Special Collections: Alliance Colony Heritage Collection

The Alliance Colony, located in Pittsgrove Township, Salem County, New Jersey, was an agricultural community formed by Jewish families fleeing oppression and pogroms in Russia. Established in 1882 by 43 original families, the Alliance Colony was considered the first successful Jewish farming village in the United States. The community was named after the Alliance Israélite Universelle, a charitable organization founded in Paris in 1860, which helped in the resettlement of Jewish emigrants. Other organizations that assisted these communities included the Hebrew Emigrant Aid Society (HEAS), founded in New York City in 1881, and the Baron de Hirsch Fund. Later, other Jewish farming communities were formed in Brotmanville, Carmel, Estellville, Norma, Rosenhayn, and Woodbine. More information can be found at the Alliance Heritage Center’s website.

Portions of the collection were acquired in 2021 from Jay Greenblatt, the first President of the Alliance Colony Foundation and a descendant of one of the original settlers of Alliance. Other materials have been donated, starting in 2016, by various community members with relation to or interest in Jewish Farming in southern New Jersey. Additional items were loaned for digitization. The collection includes land records, photographs, religious records, articles, books, and research materials relating to the Alliance Colony, its founders, and its descendants. In addition to materials about Alliance, there are some materials relating to other Jewish communities in South Jersey, such as Norma, Brotmanville, and Woodbine.

Collection processed by Patricia Chappine, March 2022.

While Stockton University’s Bjork Library’s Special Collection and Archives owns the collection, Stockton may not own the copyright for all of the items. Researchers wishing to reproduce materials are responsible for obtaining the proper permissions.