There
were few Swiss settlers in the first half of the 19th century. However,
two small Swiss colonies were established in Vevay, Ohio
(1809) and Highland, Illinois (1836). In 1844 the Swiss government
began to encourage emigration to the United States. Canton
Glarus was sent to select a site and he purchased 1,200 acres in Green
County, Wisconsin. The settlement was named New Glarus, and a log
church was added in 1849.
Other Swiss colonies in America included Berne, Minnesota (1856),
Tell City, Indiana (1856), Grutli, Tennessee (1868), Helvetia, West
Virginia (1869), New Switzerland, Georgia (1879), Ruttli, Nebraska
(1880) and Bernstadt, Kentucky (1881). These communities attempted
to retain its Swiss
culture with singing societies and drama groups. As well as traditional
farming the Swiss became known for their cheese production.
It has been estimated that four-fifths of emigrants from Switzerland
were German speaking. Not surprisingly, they often tended to integrate
with the much large German-American
communities in the United States. There was a significant Italian
speaking Swiss community in San Francisco
and enabled the establishment of the Italian-Swiss newspaper, Colonia
Svizzera.
A German-Swiss newspaper, Amerikanische
Schweizerzeitung,
began publishing in New York in 1868.
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