The growth of the steel industry brought many changes to the Valley, the most important of which was foreign immigration.  Some immigrants still came from northern Europe, but many more came from southern and eastern Europe.  Because of overpopulation, forced military service, segregation and persecution in Europe, families and young single men were eager for the economic opportunities, democracy, and religious freedom the United States offered.  Thousands of immigrants came to the Mahoning Valley because of the jobs in the steel mills.

Already-settled brothers or sisters, cousins, aunts, or uncles encouraged the migration of other Greeks, Hungarians, Italians, Poles, Romanians, Russians, Slovaks, Ukrainians, and many others.  The new immigrants lived in densely populated areas near the mills along the river.  Between 1900 and 1930, the population of Youngstown nearly quadrupled from 45,000 to 170,000 people, making it one of the 50 largest cities in the U.S.  

Most of the new immigrants were happy to be here, but continued to cling to their native language, clothing, and customs.  People of the same ethnic group lived near one another, formed social clubs, built churches and synagogues, and printed foreign language newspapers to preserve their culture and values.

What conditions where you live would make you want to emigrate?  What would you take with you?  How long ago did your family come to the United States?  For more information about immigration into the Valley, visit the Arms Family Museum of Local History, or go to www.mahoninghistory.org to get a better look at these and other images.  Under Education, click on ‘What Do You Know’ for a list of articles.  Then click on the embedded images in an article for a downloadable file.