Welcome & Introduction

Carpatho-Rusyns are one of the major ethnic groups of Pennsylvania. From the time they settled the state’s small towns and cities in the late 19th century until the present time, Carpatho-Rusyns have left an indelible mark on the state with their “onion-domed” churches, rich cultural traditions, and devotion to their roots.

Rusyn church, Jermyn, Lackawanna County, Pa.

Carpatho-Rusyns began to settle in the anthracite coal mining districts of northeastern Pennsylvania in the late 1870s. Small towns and burgeoning cities like Shenandoah, Freeland, Shamokin, Mount Carmel, Mahanoy City, McAdoo, Centralia, Nesquehoning, Lansford, Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, and Olyphant were among the first places these immigrants first found work and made their homes. There they built churches, established fraternal insurance societies and social clubs, founded small businesses, met their spouses, raised children, and buried their deceased.


In the decades that followed, Carpatho-Rusyn immigrant communities sprang up in central Pennsylvania (primarily in Centre and Clearfield Counties) and in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas. By 1900, there were Rusyn immigrant settlements in at least 25 counties and these communities numbered in the hundreds. In the decade 1910-1920, 54% of Carpatho-Rusyns in the United States lived in Pennsylvania. A far larger number of the total had lived in Pennsylvania at one point but later moved to other states.

“Rusyn miner returning from work,” ca. 1896

While they found work in the early years as anthracite coal miners or on railroad lines, in the Pittsburgh area and throughout southwestern Pennsylvania the steel industry, supported by bituminous coal mines and coke ovens, provided a livelihood for tens of thousands of Rusyn immigrants. Johnstown’s steel mills and extensive bituminous coal mining operations gave rise to dozens of Carpatho-Rusyn communities across west central Pennsylvania, and the industrial plants of Erie led thousands more Rusyn immigrants to northwestern Pennsylvania, where others worked in the oil or timber industries or established farms much as they had known back in their European homeland villages. In every place there were businessmen and businesswomen among their ranks: undertakers, hoteliers, shopkeepers, saloon owners, beer distributors, midwives, boarding house owners, even bankers and travel agents.

Whether they called themselves, or were called by others, Rusyns, Rusnaks, Ruthenians, Carpatho-Russians, Lemkos, Russians, Ukrainians, Slovaks, or any of a number of other names, Americans of Carpatho-Rusyn descent have contributed much to the rich ethnic mosaic of Pennsylvania, and their story should be told.

This blog will describe a project over two decades in the making that will do just that. The ultimate goal of the project is to publish a comprehensive illustrated history of all the Carpatho-Rusyn immigrant communities and their churches, fraternal lodges, social clubs, and businesses in the state.

This blog is intended to grow over time to better describe the project. Watch for followup posts to learn about the background of the project and various aspects of the research.

I welcome your feedback, inquiries, and suggestions in the comments of various posts. Hostile or off-topic comments will not be approved.

Original material is © by the author, Richard D. Custer; all rights reserved.