08/13/2026
🇮🇹 A LITTLE HISTORY BEHIND THE BUILDING THAT IS NOW HOME TO FREDERICO PROPERTIES 🇮🇹
With Bradford’s Festa Italiana taking place last weekend, I thought it would be a perfect time to share a little piece of history that I recently discovered right here at our office.
Our building at 3 Lafayette Ave in Lewis Run has a connection to the Italian-American history of our area that I honestly didn't know about when we purchased it.
Above the entrance is this old plaque:
ITALIAN MUTUAL AID SOCIETY
1924
The Italian Mutual Aid Society of Lewis Run was part of a much larger Italian immigrant tradition in our region. These mutual aid societies were created to bring people together and help members and their families through difficult times — providing financial assistance, social support, fellowship, and a place to preserve their culture and traditions.
What's especially fascinating is the connection to Bradford's Festa Italiana.
Historical accounts trace the roots of Bradford's Italian Festival tradition back to the Italian Mutual Aid Society of Lewis Run. In 1907, the society celebrated the first anniversary of its founding with festivities coinciding with the Feast of the Assumption. Those celebrations are considered an important part of the early history of what eventually became Bradford's Festa Italiana. 🇮🇹
Then, in 1924, this plaque was placed on our building.
We don't yet know exactly how long the Italian Mutual Aid Society used this particular building, or everything that happened here afterward. That's actually part of what makes this so interesting. We're still digging into old records, newspapers, directories, and local history to piece together the story.
What we do know is that the Italian Mutual Aid Society remained an important part of the Lewis Run community for generations. Members of the society were still being mentioned in local records and obituaries decades later.
At some point, the building changed hands and purposes, eventually becoming home to other businesses before becoming the home of Frederico Properties.
So when you walk through our doors today, you're walking into a building that has been part of this community for roughly a century.
I think that's pretty special.
🏠Frederico Properties
3 Lafayette Ave • Lewis Run, PA
If anyone remembers what this building was used for over the years — or has old photographs, stories, or information about the Italian Mutual Aid Society — I'd love to hear from you! Please comment below or send me a message.
There may be a lot more history behind these walls than we realize. 🇮🇹❤️
