Italian Americans of the Greater Mahoning Valley

Book excerpt: Between 1890 and 1924, Italian immigrants flocked to Ohio's Mahoning Valley. The area's burgeoning iron and steel industries beckoned with job prospects for immigrants fleeing southern and eastern Europe--particularly from southern Italy, a region that at the time lacked opportunity and highly taxed its natives. Upon the arrival of these new residents, neighborhoods such as Youngstown's Smoky Hollow and Brier Hill offered accepting communities, and Niles Fire Brick Factory Company and Trumbull Blast Furnace provided employment. Assimilation was not always easy, and discrimination did occur, but Italian Americans ultimately prospered, making a mark not only as steelworkers but also as shopkeepers, grocers, restaurateurs, tradesmen, educators, doctors, lawyers, legislators, and mayors. This book explores the immigration experience, community, workplace dynamics, celebrations, worship, heritage, and lasting impact of the second-largest ethnic group in Ohio's Mahoning Valley.