Independent Village and Company Town

Roebling village was a company town, but there is a closely-related "independent" town located nearby.  In Roebling as in other places where I've done fieldwork over the years, the company owns and operates the residential village, usually located adjacent to the company mill or mine.  The independent portion is just a small distance away, though the two parts are probably within sight of each other.  Despite their separate status, however, the two communities function interdependently.  Worker housing is located on the company side of town, along with the work site itself and other key facilities functions such as medical services and community center.

Worker Housing in Roebling

In my experience, the so-called "independent" part of town will probably be located beyond a topographical barrier such as a river, or across a road or thoroughfare, or more likely, on the other side of the railroad tracks that service the industrial site.  Ethnic churches and ethnic social clubs are likely to be established within the sphere of the independent village, though they serve the communities on both sides of the tracks.  

This two-part pattern had developed in Roebling too, with the company-controlled and administered village lying to the west of Hornberger Avenue (named after the company doctor); which is to say, west of the tracks that separated it from the independent side of town.  By the way, these tracks are now used by the RiverLine, which has helped stimulate new growth and vitality in Roebling Village.

Street Scent at "Independent" Roebling Village

The Roebling company recruited workers from various countries in central and eastern Europe, who probably arrived here through the very common pattern known as "chain migration".  Family or community members already here would report on conditions and encourage others back home to join them.  Whatever their path from old world to new, immigrant workers from Hungary, Romania, the former Czechoslovakia, Poland, and other parts of the old Austro-Hungarian empire gradually filled the streets of Roebling, settling in houses provided by the company.  Meanwhile, various businesses and churches, usually ethnic in nature, were established on the other side of the tracks.  In Roebling, there's a Hungarian church on the other side of the tracks, and a Romanian church, along with ethnic clubs and taverns, many of which date to the period when the Roebling mill was in operation. 

Hungarian Church, Roebling

Ethnic cultures are an important component of the human fabric of Roebling Village, and I believe they continue to influence the character and self-identity of the contemporary community.  The company town that Roebling established, which provided housing, health, and other basic services to workers, contributed to the development of community identity and solidarity.  The shared ethnic heritage of workers and their families, their labors and recreations, breathed life into village history, and enlivened the company history as well.  

Ethnicity was an important component of the industrial workplace.  During the industrial period, workers were often assigned to a particular job or section of a given mill based on their ethnic background.  The more dangerous and dirty the job, the lower the social status of the worker; ethnicity was a factor in determining these rankings.  By all accounts the Roebling company was a benevolent and community-minded employer, but that may not have influenced the organization of work within the company or the culture of the workplace itself.         

To be sure, ethnicity was indeed a factor in the layout of the village, which reflected the ethnic and class differences among Roebling company employees.  The Swedes and English who worked for the company were assigned housing located at a distance from the mill site.  Their houses were grander, and the streets in their part of town were wider and more open than those where the mill laborers lived.  In addition, people of northern European background tended to have management or administrative positions in the company, rather than laboring positions in the mill.  It's likely that this general pattern filtered down from the company offices to the lowest levels of the mill, and influenced class structure and social relations in mill and village community alike.   

Whatever the case, ethnic identities have persisted in Roebling, and I'm interested in learning more about them.  At a recent Christmas celebration held in the Roebling community center, foods reflecting Eastern European ethnic origins were on sale.  Haluski (noodles with cabbage) and kolaczki (cookies filled with apricot or poppy seed paste) were available for lunch that day, all prepared by the women of the town.  

Wood Marker, Hungarian Cemetery

The cemeteries in Roebling also reflect the ethnic roots of the village community.  For example, many of the gravestones within the Roebling cemeteries are shaped in the form of the Russian or Orthodox cross.  Other grave markers are of a much humbler sort, sometimes made of concrete with names scratched into the surface before the slurry had set, or are simply made of wood, with the name of the deceased carved into the surface.  These cemeteries are cultural artifacts in their own right, and cast a poignant light on the ethnic past (and present) of Roebling Village.  

 Romanian Cemetery Scene