The UHEC is proud to announce the completion of the first phase of its project on the history of Ukrainian immigrants (and their descendents) in the State of New Jersey, which covers the period up to but not including the mass wave of post-World War II refugees. Despite there being Ukrainians living in New Jersey in measurable numbers since the 1880s, there has been a surprising lack of historical secondary sources on their history. This project, which was made possible by grant funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission (a partner of the New Jersey State Historical Commission) is an attempt to remedy this.
We are joined on this project by our long-time friend and colleague Michael Buryk, who assisted in the research and writing of the content of this online resource, which can be found at UkrHEC.org/ukrainians-in-nj. It consists of a historical overview, histories of a small number of urban, suburban, and rural communities of Ukrainian New Jerseyans, and a collection of primary and secondary source materials that can be searched, or browsed by date or geography.
This is an ongoing project – expect further additions and improvements during 2025 and beyond. Currently, the source collection is focused on English-language material, but we expect to add additional material from the Ukrainian-language press in the coming months. The post-World War II displaced persons, the economic migrants in the 1990s and 2000s, and the current wave of war refugees will be researched and described in the second phase of the project in 2025, with the goal of having a full-scale “Ukrainians in New Jersey” web portal in time for the 250th anniversary of American Independence in 2026.