Dr. Hood’s History of Littly Italy

Erie's Italian People: The Genesis and Development of Little Italy

Dr. Hood's History of Little Italy

Summary of The Journal of Erie Studies, Fall, 1983, Article
“Erie’s Italian People: The Genesis and Development of Little Italy”

This article in The Journal of Erie Studies was written by Dr. David L. Hood, a professor in the Political Science Department at Washington State University. Before focusing his attention on Erie and the “Little Italy” neighborhood, Dr. Hood traced the history of Italian emigration back to 1876 when the Italian government first began maintaining emigration records. Prior to 1900, most of the Italian overseas emigration was to Latin America, especially Argentina and Brazil.

Early emigration from Italy was dominated by northern Italians, many of whom were literate professionals or skilled farmers, as compared to the later emigrants mostly from southern Italy who were “largely illiterate, land-less peasants”. Many of those from the south who came to the United States were more interested in making their fortunes and returning to Italy, then becoming permanent residents. Between 1899 and 1910, 2,300,000 Italians immigrated to the US, 1.9 million of whom (83%) were southern Italians. The majority of these immigrants settled in the northeast, especially in New York and Pennsylvania.

According to Dr. Hood, the first known person of Italian descent settled in Erie in 1864; his name was Raffaele Bracaccini. After the civil war, more Italians arrived, including Vitale Spadacene, who became the “first ethnic leader of the growing Italian community”. As a Union army veteran, Spadacene could speak English and understood the political system in this country. For many years he was the main contact between the Italian immigrants and city hall and was known throughout Erie as the counselor and advisor of the early Italian people. His son, Charles, continued in his father’s role until about 1915.

By 1891, there were several hundred Italians in the city, and most of them settled on the city’s west side, in the area of West 16th and Walnut Streets, with that part of the city becoming known as “Little Italy” about that same time. By 1911, the Little Italy settlement area had grown to include nine blocks - from Huron Street south to West 17th, and from Chestnut west to Poplar Street. By 1920, the Little Italy population was estimated to be 8,000. Most of the early Italians who came to Erie were illiterate, but after 1910 the community had sufficient numbers to support
a professional group of journalists, doctors, musicians, bankers, attorneys and businessmen. By 1935, there were 19 Italian-owned grocery stores in the City.

During the early part of the 20th century, the Italians were displacing the Germans in Little Italy, who had begun settling in this area of the city in the 1830’s. By 1900, the Germans were moving to the south of the neighborhood to better housing. After 1920, the Italians were also beginning to move south and west of the neighborhood. By 1960, the core of Little Italy remained, but those of Italian descent were scattered throughout the Westside and Millcreek.

The churches, both Catholic and Lutheran, were the social centers of the community. St. Paul’s dates back to 1891, when $1,800 was pledged for the purpose of building a Catholic church ($100 each from each male guest at a May afternoon christening in the rear of Thomas Rossi’s fruit store in Little Italy). The original building was a former Presbyterian church at the corner of Chestnut and West 17th that the Presbyterians sold after building a new church. This building was moved to the current St Paul’s location on Walnut and 16th Street, renovated and consecrated in 1891. Plans and fund raising for a new church began in 1926, and a groundbreaking ceremony for the new structure was held on August 19, 1928. With the onset of the great depression in 1929, work ceased on the new structure for five years, but it was eventually completed in 1935.

Most of the Italians in Erie that weren’t Catholic were Lutherans. In 1922, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church was established by Reverend Fortunato Scarpitti, a 1908 Italian immigrant who was also a stonecutter. Reverend Scarpatti served as pastor for 42 years. In the 1920’s, he organized a youth center, an idea that was so novel for the times that “Life” magazine considered publishing an article about it. Both of these churches have played a vital role in the spiritual and social development of the Little Italy neighborhood. Of the many social and mutual aid societies that developed in Little Italy in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the oldest two were St Paul’s Society (for men) and the Order of Sacred Heart of Mary (for women), founded in 1892.

The oldest non-church mutual aid society was La Nuova Aurora, founded in 1907. By 1938, there were 25 Italian lodges and societies in the City. In August, 1933, the first Italian Day was held at Waldameer Park, having been organized to raise money to resume construction of the new St. Paul’s church. After WW II, club memberships began to decline and by 1960 there were only eleven Italian clubs in the City.

Dr. Hood concluded his 1983 article with the following summary:

“The Italian people in Erie began arriving shortly after the Civil War. Most were illiterate and unskilled, coming from south Italy. The colony was divided into four settlements - the largest being Little Italy in the Third Ward. The Italian community quickly developed its own ethic leaders who served as contacts with city hall. These leaders helped the immigrant adjust to his new setting.

“The colony grew slowly at first. By 1900 there were about 350 Italians living in the city. In 1911, their numbers had risen to over 3,000 and in 1920 to about 11,000 people. Accompanying this growth was the development of a business and professional class.

“The two churches in Little Italy - St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church - have played an active role in the colony’s development. Both churches were strongly supported in the early settlement, differing from the experiences of Italian communities in Buffalo and Boston. The experience of the Erie group is explained in part by the social activities both churches have sponsored and by a low political profile.

“The colony also had many social and cultural organizations. These groups have organized plays, car parties, fetes and bazaars. There were also many mutual aid societies which offered sickness and death benefits. Italian social clubs reached their zenith in the 1930’s and 1940’s, subsequently declining after World War II.”

(Dr. Hood’s article makes footnote reference to a host of books and other writings, including one written by a young Patrick S. Cappabianca, “The Advancement of the First Generation Italian in Erie Since 1920", an unpublished M.A. thesis completed at Allegheny College, 18 August 1961. Among his many other accomplishments and involvements, Mr. Cappabianca served as a member of the 2007 Little Italy NeighborHood Revitalization Plan’s Project Advisory Committee, representing the Erie City Council.)

Summary of The Journal of Erie Studies, Fall, 1983

_ "Italian social clubs reached their zenith in the 1930's and 1940's, subsequently declining after World War II."_