This thesis will tell the story of the Syrian-Lebanese immigrants and their children who lived in Toledo from 1881 until the 1960s. Through oral interviews, local newspaper articles, church and mosque records, and historical works on immigration and ethnicity in the United States, this thesis will chronicle their immigration to Toledo, their experiences with Americanization, and their endeavor to maintain their ethnic identity through community building and home-making efforts, as they made the United States their permanent home. This analysis will be accomplished by examining eleven steps that the Syrian-Lebanese people took to make the United States their permanent home. These steps were either assimilative, influenced by an external force, or a home making and community building effort, caused internally by the community to recreate a Syrian village-like atmosphere to make their stay in America pleasant.
In eight decades, the community grew from a small Christian colony, to a large, well-respected, religiously diverse community. They successfully established families, business, and religious and cultural associations to preserve their ethnic identity, while actively participating in Americanization efforts that ensured their economic and social success.
While this work only encompasses a brief period of the community’s existence, it is a start, which must be expanded upon by future scholars.