The Pietro and Maria Botto House, also known as Pietro Botto House, at 83 Norwood Street,

Haledon 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 i ...

Passaic County Passaic County ( or ) 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,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, United States, is where leaders of the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

(IWW) union spoke to the 25,000 striking workers of the

Paterson Silk Strike of 1913 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 on February 1 1913 but d ...

History

Early 1900s

The original owners, Pietro Botto (1864–1945) and his wife Maria Boggio (1870–1915) were both immigrants from

Biella, Italy Biella (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the northern Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of Turin and at about the sam ...

. 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 Union City is a City (New Jersey), city in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in Ne ...

) 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.Janet Gibbs Albanesius, "Maria Botto". In ''Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women'', ed. Joan N. Burstyn (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1997), p. 109-10Dennis J. Starr, "Botto House". In ''The Italian American Experience: An Encyclopedia'', ed. Salvatore J. LaGumina, et al. (New York: Garland Pub., 2000), p. 70 Pietro Botto and the couple's daughters worked as weavers in that town's Cedar Cliffs mills, while Maria did some "

outwork An outwork is a minor fortification built or established outside the principal fortification limits, detached or semidetached. Outworks such as ravelins, lunettes (demilunes), flèches and caponier A caponier is a type of defensive structur ...

", 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 A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segment ...

, especially on Sundays and holidays the Botto House became a popular meeting place with its

bocce (, or , ), sometimes anglicized as bocce ball, bocci, or boccie, is a ball sport belonging to the boules family. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is closely related to English bowls and French , with a common ancestry from anc ...

court, the card tables and the cooking provided by Maria and her daughters. During the

, Paterson's

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

refused to allow the strikers to assembly in the city. Pietro and Maria Botto, at the urging of

Big Bill Haywood William Dudley Haywood (February 4, 1869 – May 18, 1928), nicknamed "Big Bill", was an American labor organizer and founding member and leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and a member of the executive committee of the Socia ...

, invited the strike organizers to hold rallies at their home in nearby

, where the workers were not on strike, counting on the support of the local

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

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 Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American author, muckraker journalist, and political activist, and the 1934 California gubernatorial election, 1934 Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

Carlo Tresca Carlo Tresca (March 9, 1879 – January 11, 1943) was an Italian-American dissident, newspaper editor, orator, and labor organizer and activist who was a leader of the Industrial Workers of the World during the 1910s. He is remembered as a leadi ...

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (August 7, 1890 – September 5, 1964) was an American labor leader, activist, and feminist who played a leading role in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Flynn was a founding member of the American Civil Libe ...

, Adolph Lessig and

Patrick L. Quinlan Arthur Patrick L. "Pat" Quinlan (1883–1948) was an Irish people, Irish trade union organizer, journalist, and socialism, socialist political activist. Quinlan is best remembered for the part he played as an organizer for the Industrial Workers ...

. Despite not being part of the strike himself, Pietro could not find work after the strike, nor could his daughter Eva, who was

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

ed. Maria got sick and died only two years after the silk strike.

1980s - present

Because it served as a haven for

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...

and assembly for the laborers, the ''Botto House'' was placed on both the

New Jersey Register of Historic Places The New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic resources of local, state, and national interest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The program is administered by the New Jersey's state historic preservation office wit ...

and the

U.S. National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1974."About Us"
American Labor Museum. Retrieved December 22, 2013. It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1982, and the first

Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

site to be placed on the nation's most distinguished roster of historic sites. 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 The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

with special attention to the

ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...

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. Each year, the American Labor Museum gives out the

Sol Stetin Sol Stetin (April 2, 1910 – May 21, 2005) was a Polish-born American labor union leader. Born in Pabianice, now in Poland, when Stetin was 10, he and his family emigrated to Paterson, New Jersey. He left school in the ninth grade, becoming a ...

awards, which "honor outstanding individuals for their contributions toward improving the lives of working people." Previous recipients include: *

Mary Kay Henry Mary Kay Henry (born 1958) is an American labor union activist who was International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) from May 8, 2010McDonnell, P. "SEIU Picks First Female President", ''Los Angeles Times''. May 9, 20 ...

John Nichols (journalist) John Harrison Nichols (born February 3, 1959) is a liberal and progressive American journalist and author. He is the National Affairs correspondent for ''The Nation'' and associate editor of ''The Capital Times''. Books authored or co-authored ...

* Edward Smith (trade unionist) *

James Sinegal James D. Sinegal (born January 1, 1936) is an American businessman, co-founder and former CEO of the Costco Wholesale Corporation, an international retail chain. He served as Costco's president and CEO from 1983 until 2011. As CEO of Costco, Sin ...

Loretta Weinberg Loretta Weinberg (born February 6, 1935) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as a member of the New Jersey Senate from 2005-2022, where she represented the 37th Legislative District. She also served as Senate Majority Leader ...

References

External links

American Labor Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pietro And Maria Botto House National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey Industrial Workers of the World in New Jersey Labor relations in the United States History museums in New Jersey Museums in Passaic County, New Jersey Houses in Passaic County, New Jersey Houses completed in 1908 National Register of Historic Places in Passaic County, New Jersey Haledon, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places 1983 establishments in New Jersey

History

Early 1900s

1980s - present

See also

References

External links