Brier Hill is a neighborhood in
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...
, that was once viewed as the city's "
Little Italy." The neighborhood, which was the site of the city's first Italian settlement, stretches along the western edge of Youngstown's lower north side and encircles
St. Anthony Saint Anthony, Antony, or Antonius most often refers to Anthony of Padua, also known as Saint Anthony of Lisbon, the patron saint of lost things. This name may also refer to:
People
* Anthony of Antioch (266–302), Martyr under Diocletian. Feast ...
's Church, an
Italian-American Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
parish. Each year, at the end of August, the Brier Hill Fest attracts thousands of visitors from Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.
Early history
The area encompassing the Brier Hill neighborhood was originally owned by Youngstown industrialist George Tod, who established a farm on the neighborhood's brier-covered hills around 1801. Tod called the agricultural enterprise Brier Hill. This semi-rural area was transformed irrevocably when
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
was discovered in the hills in and around Brier Hill. The neighborhood drew thousands of immigrants seeking work in the
mines, and Brier Hill became Youngstown's oldest
working-class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
neighborhood.
The first
iron furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric p ...
in the neighborhood was opened by the Tod family in 1847. By the 1880s,
blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...
s and
rolling mills were established in close proximity to the coal mines, a practical arrangement, given that Brier Hill mines provided coal for the mills. The surrounding neighborhood grew in tandem, as more housing was built for miners, iron workers, and their families. By the opening of the 20th century, the rapid expansion of the
industry in Brier Hill had turned the area into the main entry point for Youngstown's immigrants. The largest groups were
Italians
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,
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
,
Irish,
Germans
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, and
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
.
Given its relative isolation from
downtown Youngstown
Downtown Youngstown is the traditional center of the city of Youngstown, Ohio. After decades of precipitous decline, the downtown area shows signs of renewal. Civic leaders have expressed hope that the district will emerge as a significant arts an ...
, Brier Hill developed independently and established its own schools as well as a post office, and churches. During the early 20th century, the neighborhood hosted at least four churches. These included the Catholic parishes of St. Anthony's, St. Ann's, and
St. Casimir
Casimir Jagiellon ( la, Casimirus; lt, Kazimieras; pl, Kazimierz; 3 October 1458 – 4 March 1484) was a prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was tutored by Johannes ...
's as well as the
Episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
parish of
St. Rocco's. The neighborhood remained an unincorporated village (outside of Youngstown Township) until 1900, when it was absorbed by the city.
Current challenges
Like many urban neighborhoods, Brier Hill faces an uncertain future. Beginning in the 1950s, large swaths of the neighborhood were razed to make way for
urban renewal
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
projects, including the building of modern
expressways
Expressway may refer to:
*Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic.
*Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road.
*Expressway, the fictional slide ...
. Brier Hill was further depopulated by economic dislocations that came with the decline, and eventual collapse, of Youngstown's steel industry. Today, all that remains of a once-vibrant
ethnic enclave
In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...
is the ITAM Post (Italian-American War Veterans' Club), a bandstand, Modarelli's Salumeria, and the memorial wall. The ground floor of the ITAM Post was once the site of the Forde family butcher shop, owned and operated by Italian immigrants Frank and Catherine Forde (Fiordilisi).
The structure's second floor served as the Fordes' residence, where they raised eight children. A concrete marker on the building's facade features the inscription, "Forde 1921".
Other Italian enclaves
Although many neighborhoods and communities in the Youngstown area had large Italian-American populations—including
Smoky Hollow, the near East Side, East Youngstown (now
Campbell Campbell may refer to:
People Surname
* Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell
Given name
* Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer
* Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...
),
Struthers, and
Lowellville
Lowellville is a village in eastern Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, along the Mahoning River. The population was 996 at the 2020 census. Located about southeast of Youngstown, it is part of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area.
Geog ...
—Brier Hill was widely recognized as the city's unofficial
Little Italy.
Pizza
The neighborhood was the birthplace of "Brier Hill pizza", a home-style recipe with origins in the
Basilicata
it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman)
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region of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Brier Hill pizza is prepared with a generous amount of thick "Sunday sauce",
bell pepper
The bell pepper (also known as paprika, sweet pepper, pepper, or capsicum ) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange ...
s and
romano cheese
Romano cheese is a term used in the United States and Canada for a class of hard, salty cheese suitable primarily for grating similar to Pecorino Romano, from which the name is derived. In spite of the name, it should not be confused with genuine ...
, as opposed to the more typical
mozzarella
Mozzarella (, ; nap, muzzarella ) is a southern Italian cheese traditionally made from Italian buffalo's milk by the pasta filata method.
Fresh mozzarella is generally white but when seasoned it turns to a light yellow depending on the anim ...
. It is one of several dishes the Youngstown area prides itself upon, in much the same way New Yorkers value their distinctive thin-crusted
New York-style pizza.
Neighborhood progress
Local activists from the Pro-Yo Party and the
ITAM (Post 12) are working to make Brier Hill a Sister-City/"Cugin" Community of
San Pietro Avellana (
Isernia
Isernia () or, in Pliny and later writers, ''Eserninus'', or in the Antonine Itinerary, ''Serni''. is a town and ''comune'' in the southern Italian region of Molise, and the capital of province of Isernia.
Geography
Situated on a rocky crest ri ...
).
San Pietro is a small village in the
Apennine hills of
Southeastern Italy that is the ancestral home of many Italian Americans in the Youngstown area.
Notable residents
*
James Farragher
James Francis Farragher (September 10, 1873 – February 22, 1949) was an American football player and coach. He played left tackle at the University of Notre Dame in the early 1900s. He is often identified in official university histories as th ...
, Notre Dame football team coach (1902–1903)
*
Jack Scheible
John G. Scheible (February 16, 1866 – August 6, 1897) was a professional baseball player who pitched for two different teams over two seasons. He made his debut in 1893 with the Cleveland Spiders and played for the Philadelphia Phillies the ...
, Major league baseball player (1893–1894)
*
David Tod
David Tod (February 21, 1805 – November 13, 1868) was an American politician and industrialist from the U.S. state of Ohio. As the 25th governor of Ohio, Tod gained recognition for his forceful and energetic leadership during the American Civil ...
, Civil War governor of Ohio (1862–1864)
See also
*
Youngstown Neighborhoods
*
Youngstown Sheet and Tube
Other Italian Neighborhoods in NE Ohio:
*
Little Italy, Cleveland
University Circle is a district in the neighborhood of University on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio. One of America's densest concentrations of cultural attractions and performing arts venues, it includes such world-class institutions as the C ...
*
Lowellville, Ohio
References
External links
City of Youngstown (official site)Youngstown 2010 Plan (official site)- includes Neighborhood Maps & Demographics
{{Youngstown
Italian-American culture in Ohio
Neighborhoods in Youngstown, Ohio