Wisconsin Historical Society

Primary source

Museum objects

A traditional Ukrainian Easter egg

Ukrainian Decorated Egg

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About this record

Ukrainian immigration to the United States began in the latter part of the nineteenth century as the promise of jobs was a powerful draw for a people who had long been some of the poorest farmers in eastern Europe. The number of Ukrainian immigrants who came to Wisconsin in the nineteenth century is difficult to determine, primarily because "Russian" was the broad term used to describe Lithuanians, Latvians, Ukrainians, Poles, Estonians, Finns, Armenians, and Romanians. In Wisconsin, most of these ethnic Russians settled in Milwaukee and worked in various industries, although some small rural Russian communities did form in northern Wisconsin. Ukrainian immigration increased in the twentieth century, particularly in northeastern Wisconsin. This decorated egg is an example of the traditional Ukrainian art of pysanky.

Citation

Ukrainian Decorated Egg. Wisconsin Historical Society Museum.