The years between 1870 and 1930 are sometimes referred as the Great "Migration" of Finns into North America.
In the 1870s, there were only 3,000 migrants from Finland, but this figure was rapidly growing.
New migrants often sent letters home, describing their life in the New World, and this encouraged more and more people to leave and try their luck in America.
Rumors began of the acres of land that could be cleared into vast productive fields and the opportunity to earn "a barrel of American dollars" in mines, factories, and railroads.

There were also professional recruiters, or "agents," employed by mining and shipping companies, who encouraged Finns to move to the United States.
More than 90% of the Finnish immigrants lived in urban centers.
This activity was frowned upon by the authorities of the Grand Duchy, and was mostly done in secret.
It was eventually brought to an end in the late 1880s by legislation in the U.S., but the decade still saw a 12-fold increase in the number of Finnish migrants compared to the previous decade, as 36,000 Finns left their home country for North America.

The movement was strengthened even further in 1899, as the Russian government started an aggressive, coordinated campaign for the Russification of Finland.
Many Finns chose to escape the repression by migrating into the New World, and, during the 1900s, there were 150,000 new migrants.

Most Finns who left for America came from the impoverished rural regions of Ostrobothnia.
Other prominent points of departure were Northern Savonia and the Torne Valley.
Many of the emigrants left by ship from the port town of Hanko.

In the years surrounding the turn of the 20th Century, settlement was focused around three specific regions:
Several pockets of Finnish settlement appeared in New England.
New York City and Boston, Massachusetts were the prime destinations for scores of skilled and general laborers.
Cities such as Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Worcester, Massachusetts, and Monessen, Pennsylvania attracted thousands of Finns to settle in both urban and rural settings.

In the Upper Midwest, a similar pattern rapidly took shape.
Due to the region's similar geographic and climatic features to Finland, the heaviest levels of Finnish Settlement were seen in an area known as the Finn Hook, which includes northeastern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where Finns were heavily invested in mining and agriculture.
At the same time, because of the connections between these sectors and Great Lakes shipping, another area of Finnish settlement formed in northeastern Ohio, with its core located in the port city of Ashtabula and the nearby towns of Conneaut, Painesville and Fairport Harbor.
Today, the region is known as having the highest population of Americans of Finnish ancestry of any region in the United States; in the northwestern half of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan they make up the plurality of population.

In addition, a number of rural and urban locations in the Northwestern United States contained a number of Finnish-settled areas.
Cities such as Aberdeen, Washington and Astoria, Oregon were known for being prime destinations for Finnish immigrants.

The immigration of Finns gave birth to a strong Finnish American culture, especially in cities such as Duluth and Ashtabula, Ohio, and many villages were named after places in Finland (such as Toivola, Minnesota, Savo, South Dakota, and Oulu, Wisconsin).

The Finnish exodus took place after most of the available farmland in the U.S. was already taken and Canada's was largely still up for grabs.
While many of them did pursue farming, many Finnish immigrants also received employment in mining, construction, and the forest industry, while the women usually worked as maids.
 In the case of the Finnish-American enclave in the Finger Lakes region south of Ithaca, New York early in the 20th century, Finns left urban jobs in order to acquire farms that had been played out by previous owners.

The migration continued well into the 20th century, until the U.S. authorities set up a q
The years between 1870 and 1930 are sometimes referred as the Great "Migration" of Finns into North America. In the 1870s, there were only 3,000 migrants from Finland, but this figure was rapidly growing. New migrants often sent letters home, describing their life in the New World, and this encouraged more and more people to leave and try their luck in America. Rumors began of the acres of land that could be cleared into vast productive fields and the opportunity to earn "a barrel of American dollars" in mines, factories, and railroads.
There were also professional recruiters, or "agents," employed by mining and shipping companies, who encouraged Finns to move to the United States. More than 90% of the Finnish immigrants lived in urban centers. This activity was frowned upon by the authorities of the Grand Duchy, and was mostly done in secret. It was eventually brought to an end in the late 1880s by legislation in the U.S., but the decade still saw a 12-fold increase in the number of Finnish migrants compared to the previous decade, as 36,000 Finns left their home country for North America.
The movement was strengthened even further in 1899, as the Russian government started an aggressive, coordinated campaign for the Russification of Finland. Many Finns chose to escape the repression by migrating into the New World, and, during the 1900s, there were 150,000 new migrants.
Most Finns who left for America came from the impoverished rural regions of Ostrobothnia. Other prominent points of departure were Northern Savonia and the Torne Valley. Many of the emigrants left by ship from the port town of Hanko.
In the years surrounding the turn of the 20th Century, settlement was focused around three specific regions:
Several pockets of Finnish settlement appeared in New England. New York City and Boston, Massachusetts were the prime destinations for scores of skilled and general laborers. Cities such as Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Worcester, Massachusetts, and Monessen, Pennsylvania attracted thousands of Finns to settle in both urban and rural settings.
In the Upper Midwest, a similar pattern rapidly took shape. Due to the region's similar geographic and climatic features to Finland, the heaviest levels of Finnish Settlement were seen in an area known as the Finn Hook, which includes northeastern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where Finns were heavily invested in mining and agriculture. At the same time, because of the connections between these sectors and Great Lakes shipping, another area of Finnish settlement formed in northeastern Ohio, with its core located in the port city of Ashtabula and the nearby towns of Conneaut, Painesville and Fairport Harbor. Today, the region is known as having the highest population of Americans of Finnish ancestry of any region in the United States; in the northwestern half of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan they make up the plurality of population.
In addition, a number of rural and urban locations in the Northwestern United States contained a number of Finnish-settled areas. Cities such as Aberdeen, Washington and Astoria, Oregon were known for being prime destinations for Finnish immigrants.
The immigration of Finns gave birth to a strong Finnish American culture, especially in cities such as Duluth and Ashtabula, Ohio, and many villages were named after places in Finland (such as Toivola, Minnesota, Savo, South Dakota, and Oulu, Wisconsin).
The Finnish exodus took place after most of the available farmland in the U.S. was already taken and Canada's was largely still up for grabs. While many of them did pursue farming, many Finnish immigrants also received employment in mining, construction, and the forest industry, while the women usually worked as maids.  In the case of the Finnish-American enclave in the Finger Lakes region south of Ithaca, New York early in the 20th century, Finns left urban jobs in order to acquire farms that had been played out by previous owners.
The migration continued well into the 20th century, until the U.S. authorities set up a q
Finnish Americans