American Labor Museum - The Botto House

83 Norwood Street, Haledon, NJ 07508

(973) 595-7953

www.labormuseum.net

The Botto House is the former home of Maria and Pietro Botto. It is the first Italian American site to be designated as a National Historic Landmark. The American Labor Museum, located in the Botto House interprets the history of work, workers and the labor movement throughout the world, with special attention to the ethnicity and immigrant experience of American workers. Maria and Pietro Botto immigrated to this country from Italy. Maria ran her household in addition to completing “outwork” for the local Paterson silk mills. Pietro also found work in the local mills. The Botto’s purchased a home in nearby Haledon, where they rented the second floor to other immigrants. During the 1913 Paterson Silk Strike, Maria and Pietro offered their home as a gathering place for the 15,000 strikers to hear rousing speeches by leaders of the Industrial Workers of the World. The strike was turning point in U. S. labor history.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO

• Stroll through furnished period rooms of the 1908 Botto House
• Visit the Botto family's Old World Gardens, featuring a grape arbor, root cellar, bocce court and cold-frame garden beds
• See the permanent and temporary exhibits on labor and union history
• View the historic balcony from which union organizers and supporters such as Upton Sinclair addressed the striking men, women and children during the 1913 Paterson Silk Strike