Volga German immigrants first arrived in the Jefferson Park area of northwest Chicago in 1894. They came from Stahl am Karaman. Beginning in 1903, other groups followed from Schwed, Enders, and Rosenheim. Mayfair, the unofficial neighborhood which overlaps from Jefferson Park into the neighborhood of Albany Park to the east, was also settled by Volga Germans.
The central business district of Jefferson Park along Lawrence and Milwaukee Avenues was the hub of the Volga German community for years. Over time, descendants of the original immigrants moved to the outlying suburbs of Maywood and Melrose Park.
According to Sallet, there were about 450 Volga German families living in the area of Jefferson-Mayfair in 1920, most of whom were from the Wiesenseite.
- Sallet, Richard. Russian-German Settlement in the United States (Fargo, ND: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1974): 56.
Map showing the location of Jefferson Park in relation to Chicago's other neighborhoods.
Source: Jefferson Park, Chicago (wikipedia)
Map of Jefferson Park.
Courtesy of the Jefferson Park Historical Society.
Zion Church in Jefferson Park.
Courtesy of the Jefferson Park Historical Society.