Armenians Fresno

Our goal is to tell a positive story of how our ancestors made the long journey from their homeland, ultimately settling in the rural communities of the central valley of California. The first Armenians arrived in Fresno in the early 1880s and had difficulty speaking English and fitting in. That did not prevent them, however, from quickly establishing churches and opening businesses, and eventually having some of its members become world-renowned in the fields of agriculture, commerce, and entertainment. Our project continues to be a work-in-progress; while our initial goal was to focus mainly on the 1880s-1920s time period, it is our intent to keep adding additional content and expanding the scope of the exhibit.