History Camp Boston Outings—Boston’s Little Syria

This tour covers the history of Boston’s Little Syria neighborhood (also known as Syriatown), which thrived between the 1880s and 1950s in today’s Chinatown and South End.

We will begin with the economic, political, and religious reasons that motivated people to migrate from their homes in Greater Syria under Ottoman rule to US cities such as Boston. How did they survive once they arrived here, and how did they integrate into US society while maintaining their original language, traditions, religion, and social networks? This walking tour focuses on Syrian residences, shops, restaurants, newspapers, churches, social clubs, and boarding houses, as well as prominent Syrian-American individuals. We examine how Syrians lived in a diverse neighborhood that included other new migrant groups such as Chinese-Americans, and how this neighborhood fought to preserve its existence in the face of urban development in the 1950s.

Note: This tour will start at Chinatown Gate and end at Peter’s Park, South End.

History Camp is a project of the non-profit organization The Pursuit of History. We hope you’ll join us in the pursuit of history.

[Image: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration]