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Utopia in the Woods: The Story of Jersey Homesteads

Hidden in the rural woods of Monmouth County, New Jersey, there is a town that looks unlike anywhere else in America.

The houses are flat-roofed, Bauhaus-style concrete cubes. The streets curve in gentle, park-like loops. And the entire town—every single building—is a historic district.

This is Roosevelt (originally known as Jersey Homesteads). Built during the Great Depression as a bold social experiment, it was designed to be a utopian cooperative for Jewish garment workers escaping the tenements of New York and Philadelphia.

While the “utopia” eventually failed, the community that remains is one of the most fascinating artistic enclaves in the country.

Escape from the Tenements

In the early 1930s, the Great Depression was ravaging American cities. The federal government, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, launched a radical program: The Division of Subsistence Homesteads. The goal was to move struggling workers out of congested cities and into rural communities where they could farm their own food and work in local factories.

The Visionary: Benjamin Brown, a Ukrainian-Jewish immigrant, saw an opportunity. He envisioned an agro-industrial cooperative specifically for Jewish garment workers.

• The Plan: 200 families would move to a 1,200-acre tract in New Jersey.
• The Funding: Brown secured $500,000 in federal loans (backed by supporters like Albert Einstein).
• The Deal: Each family had to contribute $500 to join. In exchange, they got a modern home, a job in the community factory, and a share in the community farm.

Building the Bauhaus in the Woods

Jersey Homesteads was unique among the 99 New Deal communities because of its architecture.

• The Architect: The project was led by Alfred Kastner, who hired a young assistant named Louis I. Kahn (who would go on to become one of the most famous architects of the 20th century).
• The Style: Influenced by the German Bauhaus movement, the homes were built of prefabricated concrete slabs and cinder blocks. They featured flat roofs, large windows, and open floor plans—radical departures from the traditional Victorian farmhouses of rural New Jersey.
• The Amenities: While sparse, the homes were modern marvels for the 1930s, featuring indoor plumbing, electricity, and even air conditioning.

The Failure of the Experiment

The dream of a self-sustaining cooperative didn’t last long.

• The Factory: The garment factory struggled to turn a profit.
• The Farm: Many of the urban workers had little experience with agriculture, and the soil was difficult to work.
• The End: By 1939, the federal government declared the factory a failure and auctioned off the equipment. In 1947, the government fully divested from the project, forcing residents to buy their homes or leave.

In 1945, shortly after FDR’s death, the residents voted to rename the town Roosevelt in his honor.

An Artist’s Haven

While the economic experiment failed, a cultural one flourished. The cheap housing and quiet, rural setting attracted a wave of artists, writers, and musicians.

The Ben Shahn Mural: The town’s most famous resident was Ben Shahn, a renowned social realist painter.

• The Masterpiece: In the lobby of the Roosevelt Public School, Shahn painted a massive fresco mural (one of the few true frescos in the US). It depicts the journey of Jewish immigrants arriving at Ellis Island, struggling in sweatshops, and finally finding peace in Jersey Homesteads. It remains there today, a national treasure in a tiny elementary school.

Other notable residents included painter Gregorio Prestopino and photographer Edwin Rosskam.

Roosevelt Today

In 1983, the entire borough was designated a National Historic District. Today, all but one of the original 200 Bauhaus homes remain standing.

Walking through Roosevelt feels like stepping into a time capsule. The commercial center is quiet (often consisting of just a post office and a deli), but the community spirit is alive. Residents still tend the community garden, and the school remains the heart of the town.

It is a place that defied the odds—a socialist experiment in the middle of capitalist America that transformed into an enduring artist colony.

If You Visit

• Location: Roosevelt, NJ 08555 (Located off Route 571 in Monmouth County).
• The School: To see the Ben Shahn mural, contact the Roosevelt Public School or the Roosevelt Arts Project in advance, as access is restricted during school hours.
• The Bust: Look for the bust of FDR (sculpted by Ben Shahn’s son, Jonathan) in the small park near the school.
• Hiking: The town is surrounded by the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, offering miles of trails that connect this “island in the woods” to the rest of the world.

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For More Information

The Roosevelt Arts Project (www.rooseveltartsproject.org)

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The Ultimate Insider’s Look at Roosevelt:

If you want to go deeper into the “Utopia” than just my photos, you have to find a copy of “Roosevelt, New Jersey: Big Dreams in a Small Town and What Time Did to Them“ by Edwin Rosskam.

Rosskam didn’t just write about the town; he lived there. His book is the definitive “then and now” look at what happened to the big dreams that built this place. It’s a must-read for anyone fascinated by the Jersey Homesteads experiment.

Find a copy of Rosskam’s Roosevelt on Amazon

(P.S. You can see more of my favorite history-inspired books and explorer essentials over at My Amazon Storefront!)

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