Before there were Chinese hand laundries, there were the Passaic Steam Laundry and Hervey’s Boys. From 1870 to 1886, the Passaic Steam Laundry in present-day North Arlington, NJ employed as many as 172 Chinese immigrant laborers. These men formed the center of Chinese immigrant life in the New York/New Jersey area at the time.

Join East Brunswick resident Neal Stoffers for an exploration of the state’s first Chinese immigrant community, as well as the history of New Jersey’s Chinese-Americans from 1886 to the present.  

Please click here to register and for Zoom login.

This program is co-sponsored by the East Brunswick Public Library, Newark Public Library, New Brunswick Free Public Library and The Old Bridge Public Library.