Ukrainians in New Jersey

Ethnic Ukrainian immigrants have been arriving in New Jersey in substantial numbers starting in the final decades of the 19th century, in several waves during the 20th century, and continue to arrive today. They formed communities in many parts of the state, many of which still exist, while others have nearly been forgotten. These communities had churches, fraternal benefit societies, and a myriad of other social, civic, and political organizations. Some were extremely local and did not survive. Others, such as the New Jersey-based Ukrainian National Association, were national in scope and continue to exist and thrive today.

There has been a remarkable lack of secondary sources devoted specifically to the history of Ukrainian immigrants in New Jersey. This project by the Ukrainian History and Education Center’s archivist Michael Andrec and external researcher and writer Michael Buryk is an attempt to help remedy this. It is meant to be an improvement over previous attempts to summarize the history of Ukrainians in the Garden State. It absolutely does not claim to be comprehensive, which would require a far more extensive, book-length effort.

The “Ukrainians in New Jersey” project consists of a historical overview, information on community life, histories of a some of the urban, suburban, and rural communities of Ukrainian New Jerseyans, histories of some individuals and community organizations, and a collection of primary and secondary source materials that can be searched, browsed by date or by geography. It also includes the transcription of the minutes of a Ukrainian American community group that was active in Hillside, New Jersey in the mid-1920s that is held in the archives of the Ukrainian History and Education Center, as well as oral histories recorded specifically for this project. This project is not finished: we plan to continue to update this site with additional content and make other improvements in the future.

The "Ukrainians in New Jersey" project was made possible by funds from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, a partner of the New Jersey State Historical Commission.