Whittier House Social Settlement (Jersey City, N.J.)
Whittier House Social Settlement in Jersey City (Essex County), the first settlement house in New Jersey, was founded by Cornelia Foster Bradford (1847-1935) in 1894. Whittier House workers, including social reformer Mary Philbrook, maintained residence in the settlement house, developing programs based on the specific needs of the largely immigrant Jersey City community. Programs included the city's first free kindergarten, legal assistance for the poor, a circulating library, a medical dispensary, a milk dispensary, and a diet kitchen for mothers and babies.
Whittier House also provided the only public playground in the city, a gymnasium, and a summer camp in Pomona, N.Y. Among the clubs and classes offered were sewing, drama, debating, English, elocution and dance, as well as groups for mothers, newsboys and young citizens.
Programs initiated at Whittier House led to the formation of the New Jersey Legal Aid Association, the Consumers' League of New Jersey, and the State Tenement House Commission. Cornelia Bradford, who had been headworker for over 30 years, retired in 1926. Financial difficulties led to a takeover by the Boys' Club of Jersey City in 1935.
From the description of Records, 1894-1974. (New Jersey Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 39318097
| Role | Title | Holding Repository | |
|---|---|---|---|
| creatorOf | Whittier House Social Settlement (Jersey City, N.J.). Records, 1894-1974. | New Jersey Historical Society Library | |
| referencedIn | Philbrook, Mary. Papers, 1843-1954. | New Jersey Historical Society Library |
| Role | Title | Holding Repository |
|---|
Filters:
| Relation | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| associatedWith | Boys' Club of Jersey City (N.J.) | corporateBody |
| associatedWith | Bradford, Cornelia, 1847-1935. | person |
| associatedWith | Freeland, Mary B. | person |
| associatedWith | Philbrook, Mary. | person |
| associatedWith | United Neighborhood Houses Association. | corporateBody |
| Place Name | Admin Code | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey--Jersey City | |||
| New Jersey | |||
| Jersey City (N.J.) | |||
| Essex County (N.J.) |
| Subject |
|---|
| Americanization |
| Boys |
| Charities |
| Child labor |
| Diet-kitchens |
| Dispensaries |
| Fresh air charity |
| Girls |
| Immigrants |
| Kindergarten facilities |
| Legal assistance to the poor |
| Libraries and the poor |
| Low-income housing |
| Medical social work |
| Milk programs |
| Newspaper carriers |
| Poor |
| Social settlements |
| Slavs |
| Social service |
| Social work with immigrants |
| Tenement houses |
| Women in charitable work |
| Women social reformers |
| Occupation |
|---|
| Activity |
|---|
| Women in charitable work |
Corporate Body
Active 1894
Active 1974
