Chambersburg is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

located within the city of Trenton in Mercer County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States. It is considered part of South Trenton. Chambersburg was an independent municipality from 1872 to 1888. Chambersburg was named for Robert Chambers, a founder of the area, whose family is memorialized by the local Chambers Street. Chambers died in 1865, shortly before the borough was created. Chambersburg was incorporated as a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

by an act of the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

on April 2, 1872, from portions of Hamilton Township.Snyder, John P
''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968''
Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 158. Accessed November 3, 2012. On March 27, 1874, the municipality was reincorporated as the Borough of Chambersburg

Township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

. On May 1, 1888, Chambersburg was annexed to Trenton. Chambersburg is the home of

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...

Stephanie Plum, a character created by author

Janet Evanovich Janet Evanovich (née Schneider; April 22, 1943) is an American writer. She began her career writing short contemporary romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall, but gained fame authoring a series of contemporary mysteries featuring Steph ...

. A significant portion of each of the novels featuring Plum takes place in or around "The 'Burg."

Industrial heritage

John A. Roebling John Augustus Roebling (born Johann August Röbling; June 12, 1806 – July 22, 1869) was a German-born American civil engineer. He designed and built wire rope suspension bridges, in particular the Brooklyn Bridge, which has been designated as ...

, the builder of the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...

, founded his wire making company in the neighborhood along the

Delaware and Raritan Canal The Delaware and Raritan Canal (D&R Canal) is a canal in central New Jersey, built in the 1830s, that served to connect the Delaware River to the Raritan River. It was an efficient and reliable means of transportation of freight between Philadel ...

, now covered by Route 129, in 1849. Under the leadership of his sons the company grew to be Trenton's largest employer, with a massive industrial complex on the western side of Chambersburg. Operations ceased at the plant in 1974, with parts having undergone adaptive reuse and others awaiting redevelopment. Two different parts of the complex have been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, the Roebling Machine Shop, and John A. Roebling's Sons Company, Trenton N.J., Block 3.

Community

During most of the 20th century, Chambersburg was widely regarded as the "Italian section" of the city of Trenton and featured numerous family-owned Italian restaurants, bakeries, butchers and grocery stores. An annual Feast of Lights was held centrally in Chambersburg. Over the years, however, the wave of Italian immigrants that shaped the neighborhood died out, their descendants left the area and most of the businesses that catered to their needs closed. Since the decline of the Italian community, many newer immigrants have come to the neighborhood. Today Chambersburg has Trenton's largest Latino community. Many of the immigrants come from Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. The Puerto Rican population has decreased slightly but is still present in Chambersburg. Current points of interest include St. Francis Medical Center, Columbus Park and Immaculate Conception Church.Wikimapia
/ref> Remnants of the Italian Community can still be found at Panorama Musicale and

Italian Peoples Bakery Italian Peoples Bakery is a bakery and delicatessen founded in 1936 and located in the Chambersburg neighborhood of Trenton, New Jersey. The bakery expanded to wholesale distribution of products and now serves parts of Pennsylvania and New Jerse ...

and Our Lady of the Angels Parish, which is what the Italian National parish of St. Joachim's was renamed in 2005. This Little Italy section of Trenton has also gained numerous Italian restaurants in recent years.

Gallery

File:In and Out Club Trenton.JPG, In and Out Social Club, founded 1889 for "social, intellectual, and recreative purposes." File:Roebling Shop side.JPG, The Roebling Machine Shop, oldest building in the Roebling complex, now a museum space File:John A. Roebling's Sons Company, Trenton N.J., Block 3 (5).jpg, John A. Roebling's Sons Company, Trenton N.J., Block 3, once produced wire for bridges nationwide including the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...

. Slated for conversion to lofts and commercial space File:Cigar Factory Trenton.JPG, The Henry Clay and Bock & Co. Ltd. Cigar Factory, now apartments File:AMERICAN CIGAR COMPANY BUILDING, TRENTON, MERCER COUNTY.jpg, The American Cigar Company building, converted to lofts

References

{{Mercer County, New Jersey 1872 establishments in New Jersey 1888 disestablishments in New Jersey Former municipalities in Mercer County, New Jersey Former townships in New Jersey Neighborhoods in Trenton, New Jersey Populated places established in 1872 Little Italys in the United States