The Journey

From Aegean villages to American cities — explore where Greek immigrants came from, how they arrived, and where they built new lives.

Origin Regions

Most Greek emigrants came from rural regions devastated by economic collapse, military conscription, and the dowry system. Click a pin to learn more.

    About this map: Pins represent regions and communities, not precise village coordinates. Many emigrants came from villages too small to appear on any map.

    Ports & Settlements

    Greek immigrants entered through a handful of ports — primarily Ellis Island — then spread across the country following labor networks and family connections.

    Port of Entry
    Greek Settlement
      Read the stories: Many of these communities have their own oral history entries. Click a pin or location name to explore.
      400,000+
      Greeks emigrated to America, 1880–1924
      1892
      Ellis Island opened — the primary entry point
      100
      Annual Greek quota set by the 1924 Immigration Act
      1965
      Quotas abolished — second wave begins

      Communities Behind the Pins

      Each location on this map has a human story behind it. Explore the oral histories connected to these places.

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      Carbon County, Utah

      The Men of Carbon County

      Greek miners in the coal and copper mines of the American West.

      🤿
      Tarpon Springs, Florida

      The Sponge Capital of the World

      Dodecanese divers who built a Greek city on the Gulf Coast.

      New York City

      Behind the Counter

      The Greek immigrants who built New York's diner culture.

      🧵
      Lowell, Massachusetts

      The City of Spindles

      Greek women in the textile mills of New England.

      🚂
      Oregon & the West

      Miles of Track

      Greek railroad workers who laid track across the American West.

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      Ports across America

      The Closed Door

      The 1924 quota act and the Greeks who found another way in.