<p>Cleveland's Slovaks can best be characterized as survivors. Many survived ethnic persecution and poverty so they could have a chance at something better. Beginning with a small core of immigrants seeking work aboveground rather than in the coal mines of neighboring states, Cleveland's Slovak community grew through a giant chain migration. Their neighborhoods flourished close to their jobs and their churches. Many of the ancestors of today's Slovaks came to the United States classified as Hungarians. In their hearts, though, they knew what they were and what language they spoke. They held on to their native language even as they learned English and unwaveringly encouraged their children to strive for the opportunity America offered. According to the 2000 census, 93,500 northeast Ohioans claim Slovak heritage. The photographs in Cleveland Slovaks show their neighborhoods and family life and give readers an appreciation of the community's legacy.</p>

Cleveland Slovaks (Images of America)

Arts & Photography

Alzo, Lisa A.

Sabol, John T.

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

<p>Cleveland's Czech community is one of the area's oldest European ethnic groups, with a presence in the area even before the Civil War. It is almost a geographical accident that Czechs arrived in Cleveland, where they would have stopped on the way to Czech or Bohemian communities in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin. From 1850 to 1870, the Czech community grew from 3 families to 696, according to The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Many found work making barrels for John D. Rockefeller's fledgling Standard Oil Company, while others found their way in professional life, including the arts. Their neighborhoods show their migration from Cleveland's central city to its outlying areas and suburbs including neighboring Geauga County. Today they continue to support three Czech halls and participate in the Czech gymnastic movement-Sokol. The photographs in Cleveland Czechs give readers a glimpse of those neighborhoods and their importance to Cleveland's history.</p>

Cleveland Czechs (Images of America)

Although it has been called “Little Hungary” or “Little Budapest,” Cleveland’s Buckeye Road neighborhood exceeds that description. A more apt moniker might be “Little Danube.” Like the Danube, Buckeye’s history has flowed through a multicultural immigrant community and into a modern urban neighborhood striving to make its mark. Fueled by the industry of its first settlers in the 1880s, the district spread from what is now Buckeye Road and Woodland Avenue to the border of Shaker Square. Shops, restaurants, taverns, and other businesses too numerous to count flourished. The Buckeye neighborhood became a commercial center to serve immigrants and their families who worked at the factories that dotted Buckeye’s west end. Community life was refueled over the years by waves of immigrants―mainly from Hungary―fleeing various tides of oppression in Europe. As the 1970s approached, Buckeye, like many Cleveland areas, became a victim of urban flight. Today residents and businesses, along with the Buckeye Area Development Corporation, are working to create and sustain another resurgence in this grand neighborhood.

Cleveland's Buckeye Neighborhood (Images of America)

Three and a half miles from the mainland, Kelleys Island was settled in 1833 by brothers Datus and Irad Kelley. Formerly known as Cunningham’s Island, it quickly built a reputation as a source of fine red cedar and limestone. Grape vineyards, wineries, and a robust fishing industry followed, and Kelleys Island developed a stellar reputation through the 19th century. It also started to attract tourists, lured by the cool breezes and Shangri-La environment. Industrial change and population shifts have challenged the island’s economy. Tourism remains as the one constant industry and has now become the principal enterprise. Kelleys, known as “the quiet island,” can also be called the “resilient island” because of its ability to reinvent itself. For visitors, the island’s 2,880 acres present a complex patchwork of interesting homes, natural and historical marvels, and a lively social life―assets that Islanders have found ways to make the best of.

Kelleys Island (Images of America)

Cleveland's Slovaks can best be characterized as survivors. Many survived ethnic persecution and poverty so they could have a chance at something better. Beginning with a small core of immigrants seeking work aboveground rather than in the coal mines of neighboring states, Cleveland's Slovak community grew through a giant chain migration. Their neighborhoods flourished close to their jobs and their churches. Many of the ancestors of today's Slovaks came to the United States classified as Hungarians. In their hearts, though, they knew what they were and what language they spoke. They held on to their native language even as they learned English and unwaveringly encouraged their children to strive for the opportunity America offered. According to the 2000 census, 93,500 northeast Ohioans claim Slovak heritage. The photographs in Cleveland Slovaks show their neighborhoods and family life and give readers an appreciation of the community's legacy.

Cleveland Slovaks

History

Americas

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

Cleveland's Czech community is one of the area's oldest European ethnic groups, with a presence in the area even before the Civil War. It is almost a geographical accident that Czechs arrived in Cleveland, where they would have stopped on the way to Czech or Bohemian communities in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin. From 1850 to 1870, the Czech community grew from 3 families to 696, according to The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Many found work making barrels for John D. Rockefeller's fledgling Standard Oil Company, while others found their way in professional life, including the arts. Their neighborhoods show their migration from Cleveland's central city to its outlying areas and suburbs including neighboring Geauga County. Today they continue to support three Czech halls and participate in the Czech gymnastic movement-Sokol. The photographs in Cleveland Czechs give readers a glimpse of those neighborhoods and their importance to Cleveland's history.

Cleveland Czechs

Although it has been called "Little Hungary" or "Little Budapest," Cleveland's Buckeye Road neighborhood exceeds that description. A more apt moniker might be "Little Danube." Like the Danube, Buckeye's history has flowed through a multicultural immigrant community and into a modern urban neighborhood striving to make its mark. Fueled by the industry of its first settlers in the 1880s, the district spread from what is now Buckeye Road and Woodland Avenue to the border of Shaker Square. Shops, restaurants, taverns, and other businesses too numerous to count flourished. The Buckeye neighborhood became a commercial center to serve immigrants and their families who worked at the factories that dotted Buckeye's west end. Community life was refueled over the years by waves of immigrants--mainly from Hungary--fleeing various tides of oppression in Europe. As the 1970s approached, Buckeye, like many Cleveland areas, became a victim of urban flight. Today residents and businesses, along with the Buckeye Area Development Corporation, are working to create and sustain another resurgence in this grand neighborhood.

Cleveland's Buckeye Neighborhood

Three and a half miles from the mainland, Kelleys Island was settled in 1833 by brothers Datus and Irad Kelley. Formerly known as Cunningham's Island, it quickly built a reputation as a source of fine red cedar and limestone. Grape vineyards, wineries, and a robust fishing industry followed, and Kelleys Island developed a stellar reputation through the 19th century. It also started to attract tourists, lured by the cool breezes and Shangri-La environment. Industrial change and population shifts have challenged the island's economy. Tourism remains as the one constant industry and has now become the principal enterprise. Kelleys, known as "the quiet island," can also be called the "resilient island" because of its ability to reinvent itself. For visitors, the island's 2,880 acres present a complex patchwork of interesting homes, natural and historical marvels, and a lively social life--assets that Islanders have found ways to make the best of.

Kelleys Island

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