Stockton University Renovates Center That Preserves History of Jewish Farming Community

Stockton University is nearing completion on renovations to the Alliance Heritage Center, an institution that preserves the history of the 43 Jewish families who fled persecution in Russia and settled in Salem County, New Jersey, where they created the first successful Jewish farming community in the U.S.

The center was created at Stockton in 2019 and has collected over 1,000 historical artifacts about the community, according to a Stockton University press release about the renovation project.

The renovation is centered around the Alliance Chapel in the Norma section of Pittsgrove Township, which will become a physical location for the history of this community as a complement to the pre-existing Alliance Heritage Center Digital Museum.

Previously, most of the center’s work had been di