January 14, 2022
American Labor Museum and the Pietro and Maria Botto House | Haledon, New Jersey
Home of the American Labor Museum
New Jersey was the home of many silk mills during the last century.
It is now the home of the American Labor Museum.
Thousands of people were employed in those silk mills, under deplorable conditions.
Long hours doing difficult and back-breaking work was the norm. Pietro and Maria Botto, immigrants from northern Italy, were two of those workers.
So was their daughter.
In 1913, the workers decided to go on strike.
Over 25,000 of them walked out, shutting down the silk industry.
They wanted an eight-hour day, among other demands.
Pietro and Maria Botto House in Haledon, New Jersey
The workers were forbidden to strike in Paterson, so they moved over the town line to neighboring Haledon.
Pietro and Maria had a modest house in Haledon, but the front balcony was perfect for giving speeches. At the time, there was much free space and lawns for large crowds to gather in front of the house.
Soon labor leaders from around the country descended upon this home. Upton Sinclair, the author of The Jungle, a famous and muckraking novel of conditions in factories and mills, was one of the speakers.
The Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.), better known as the “Wobblies”, also were there. They were considered the “outside agitators” of the strike.
This is a wonderful and succinct video of the strikes:
The Botto house is now an official National Historic Landmark and the American Labor Museum is located there.
More About the American Labor Movement
To see how the other half lived, you can check out my photos from 2014:
You may also check out an iconic television commercial from the 1970s:
To read more about the silk strikes of 1913: Paterson Silk Strikes of 1913
If you are interested in reading books about labor, please read my reviews of Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich, and Punching In: The Unauthorized Adventures of a Front-Line Employee by Alex Frankel.
Thanks for visiting New Jersey Memories!
January 28, 2014
Lambert Castle, Part 2 | Paterson, New Jersey
Lambert Castle
Last week I showed you some exteriors of Lambert Castle in Paterson, New Jersey.
This week I will show you some of the lovely interiors of the castle.
The stained glass window in the last photo was created in tribute to a Lambert daughter, who died when she was 24.
Despite their wealth, the Lambert family suffered many tragedies.
To read about the history of the Castle, click here.
To read more about the Lambert family, read this.
To read more about the Watchung Mountains, read here.
UPDATE 2022: The Castle has been closed since late 2019 for 3 years of renovations.
The COVID pandemic probably delayed things further.
You can check up on the progress of the renovations on their Facebook page.
Thanks for visiting New Jersey Memories!
January 21, 2014
Lambert Castle in Paterson, Part 1 | Paterson, New Jersey
Lambert Castle
Lambert Castle in Paterson, New Jersey has an interesting past.
Paterson, New Jersey had many silk mills, and was known as “The Silk City” in the 1800s and has a strong labor and union history.
Catholina Lambert owned one of the silk mills and built his home (known at "Belle Vista") on the side of Garret Mountain, which is part of First Watchung Mountain.
From his home, he could see Paterson spreading out below him and New York City was in the distance.
You can see interior photos of this site in my post Lambert Castle, Part 2.
You may also want to read about The American Labor Museum in Haledon.
To read about the history of the Castle check out the website of the Passaic County Historical Society.
UPDATE 2022: The Castle has been closed since late 2019 for 3 years of renovations.
The COVID pandemic probably delayed things further.
You can check up on the progress of the renovations on their Facebook page.
Thanks for visiting New Jersey Memories!
September 11, 2012
Dey Mansion | Wayne, New Jersey
The Dey Mansion
The Dey Mansion in Wayne, New Jersey, was the temporary headquarters for George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
Dey Mansion is now part of the Passaic County Park System.
George Washington wrote over 300 letters in the front room (which served as his office).
George Washington also slept here! (George slept all over New Jersey!)
To read about another place where George Washington stayed:
Henry Doremus House | Montville, New Jersey
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