Austrian Ohioans

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Numerous Ohioans are descended from Austrian ancestors. Today, Austrian Ohioans continue to enhance Ohio's cultural and social landscape.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, millions of immigrants migrated to the United States of America, hoping to live the American Dream. Before the American Civil War, most immigrants arrived in the United States from Great Britain, Germany, and Ireland. By the 1880s, the home countries of immigrants began to change. Many of the new immigrants to arrive in the United States came from Eastern European countries, like Austria, Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, rather than from Western European countries, like Great Britain, Ireland, and Germany.

In 1860, 328,249 immigrants lived in Ohio. These people accounted for fourteen percent of the state's population. By 1900, the number of immigrants in Ohio rose to 458,734, but the percentage of the population that was foreign-born declined to eleven percent. Most of these immigrants in 1900 came from Germany, Great Britain, and Ireland, yet a growing number of Eastern Europeans were also migrating to the state.

In 1900, fewer than twenty thousand Austrian immigrants resided in Ohio. By 1920, their numbers had soared to almost 100,000 people. Most of these Austrians settled along Lake Erie, especially in Cleveland, where they found low-paying jobs in factories or as day laborers. In 1920, almost sixty thousand Austrians resided in Cleveland alone. Immigrants who were more successful established businesses that supplied their fellow migrants with traditional Austrian products. In Cleveland, the Austrian immigrants tended to settle in their own communities, preferring to live among people who shared similar cultural beliefs and spoke the same language as they did.

Austrian immigrants congregated together partly out of camaraderie but also out of fear. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many native-born Americans feared outsiders. Some of these people objected to the immigrants' religious and cultural beliefs, while others believed that the foreigners would corrupt the morals of United States citizens. These people also contended that the quality of life within the United States would decline, as there were not enough jobs to employ the millions of people migrating to America. Many native-born Americans hoped either to limit immigration or to force foreigners to convert to American customs and beliefs. The leaders of this movement were the Progressives of the late 1800s and the early 1900s. To accomplish their goals, the Progressives implemented numerous reforms, including settlement houses, which taught foreigners American practices. The Progressives also called for laws that would either limit or ban the cultural practices of recently arrived immigrants. It would take several generations before the vast majority of white Ohioans accepted the immigrants.

While most Austrian immigrants arrived in the United States prior to World War I, two additional large waves of Austrian migrants eventually reached this country. They occurred in the years immediately following World War I and World War II. The World Wars destroyed numerous homes and businesses in Austria, and many residents of this country sought a better life in the United States. Thousands of these immigrants made their way to Ohio. Ohio's Austrian residents actively assisted these new arrivals in beginning new lives. The new immigrants tended to settle in the already established Austrian communities in the state.

Following World War II, Ohio's traditional Austrian communities began to lose their cohesiveness. As other Ohioans became more tolerant of the Austrians, many Austrian communities began to disintegrate. Many Austrians moved into other communities, while non-Austrians began to infiltrate the traditionally Austrian neighborhoods. This does not mean that Ohio's Austrian population has lost its ties to its traditional cultural beliefs. Austrian Ohioans continue to participate in various social and cultural groups that serve to promote Austrian beliefs and customs.

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