South Trenton
Encyclopedia
South Trenton is a neighborhood in Trenton
, New Jersey
, United States
, that is home to a diverse array of immigrants from places such as Italy
, Latin America
, and Ireland
and their ancestors. It is Trenton's most diverse neighborhood and borders Hamilton Township
to the Southeast and the Delaware River
to the West. South Trenton had a brief existence as an independent municipality, from 1840 to 1851.
South Trenton was incorporated as a borough
by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature
on February 28, 1840, from portions of Nottingham Township
. The borough was annexed by Trenton on April 14, 1851.
South Trenton is home to Trenton's famed Chambersburg
neighborhood also known as "The 'Burg". It is historically Trenton's most diverse immigrant community and had residents hailing from places such as Poland
, Slovakia
, Ireland
, Hungary
, Ukraine
and Germany
though eventually mostly Italian
immigrants and their offspring came to dominate the neighborhood. It is known for being the Restaurant District of Trenton as numerous banners hung throughout the neighborhood attest to. Some of the restaurants in the neighborhood specialize in Italian cuisine
. Chambersburg was also known for its annual celebration called the Feast of Madonna or the Feast of Lights further reflecting its cultural and religious roots. The past 15 or so years South Trenton has been experiencing a sharp rise in residents from Latin America
, especially Puerto Rico
. In the southernmost part of South Trenton, and therefore the entire city, known as "The Bottom" the concentration of Puerto Ricans is especially noticeable. There are still large concentrations of Puerto Ricans but more recently Guatemalan, Costa Rican, and Ecuadorian immigrants have come to the neighborhood. Many have set up new stores and businesses. Today South Broad St. in South Trenton is home to Trenton's largest population of Latinos.
hockey team, was completed in 1999 and hosts hundreds of events per year from hockey games to musical concert
s to job fairs as well as the very popular PrimeTime Shootout showcasing some of the nation's best talent in high school basketball
. The 2003 PrimeTime Shootout was the sight of the highest-scoring game of LeBron James
' high school
career
). It is located at the corner of South Broad St. and Hamilton Ave. The Trenton Thunder
stadium, Mercer County Waterfront Park
, is located at the end of Cass St.
(nicknamed "Thunder Road"). It is the Class AA-affiliate of the New York Yankees
(formerly the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox) and counts Tony Clark, Carl Pavano, Trot Nixon, Nomar Garciaparra, David Eckstein, Dioner Navarro, Chen Ming-Wing, Phil Hughes, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, Bret Saberhagen, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, and Roger Clemens (the latter four as injury rehabs). There were two other Trenton minor league teams: the Trenton Senators and the Trenton Giants. The Trenton Giants once had Willie Mays (see Say Hey: The Autobiography of Willie Mays, by Willie Mays with Lou Sahadi, copyright 1988, starting at p. 46) among its former players. The New Jersey State Prison
(NJSP) is also located in South Trenton mainly along 2nd St. and has a mural dedicated to the Trenton Thunder
along its side that faces Thunder Road.
Another very famous landmark of South Trenton and Chambersburg is the famed and renowned Italian People's Bakery. Known as the "Pride of Chambersburg", it has served the neighborhood bread and Italian baked goods for over 60 years. It is still owned and operated by descendants of the same family that started the business over 60 years ago. They now have locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but their main locations are in the Heart of Chambersburg at 61-63 Butler Street, near the Italian Banquet Hall Roman Hall, and near St Joachims Catholic
Church and many other Chambersburg businesses.
. Trenton was considered the section north of the creek. Nottingham was divided, however, on April 11, 1842, the territory set off being thenceforth known as Hamilton Township.
In 1831, John A. Roebling
migrated from Germany, moving to Trenton in about 1848, when he purchased some acres of land on South Broad Street where his new wire plant would be located.
In 1851, South Trenton was annexed as part of Trenton. This also included the areas of Mill Hill and Bloomsbury. 5 years later, the part of Hamilton known as Lamberton was annexed as well. Mill Hill was the sight of some of the earliest known industrial development in Trenton. Residents were mostly working and middle class: industrial workers, clerks, shopkeepers, teachers and government workers.
Mill Hill grew rapidly in the second half of the nineteenth century, with some decline toward the end of the century. An analysis of households based on city directories of this period charts the composition of the neighborhood.
Many people consider Chambersburg part of South Trenton and call the area of the Streets of Lamberton, Cass, and Centre as “The Bottom” because of its urban area and the rise in crime along these streets.
A notorious Mafia murder occurred in mid-February 1981, when an ambitious young Trenton gangster half Irish named Frank Stillitano was snatched off the street by Mafia thugs who pulled a black hood over his head and drove him away for execution. Stillitano's corpse was found stuffed into the trunk of a car linked to his own brother-in-law 12 days later at Philadelphia International Airport. He had been shot behind the left ear and left knee. Cops from Philly to Trenton to New York knew right away who killed Frank "Frankie Stale" Stillitano, 28:He was known for shaking down tavern owners and small businesses and was not a very admirable character. soldiers from the Gambino crime family
made the hit to avenge Stillitano's slaying of Trenton capo Nicky Russo's son on March 24, 1979. Trenton wouldn't find out who killed Frankie Stale until May 1997, when Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano came out with a book in which he admitted killing Stillitano and 18 other mobsters, including a Trenton capo he came to admire, John "Johnny Keys" Simone.
n gangs have come to challenge the long-established dominance of the Latin Kings in South Trenton. In addition to the Latin Kings, South Trenton is home to many members of the gangs GTO (Guatemalans Taking Over), the Netas
, MS-13, Crips
, and the Bloods
. Some suspect that the Maniac Latin Disciples are trying to move in as well due to recent graffiti. Most of these divergent groups' members come to a head at the local junior high school for South Trenton, Grace A. Dunn Middle School also known as Junior High School Number Four or simply "Jr.4". This has played a part in making Jr. 4 one of five "persistently dangerous schools" in the State of New Jersey according to No Child Left Behind reporting from 2004 through 2006. Despites these realities, South Trenton is considered by many to be the safest neighborhood in Trenton with relatively low rates of violent crime
when compared with other parts of New Jersey's Capitol City.
There was a sharp rise in crime during the mid-1990s but as of 2009 crime is down to a low level in South Trenton due to Trenton Police Department's new tactics including a mobile police station and the establishment of a South Trenton precinct at the corner of Bridge Street and South Broad Street.
's Stephanie Plum
series.
The song "South Trenton" by the Christian Hip-Hop crew "E.T.W." from the album "Let's Stay Together" (1993)
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, that is home to a diverse array of immigrants from places such as Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and their ancestors. It is Trenton's most diverse neighborhood and borders Hamilton Township
Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
Hamilton Township is a Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township had a total population of 88,464...
to the Southeast and the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
to the West. South Trenton had a brief existence as an independent municipality, from 1840 to 1851.
South Trenton was incorporated as a borough
Borough (New Jersey)
A borough in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government....
by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...
on February 28, 1840, from portions of Nottingham Township
Nottingham Township, New Jersey
Nottingham Township existed almost 168 years in New Jersey from 1688 until it was dissolved in 1856.The Township was created on November 6, 1688, as a part of Burlington County in the Province of New Jersey. It was incorporated by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature as one of the State of New...
. The borough was annexed by Trenton on April 14, 1851.
South Trenton is home to Trenton's famed Chambersburg
Chambersburg, New Jersey
Chambersburg was a municipality that existed in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, from 1872 to 1888. Chambersburg is now a section of Trenton....
neighborhood also known as "The 'Burg". It is historically Trenton's most diverse immigrant community and had residents hailing from places such as Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
though eventually mostly Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
immigrants and their offspring came to dominate the neighborhood. It is known for being the Restaurant District of Trenton as numerous banners hung throughout the neighborhood attest to. Some of the restaurants in the neighborhood specialize in Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
. Chambersburg was also known for its annual celebration called the Feast of Madonna or the Feast of Lights further reflecting its cultural and religious roots. The past 15 or so years South Trenton has been experiencing a sharp rise in residents from Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, especially Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. In the southernmost part of South Trenton, and therefore the entire city, known as "The Bottom" the concentration of Puerto Ricans is especially noticeable. There are still large concentrations of Puerto Ricans but more recently Guatemalan, Costa Rican, and Ecuadorian immigrants have come to the neighborhood. Many have set up new stores and businesses. Today South Broad St. in South Trenton is home to Trenton's largest population of Latinos.
Landmarks
Landmarks in South Trenton include the First Baptist Church of Trenton located at the corner of Centre and Bridge Street which was founded in 1805. The Sun National Bank Center, home to the Trenton Devils ECHLECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
hockey team, was completed in 1999 and hosts hundreds of events per year from hockey games to musical concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s to job fairs as well as the very popular PrimeTime Shootout showcasing some of the nation's best talent in high school basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. The 2003 PrimeTime Shootout was the sight of the highest-scoring game of LeBron James
LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a...
' high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
). It is located at the corner of South Broad St. and Hamilton Ave. The Trenton Thunder
Trenton Thunder
The Trenton Thunder are an American Minor League Baseball team and are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Thunder play in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League, and are the two-time defending league champions...
stadium, Mercer County Waterfront Park
Mercer County Waterfront Park
Samuel J. Plumeri, Sr. Field at Mercer County Waterfront Park is a stadium in Trenton, New Jersey. It is the home baseball park for the Trenton Thunder of the Eastern League...
, is located at the end of Cass St.
(nicknamed "Thunder Road"). It is the Class AA-affiliate of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
(formerly the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox) and counts Tony Clark, Carl Pavano, Trot Nixon, Nomar Garciaparra, David Eckstein, Dioner Navarro, Chen Ming-Wing, Phil Hughes, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, Bret Saberhagen, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, and Roger Clemens (the latter four as injury rehabs). There were two other Trenton minor league teams: the Trenton Senators and the Trenton Giants. The Trenton Giants once had Willie Mays (see Say Hey: The Autobiography of Willie Mays, by Willie Mays with Lou Sahadi, copyright 1988, starting at p. 46) among its former players. The New Jersey State Prison
New Jersey State Prison
The New Jersey State Prison , formerly known as Trenton State Prison, is a state prison in Trenton, New Jersey operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections. It accommodated over 1,900 prisoners as of January, 2005....
(NJSP) is also located in South Trenton mainly along 2nd St. and has a mural dedicated to the Trenton Thunder
Trenton Thunder
The Trenton Thunder are an American Minor League Baseball team and are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Thunder play in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League, and are the two-time defending league champions...
along its side that faces Thunder Road.
Another very famous landmark of South Trenton and Chambersburg is the famed and renowned Italian People's Bakery. Known as the "Pride of Chambersburg", it has served the neighborhood bread and Italian baked goods for over 60 years. It is still owned and operated by descendants of the same family that started the business over 60 years ago. They now have locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but their main locations are in the Heart of Chambersburg at 61-63 Butler Street, near the Italian Banquet Hall Roman Hall, and near St Joachims Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Church and many other Chambersburg businesses.
History
In April 1828, all South Trenton from the Assunpink southward was included in Nottingham TownshipNottingham Township, New Jersey
Nottingham Township existed almost 168 years in New Jersey from 1688 until it was dissolved in 1856.The Township was created on November 6, 1688, as a part of Burlington County in the Province of New Jersey. It was incorporated by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature as one of the State of New...
. Trenton was considered the section north of the creek. Nottingham was divided, however, on April 11, 1842, the territory set off being thenceforth known as Hamilton Township.
In 1831, John A. Roebling
John A. Roebling
John Augustus Roebling was a German-born American civil engineer. He is famous for his wire rope suspension bridge designs, in particular, the design of the Brooklyn Bridge.-Early life:...
migrated from Germany, moving to Trenton in about 1848, when he purchased some acres of land on South Broad Street where his new wire plant would be located.
In 1851, South Trenton was annexed as part of Trenton. This also included the areas of Mill Hill and Bloomsbury. 5 years later, the part of Hamilton known as Lamberton was annexed as well. Mill Hill was the sight of some of the earliest known industrial development in Trenton. Residents were mostly working and middle class: industrial workers, clerks, shopkeepers, teachers and government workers.
Mill Hill grew rapidly in the second half of the nineteenth century, with some decline toward the end of the century. An analysis of households based on city directories of this period charts the composition of the neighborhood.
Many people consider Chambersburg part of South Trenton and call the area of the Streets of Lamberton, Cass, and Centre as “The Bottom” because of its urban area and the rise in crime along these streets.
Decline and rise in crime
The decline of the South Ward began with the building of new suburban homes in the towns surrounding Trenton in the 1950s and 1960s. Many old factories closed and businesses left the area. Many cities experienced urban decay and a rise in crime, and Trenton did as well. In 1958, a young religious fanatic who grew up in a broken home stormed St. Joachim’s Church and shot three nuns, and then escaped out the back as police fired 1,000 rounds at shadows in the front window of the nunnery. Until the late 1960s crime was sporadic. A South Broad Street home was the site of three burglaries between 1966 and 1970. What made the robberies more interesting was that the building adjacent to them was the home of the Trenton Police Department. Obviously having a precinct next door did not discourage the thieves. However, South Trenton was for the most part unaffected by the Trenton Riots of 1968 while downtown was looted and burned.Mafia
""The Mafia continues to operate in the area, with most members being associates of the New Jersey Mafia and Philadelphia Mafia.A notorious Mafia murder occurred in mid-February 1981, when an ambitious young Trenton gangster half Irish named Frank Stillitano was snatched off the street by Mafia thugs who pulled a black hood over his head and drove him away for execution. Stillitano's corpse was found stuffed into the trunk of a car linked to his own brother-in-law 12 days later at Philadelphia International Airport. He had been shot behind the left ear and left knee. Cops from Philly to Trenton to New York knew right away who killed Frank "Frankie Stale" Stillitano, 28:He was known for shaking down tavern owners and small businesses and was not a very admirable character. soldiers from the Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
made the hit to avenge Stillitano's slaying of Trenton capo Nicky Russo's son on March 24, 1979. Trenton wouldn't find out who killed Frankie Stale until May 1997, when Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano came out with a book in which he admitted killing Stillitano and 18 other mobsters, including a Trenton capo he came to admire, John "Johnny Keys" Simone.
Street gangs
In the Latin American areas of South Trenton, GuatemalaGuatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
n gangs have come to challenge the long-established dominance of the Latin Kings in South Trenton. In addition to the Latin Kings, South Trenton is home to many members of the gangs GTO (Guatemalans Taking Over), the Netas
Ñetas
The Ñeta Association is the name of a Puerto Rican gang that began in the Puerto Rico prison system and spread to the United States...
, MS-13, Crips
Crips
The Crips are a primarily, but not exclusively, African American gang. They were founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969 mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams...
, and the Bloods
Bloods
The Bloods are a street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. They are identified by the red color worn by their members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs...
. Some suspect that the Maniac Latin Disciples are trying to move in as well due to recent graffiti. Most of these divergent groups' members come to a head at the local junior high school for South Trenton, Grace A. Dunn Middle School also known as Junior High School Number Four or simply "Jr.4". This has played a part in making Jr. 4 one of five "persistently dangerous schools" in the State of New Jersey according to No Child Left Behind reporting from 2004 through 2006. Despites these realities, South Trenton is considered by many to be the safest neighborhood in Trenton with relatively low rates of violent crime
Violent crime
A violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, as well as crimes in which violence is the means to an end, such as robbery. Violent...
when compared with other parts of New Jersey's Capitol City.
There was a sharp rise in crime during the mid-1990s but as of 2009 crime is down to a low level in South Trenton due to Trenton Police Department's new tactics including a mobile police station and the establishment of a South Trenton precinct at the corner of Bridge Street and South Broad Street.
In popular culture
Chambersburg is the location for and is mentioned frequently in Janet EvanovichJanet Evanovich
Janet Evanovich is an American writer. She began her career writing short contemporary romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall, but gained fame authoring a series of contemporary mysteries featuring Stephanie Plum, a lingerie buyer from Trenton, New Jersey, who becomes a bounty hunter to...
's Stephanie Plum
Stephanie Plum
Stephanie Plum is a fictional character and the protagonist in a series of novels written by Janet Evanovich. She is a spunky combination of Nancy Drew and Dirty Harry, and - although a female bounty hunter - is the opposite of Domino Harvey...
series.
The song "South Trenton" by the Christian Hip-Hop crew "E.T.W." from the album "Let's Stay Together" (1993)