Latvians in Wisconsin
Most Latvians came to Wisconsin in the 20th century in two distinct phases: agriculturally oriented people around 1900 and a more urban population around 1949. The first Latvians left their homeland to escape the Russo-Japanese War and the Baltic Revolution. Between 1901 and 1908, an estimated 1,500 Latvians, mostly single men, settled in northern Wisconsin. The Dispaced Persons Act of 1948 and the Refugee Bill of 1950 laid the groundwork for the largest concentration of immigration to the U.S. in the 20th century. Of the 50,000 Latvians who immigrated to the U.S. after WWII, 45,000 came as "displaced persons:" around 1,500 came to Wisconsin. The largest concentration of Latvians are in Milwaukee, followed by Fond du Lac and Madison. Half of Milwaukee's "new" Latvian community came directly from Europe while the remainder had settled temporarily on farms to fulfill obligations to their sponsors before moving on.
Wisconsin's Cultural Resources Study Units, Wisconsin Historical Society
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