==Settlements==
{{Refimprove|date=April 2011}}
[[File:Croatian men in club of town Joliet Illinois.jpg|thumb|Group of Croatian men in the club of town [[Joliet, Illinois|Joliet in Illinois]] around 1900]]Large populations are found in [[Chicago]], [[Cleveland]], New York City and Los Angeles, with mid-sized communities in [[St. Louis]], [[Pittsburgh]], and the [[San Francisco Bay Area]], and smaller communities in [[Sacramento]], [[Detroit]], [[Kansas City Metropolitan Area|Kansas City]], [[Milwaukee]] and [[Harrisburg]]. The Ohio Valley has one of the largest concentrations of Croatian-Americans today. The first Croatian settlements were in [[Mississippi]] estuary in [[Louisiana]] and in [[California]]. First Croatian immigrants to those places were sailors who left their ships out of economic reasons and also because of the news and rumors about war in Europe, various contagious diseases on ships, bad conditions of the ships, etc. There was already a considerably large group of them in 1835 that easily assimilated and started working in the fields of [[commerce]] and [[catering]] industry. These men usually married American women, which greatly contributed to their fast and easy assimilation.
[[File:Croatian Place.JPG|thumb|Croatian Place district in [[San Pedro, Los Angeles, California]].]]
From the middle of the 19th century a lot of Croats were involved in the [[oyster]] business. Luka Jurisic was a [[Innovator|pioneer]] in establishing the large-scale cultivation and marketing of oysters. By the late 19th century the Croats controlled the oyster business. In [[San Pedro, Los Angeles, California|San Pedro]] there is even a stretch of street called "Croatian Place". There are reportedly more than(today) 35,000 Croats in San Pedro, making it the biggest Croatian community on the Pacific. California had Croatian immigration colonies even before the wave of new immigration, but even greater immigration occurred during the period of [[gold rush]] in that area. Many of them established [[stock]] [[corporation]]s in case they made more significant discoveries.
One of the most important companies established by the Croats was "The Slavonian Gold and Silver Company". San Francisco became the center of Croatian social life in California, where they established the first Croatian emigration society in 1857. [[Tadich Grill]] in San Francisco is a relic from that era and (still Croatian owned) currently is the oldest restaurant in the entire state of California.
The [[Los Angeles Metropolitan Area]] was a major destination for the post-1980's [[Yugoslavia]]n immigration, including Croats and [[Bosnian Croats]] from [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] escaped the Bosnian civil war in the 1990's. They formed several communities in [[Orange County, California|Orange County]]; [[San Diego, California|San Diego]]; the [[Inland Empire (California)]] region (i.e. [[Moreno Valley]]); and the [[San Fernando Valley]] of [[Los Angeles]], but extending into the High Desert suburbs of [[Lancaster, California|Lancaster]] and [[Palmdale, California|Palmdale]]; and [[Ventura County, California|Ventura County]] in recent years.
A great number of Croats emigrated from California and settled in [[Arizona]] and [[Nevada]] after the gold rush. In Nevada Croats first worked in gold and silver [[Mining|mines]], and later became engaged in service trades. In Arizona they usually worked as coalminers, office-workers, storekeepers, cooks, butchers, waiters, restaurant or hotel owners, etc. There were several Croatian settlements in [[Washington (U.S. state)|Washington]]. A small Croatian fishing village existed back in the beginning of 19th century, where greatly experienced Croatian [[fishermen]] contributed to the development of modern fishing trade. Three main Croatian centers in Washington were [[Seattle]], [[Anacortes]] and [[Roslyn, Washington|Roslyn]]. The high percentage of Croats can be illustrated by the fact that inn 1922/23 there were 23% Croatian pupils in Rosalyn schools. Some of the first groups of immigrants settled in [[Pennsylvania]] as well. As the center of the State, [[Pittsburgh]] employed a lot of immigrants from Croatia. Many of them were working in the [[heavy industry]]. In the beginning of the century there were around 38 000 Croatians in Pittsburgh. It was estimated that there were more than 200 000 Croatians and their descendants living in Pittsburgh in the early 1990s.
First Croatians in [[Detroit]] appeared around 1890, settling usually in the region of Russel. In [[Illinois]] the Croatians started concentrating mostly around Chicago. Although it was created a bit later, the Croatian settlement in Chicago became one of the most important ones in the United States. The settlement especially started developing after World War I and Chicago became the center of all Croatian cultural and political activities. It is calculated that there were roughly 50 000 Croats in Chicago in the 1990s, while there were altogether 100 000 Croats living in 54 additional Croatian settlements in Illinois.
Furthermore, Croatian settlement in [[Kansas City, Kansas|Kansas City]] played an important role as well. This settlement, too, was founded in the last decades of the 19th century, with the first neighborhood west of Armour Packing Co. and along James Street. The [[Strawberry Hill (Kansas City, Kansas)|Strawberry Hill]] neighbourhood of Kansas City is an example of a city quarter almost entirely founded by Croats. First Croatian Settlement in [[St. Louis]] started forming very early. It generally consisted of immigrants who came from Louisiana along the Mississippi toward the north. According to Ante Tresic-Pavic, who visited the US in 1907, there were around 4-5 thousand Croats in St. Louis. The majority of them lived in [[boarding house]]s and had low paid jobs at that time.
New York served merely as a station on their way further into the United States. Later, during the mass immigration of Croats, this city became the most important center from which they moved into various parts of the US. In 1906 a real Croatian settlement did not yet exist in New York. Eventually many Croats settled thru out parts of New York City, especially in northwestern and northeastern [[Queens]] County, in such neighborhoods as [[Whitestone, Queens|Whitestone]], [[Astoria, Queens|Astoria]], [[Bayside, Queens|Bayside]] and [[Douglaston]].
[[Alaska]] appeared to be a destination for Croatian immigrants in the early 20th century starting with the [[Klondike Gold Rush]] of 1897-99. A few hundreds of Croatians settled in [[Anchorage]], [[Fairbanks]] and [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]]. They established small shops and businesses relating to the local fishing industries. Today, Alaska may be home to 50,000 persons of Croatian descent, about one-eighth of the state population. {{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}
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