Swiss Americans

Swiss Immigration: 1820 to 1930

Between 1820 and 1930, about 270,000 Swiss immigrated to the United States, with over 81,000 in the decade between 1880 and 1889. During the next four decades, almost 170,000 immigrants arrived from Switzerland. Swiss left for rural villages and towns in the midwest or large industrial cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and San Francisco. Switzerland is a small country, and one-fifth of its territory is covered with high mountains and is uninhabitable. Some immigrants were adventurers or wanted to start a new life. Good land and working conditions were no doubt important factors as well. Swiss immigrants also saw the United States as a kindred nation with democratic ideals.

In the early 19th century, some predominantly Swiss settlements appeared, such as Highland, Illinois; New Glarus, Wisconsin; Gruetli, Tennessee; Bernstadt, Kentucky; and Geneva, Alabama; as well as in Idaho, New York, and Ohio. The Italian Swiss immigrated to California and engaged in viticulture. Johann August Sutter (1803–80) was a Swiss pioneer of who settled close to what is now Sacramento, California. Sutter called his colony and fort New Helvetia—the female personification of Switzerland. He became famous when gold was discovered near his sawmill in 1848. Other individuals with Swiss roots became fabulously rich. Meyer Guggenheim, a Jewish Swiss, immigrated from Canton Aargau to Philadelphia in 1847. The family was known for its global successes in mining and smelting. During the 19th century, the Guggenheim family possessed one of the largest fortunes in the world. It later became known for its philanthropy.

Agricultural crisis and industrialization influenced the immigration of Swiss, particularly from German-speaking cantons. Swiss in 1900 tended to be overrepresented in just a few occupations. Only 0.25 percent of male breadwinners in the United States were Swiss; however, they represented 9.6 percent of all dairymen, 5.9 percent of butter and cheese makers, 3.25 of the silk industry, and 2.5 percent of the watchmakers.

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