In the early 1900’s, European migration into Oklahoma was in full swing. During statehood, most of Oklahoma’s history focuses on Indian Territory and Native America, but there is a chapter that is often overlooked.
Oklahoma’s Immigrant Story
Immigration into the United States reached an all time high in 1907, the same year that Oklahoma was admitted to a state. From the 1870’s through the start of World War II, the U.S. saw a steady flood of Europeans immigration. Oklahoma saw a huge influx of German, Irish, and Russian immigrates, nearly twice that of the Native American resettlements. Around 130,430 European settles began to call Oklahoma home, compared with 75,012 Native Americans.
The reasons for the huge influx differ by ethnicity.
Seeking Safe Haven and Independence
The 1907 census lists 10,089 German born immigrates now living in the state. This group was centered in Oklahoma county, with groups spilling out into neighboring Canadian county as well as smaller numbers in Garfield and Kingfisher counties. Although the census counts the next group as Russian, they were ethically Germans. This group, known as the Mennonites, moved from Europe to Russia to find wide open space to practice their religion. Within a few years, however, the Russian czar changed his stance on immigration and instead of allowing religious freedoms he focused more on assimilation and strict compliance. When the opening of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation, they saw another chance to start over. A second influx came during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet. There are still numerous Mennonite communities throughout the state that originated from this early migration.
Motivated by Industry and Opportunity
The other major groups came because of a mining boom. The Osage Mining and Coal company had the largest mining business, billed as “the best steam coal west of Pennsylvania”. The railroads owned more than 43,000 acres of some of the best coal lands in the country. Although the land, at the time, still belonged to the tribes, the railroads and coal companies began creating company towns and brought in European immigrants by the hundreds. The largest group of miners were the Italians. Italy was going through a depression and workers were looking for a better life for their families. The majority of these workers landed in Pittsburg, Coal, and Latmier Counties.
These newcomers to Oklahoma brought their entire families with them. “Company towns” were established, were everything was provided for the miners and their families. Krebs quickly became known as Little Italy, and to this day still celebrates their heritage with the Italian festival. Similarly, nearby Hartshorne became known as Little Russia. One reminent of those early days is the Russian Orthodox Church located there, notable as being the largest and oldest west of the Mississippi.
Later Waves of Immigration
Immigration continued up through WWI and finally tapered off around the start of the 1920’s. By this time, demand had declined in Oklahoma and new immigration rules made it harder for new arrivals to settle. The last major wave of European Immigration ended at the start of the Great Depression. For nearly forty years, immigration rates were steadily growing and significantly helped to shape Oklahoma’s future.