablet of 
 brass is this thriving settlement, made up of a people rescued from 
 tyranny and despotism, raised from abject poverty to become, by 
 the aid of his beneficience, intelligent citizens of the Great Re- 
 public, industrious, enterprising, economical and self-respecting. 
 It was a noble bequest; it is being faithfully applied to the pur- 
 poses of the trust, and the promise is for the highest and most 
 gratifying results. This is his monument. 
 
 THE JEWISH COLONY AT CARMEL. 
 
 The Jewish colony, at Carmel, is in many respects different 
 from those at Alliance and Woodbine. There was no purchase 
 of a large tract of land for division among those who came to 
 carve out farms for themselves there. This was not a colony 
 located by the Hebrew Aid Society, the Jewish Alliance, or the 
 trustees of the Baron de Hirsh Fund, or any similar society or 
 organization; it was formed of Russian Jewish emigrants, who 
 came to make homes for themselves in the United States. 
 
 This settlement was established in 1883, the year following 
 the advent of the colony at Alliance ; it was comprised of one him- 
 dred families, numbering in all about three hundred men, women 
 and children ; they selected land which lies partly in Millville and 
 partly in Deerfield township. Each family secured about twenty 
 acres and went to work diligently to clear off the timber and get 
 the land ready for cultivation; while this was being done the 
 women and children were employed in such work as could be ob- 
 tained to earn enough, with the addition of sums realized from 
 the sales of the wood as it was cut off, to provide food for the 
 family and make the payments for the land as they became due. 
 Rude houses were built by the aid of money secured from the 
 Building Association of the city of Bridgeton, to which, of 
 course, mortgages were given covering the entire properties. This 
 people struggled hard, working from earliest dawn until late at 
 night, with the most determined energy, for a period of seven 
 years; it then became evident that, unassisted, the people could 
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THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 25 
 
 loredosing the mortgages, and property after property went 
 under the hammer, and the poor settlers were completely dis- 
 heartened. The outlook for them was indeed gloomy and des- 
 perate. 
 
 At this terrible crisis of affairs a committee was appointed 
 and sent with an earnest appeal to the late Baron de Hirsch, who 
 was then living, for assistance to extricate them from the diffi- 
 culties that had crowded upon them and to save their small farms. 
 
 The Baron was not the man to turn the deaf ear to cries of 
 his countrymen for assistance, and he sent the sum of $5,000, to 
 be loaned to the struggling people in such sums as careful investi- 
 gation proved to be needed in each individual case, ranging from 
 $50 to $200; these loans were to bear interest at four per cent, 
 and ten per cent, of the principal with accrued interest, which was 
 to be paid every six months. This timely aid marked a turning 
 point in the history of Carmel settlement ; it put heart into the peo- 
 ple to renew the struggle, and in the decade that followed they 
 have reached a greatly improved and more comfortable condition. 
 Wealth has not come to the colonists, but they have made sure of 
 a footing on the land and are earning comfortable livings. In 
 the country from which they came, they had but rough experience 
 in agriculture, and that under entirely different methods from 
 those prevailing here. The success, therefore, which has crowned 
 their efforts to adapt themselves to these new conditions is the 
 more surprising and commendable. 
 
 The soil at Carmel is very good, resembling the soil at Alli- 
 ance and Woodbine; it is a light sandy loam, easily worked, re- 
 sponding readily to manure and fertilizers, and is well adapted 
 to raising vegetables, melons, berries, grapes, peaches, pears, etc., 
 but not heavy enough for cereals, hence the people do not attempt 
 to raise these only in small quantities for their own use. The 
 crops of white and sweet potatoes are very abundant and bring 
 large and sure returns ; some of the finest melons produced in New 
 Jersey are raised at Carmel, and the berry and grape crops are of 
 a very high standard. 
 
 There are now some very excellent farmers at this settle- 
 ment ; hard workers, who have made a careful study of the capa- 
 bilities of the soil, who have learned how to treat it to produce the 
 best results and who are constantly on the alert for all that will 
 
THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 elevate and improve their condition. The farms are remarkably 
 neat and present a very fine, thrifty appearance. Great care has 
 been exercised to thoroughly free the soil from stumps and roots ; 
 there is no sour, soggy land, but the soil is thoroughly broken and 
 pulverized, fed at proper seasons with carefully selected fertilizers 
 and every acre under cultivation yields in rich abundance. 
 
 The houses are small and unpretentious, but cozy, comforta- 
 ble and well furnished. 
 
 Like their compatriots at the other settlements, they have 
 fine cows and abundance of excellent poultry. Said one of these 
 settlers, "We do not have to buy much, a little flour and a few 
 groceries; we get out vegetables and fruits from the soil, our milk^ 
 and butter from the cow, and chickens and the eggs are very good 
 eating. We have enough of these to trade for flour and groceries 
 and from our crops to make the regular payments on the farm^ 
 and get the plain clothing we need, and, sir, we can afford a holi- 
 day suit, too." The vineyards, now well set with clusters of Con- 
 cord grapes, are of very strong and thrifty appearance and the 
 yield is enormous. This colony, which has given special atten- 
 tion to grape culture and the making of wines, is meeting with 
 marked success, and finds a rapidly increasing demand for the still 
 wines they manufacture; these wines are of fine body and rich 
 flavor and are rapidly gaining favor among the judges of good 
 wines. The shipping station is Rosenhayn, on the lines of the 
 New Jersey Southern Railroad, and a very busy scene is presented 
 here when the farmers of Carmel and Rosenhayn are shipping 
 their vegetables, fruits and melons to market. 
 
 The farm of Isaac Rosen, on the extreme southern verge of 
 the Carmel tract, and fronting on the turnpike and the line of the 
 Bridgeton and Millville Traction Company, contains 340 acres, 
 nearly all cleared and in a very high state of cultivation. Mr. 
 Rosen had large experience in farming and ranch life in Texas 
 before coming to Carmel, and made money enough to enable him- 
 to secure this large farm. Unlike his fellows at Carmel, he does 
 not grow berries and fruits, but has turned his attention to cereals 
 and potatoes, the soil being somewhat heavier and richer than on 
 most of the farms in the colony ; he finds ready market for all he 
 can raise in the cities of Millville and Bridgeton, his farm being 
 about midway between them ; he also gives attention to dairying, 
 and has a heard of twenty-two fine cows. 
 
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THE JEWISH COLONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 27 
 
 The town site of Carmel is very small, and the synagogue is 
 the only public building. There are three factories, one in which 
 clothing for men and boys is manufactured, and two devoted to 
 the manufacture of ladies' wrappers and waists. In the former 
 sixty hands are employed, whose wages average from $8 to $10 
 per week ; the other factdries employ each twenty-five hands, most- 
 ly girls, the average wages being $6 to $7 per week — wages are 
 always paid weekly and in cash. In the establishment of manu- 
 factories at this place, the Baron de Hirsch trustees have assisted 
 the people. They own the clothing factory and lease the build- 
 ings in which the wrappers and waists are manufactured; they 
 also own the machinery in all the buildings. 
 
 In contradistinction to the other colonies, it may be stated 
 that Carmel has had but little extraneous aid, but has reached its 
 present fairly prosperous condition by the indomitable pluck, 
 energy and economy of its people. 
 
 OTHER COLONIES. 
 
 Attempts have been made to establish Jewish colonies in 
 other localities, but they have all been failures. Of these may be 
 named Mizpah, Atlantic county, six miles from Mays Landing; 
 Reega, eleven miles distant from Mizpah. Malaga, in Franklin 
 township, Gloucester county; Ziontown, four miles distant from 
 the last named ; Alberton, near Manamuskin, on the West Jersey 
 and Seashore Railroad; Hebron, on the New Jersey Southern 
 Railroad, near Newfield. 
 
 The cause of failure in these attempts at colonization of Jew- 
 ish families was that they were started by speculators, men whose 
 records did not promise a high order of things for the refugees, 
 and as their capital was very limited, it did not take long to reach 
 the end. The idea of these speculators was that they could get 
 these poor exiles into their clutches, pay them starvation wages 
 and make a big profit out of it, but the Jews failed to be impressed 
 by the glittering inducements held out and did not come in the 
 large numbers anticipated to locate. 
 
 Mizpah was projected by a New York firm of cloakmakers, 
 and at one time had one factory, thirteen houses, and probably 25 
 or 30 Jewish families, numbering in all about 100 persons. 
 
28 THE JEWISH COEONIES OF SOUTH JERSEY. 
 
 Reega was projected by a wholesale liquor dealer and a pic- 
 ture frame merchant of Philadelphia. A small sewing shop, sev- 
 eral frame houses and a small grocery store, with one Jewish 
 family, two Italian and four Polish tried the settlement, but the 
 outlook was so unpromising that they soon fled. 
 
 The Jewish families at Malaga found employment in Rich- 
 man Stocking Factory, and no permanent settlement resulted. 
 Ziontown was projected by a New York coatmaker in conjunction 
 with a Philadelphian, who purchased 1,137 acres of bushland, run 
 it off in town lots at $75 per lot, put up a small sewing shop, and 
 had at one time some seventy persons employed, but work failed 
 and the people were reduced almost to starvation. 
 
 The location was all right, being somewhat elevated, and if 
 it had been started by the right persons, backed by sufficient capi- 
 tal, might have proved successful. 
 
 The most notable failure at Jewish colonization was that at 
 Alberton, or, as it is most generally spoken of, Halberton. A 
 New York ticket broker and his nephew, associated with a local 
 speculator under the high sounding title of "The Cumberland 
 Land and Improvement Company," opened up a tract of bushland 
 below Manumuskin Station, on the line of the West Jersey and 
 Seashore Railroad, eight miles south of Millville. A factory, 
 large boarding house, and twelve or fifteen houses were built on 
 the farming tract of a few acres each. The settlers were never in 
 excess of 75, and work soon failed, and they were compelled to 
 leave. There was not sufficient capital back of the concern and 
 it went into the hands of the Sheriff, where it remains, as that 
 functionary has not been able to dispose of it, and the deserted 
 factory and houses, minus doors and windows, present a most 
 forlorn picture to the passengers on the trains that pass the scene 
 of this abortive attempt to found a colony. 
 
 Hebron was started by a colonist from Alliance, but never 
 resulted in securing any settlers ; it is located in the triangle from- 
 ed by the railroads at Newfield. 
 
 Thus is presented the salient feature of all these South Jer- 
 sey Jewish colonies. Those established under the auspices of the 
 Hebrew Benevolent Societies are proving successful, while every 
 attempt of speculators to start colonies has resulted in complete 
 failure. 
 
; *