Main content
Hungarian American Citizens Club records
Notifications
Held at: Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area [Contact Us]204 Church St., Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, 19460
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The Hungarian American Citizens Club was founded in Phoenixville (Chester County, Pennsylvania) in 1925. There was a large population of Hungarian immigrants in Phoenixville at the time, many of whom worked at the Phoenix Iron Works or, later, the Goodrich tire plant in nearby Oaks. An emigration surge after the failed Hungarian revolution of 1956 revitalized the club's membership.
The Hungarian American Citizens Club offered members a place to socialize and celebrate Hungarian culture, while simultaneously encouraging them to learn English and practice good citizenship. In its heyday, the club was open seven days a week, served traditional cuisine, and organized events such as performances by Hungarian orchestras and actors. The club also sponsored local sports teams.
By the end of the 20th century, the Hungarian American population in Phoenixville had diminished significantly. The club closed in early 2001.
Bibliography:
Bretz, Connie. "Hungarians Carry on Traditions Here." The Mercury/Phoenixville Area. Clipping found in collection.
McKee, Jason B. "Phoenixville's Hungarian Club Closes." Daily Local News, January 25, 2001.
This collection consists of: seven volumes of minutes, 1937-1991 (with gaps in dates; two volumes are in Hungarian); three volumes of treasurer's records, 1964-1984; treasurer's report, 1970-1978; tax records, 1959-1966; income and disbursements ledger, 1957-1959; machine income ledger, 1945-1949; and attendance record book, 1959-1970. There is also one published volume, a medical reference text in Hungarian. The collection is inventoried in a computer database available on-site.
Some ephemera, clippings, and documents relating to the Hungarian American Citizens Club are stored in the Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area's subject file.
Gift of William Davison, 2001 (accession 2001.206).
Summary descriptive information on this collection was compiled in 2012-2014 as part of a project conducted by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania to make better known and more accessible the largely hidden collections of small, primarily volunteer run repositories in the Philadelphia area. The Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories (HCI-PSAR) was funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
This is a preliminary finding aid. No physical processing, rehousing, reorganizing, or folder listing was accomplished during the HCI-PSAR project.
In some cases, more detailed inventories or finding aids may be available on-site at the repository where this collection is held; please contact Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area directly for more information.
Organization
Subject
Place
- Publisher
- Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by Celia Caust-Ellenbogen and Faith Charlton through the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories
- Sponsor
- This preliminary finding aid was created as part of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's Hidden Collections Initiative for Pennsylvania Small Archival Repositories. The HCI-PSAR project was made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
- Access Restrictions
-
Some financial records may be restricted due to privacy considerations. Contact Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area for information about accessing this collection.