History
2
Bridget Lockman Smith and her husband John immigrated from Ireland in the 1850s after the Irish potato famine and settled in Mine Hill among Irish immigrant iron mine workers in a section known as Irishtown. By 1879, after John had been killed in a local mining accident, Bridget purchased a double house for $300 and lived on one side while raising two children and renting the other side to another Irish widow of the mines with six children. Built in 1855 and left virtually unchanged, the house was simply converted in 1912 for a single family and remains an important intact example of worker housing in northern New Jersey. Bridget's life there reflects the difficult lives of immigrant working women who raised families after losing husbands in the mines.
Hear stories like this as you drive
ExploreHere reads historical markers out loud as you pass them: over 325,000 stories across the US. No account needed.
4.7 · 800+ ratings · Free
FIND IT
New Jersey · United States
