For much of the 20th century the neighborhood was the heart of the Hungarian-American community. Around the turn of the 20th century, New Brunswick began attracting a Hungarian immigrant population who primarily attracted to the city by employment at Johnson & Johnson and United Cigar factories. The population continued to grow and many settled mainly in the Fifth Ward and abutting neighborhoods. During the Cold War, the community was revitalized by refugees from the failed 1956 Hungarian Revolution who had initially been housed at Camp Kilmer in nearby Piscataway and Edison. Many soccer teams composed of Hungarians, including the New Brunswick Hungarian Americans, were part of the German-American Soccer League. While much the Hungarian population has relocated to the suburbs and been largely supplanted by newer immigrants, many institutions founded by the community remain active in the neighborhood, including: Magyar Bank, Magyar Reformed Church, Ascension Lutheran Church, St. Ladislaus Roman Catholic Church, St. Joseph Byzantine Catholic Church, Hungarian American Athletic Club, Aprokfalva Montessori Preschool, Széchenyi Hungarian Community School & Kindergarten, Teleki Pál Scout Home, Hungarian American Foundation, Vers Hangja, Hungarian Poetry Group, Bolyai Lecture Series on Arts and Sciences, Hungarian Alumni Association, Hungarian Radio Program, Hungarian Civic Association, Committee of Hungarian Churches and Organizations of New Brunswick, and Csűrdöngölő Folk Dance Ensemble. Several landmarks in the area also testify to its Hungarian heritage. There is a street and a recreation park named after Lajos Kossuth, the famous leader of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. The corner of Somerset Street and Plum Street is named Mindszenty Square where the first ever statue of Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty was erected. A nearby stone memorial to the victims of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution was dedicated in 2006. The Hungarian Festival is held on Somerset Street on the first Saturday of June each year. In 1990, New Brunswick and Debrecen, Hungary became sister cities and the following year Rutgers - New Brunswick established the Institute of Hungarian Studies.
