Forging a Community: Italian Immigration to Ashtabula Ohio, 1888-1922

Ashtabula, Ohio: Historical Context

Ashtabula is a small town in the north eastern most county (Ashtabula County) of Ohio, on the shore of Lake Erie. In 1880 the population of the town was around 4,400. Just ten years later the population would almost double to 8,300 persons. By 1920 the population continued to grow to over 22,000. During these thirty years the town of Ashtabula was going through large industrial growth, which drew many foreign laborers to the region. Ashtabula's location made it an important point during the height of the coal and iron ore trade in the early 20th century. The Italians were not the first major immigrant group to the region. The first groups to settle were the Swedish and the Finnish who settled by the harbor and worked at the docks. Italian immigrants, mainly men, came to to work low skill labor jobs and send money back home to families in Italy. 
Most of the Italian immigrants to the area came from Sicily and Calabria and from the hilly central part of Italy, in particular the region of Molise. Many residents today can trace their ancestry back to these regions including Mr. Timonere and this is even evident in my own family history. When coming to America, men would often find jobs in areas where family members had already been or were located. Ashtabula was known as the merger of the "Sicilians and the hill peoples."  
Italians who came to Ashtabula began to reside on the east side of the river near the harbor. They settled along Columbus Street and the neighborhood of Swedetown which ran from the city edge down to the harbor. Within the first year of Italian immigration to the area, there were more than fifty houses that were built in Swedetown. Italians also settles in a smaller community on the west side of the river, between Lake Ave and West Ave near the parish of St. Joseph. The Columbus Street community was the largest area of settlement and included other streets such as Pacific, Harbor, Sibley, Belknap, and Harmon. In 1900 there were about fifty-seven Italian households in the Columbus Street community. By 1910 the community would more than double and by 1920 the households would almost double again. Similar growth could be seen in the West Avenue community as well.

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