A Thousand Croats Far From Home; Fates That Time Has Not Erased

In the US state of Washington, nestled among dense forests and mountains, lies Roslyn, a small town with fewer than a thousand inhabitants that preserves an incredible story of Croatian emigrants. Out of 26 historic cemetery sections, as many as three belong to Croats, and it is believed that at least a thousand of our people rest there. Their tombstones still bear witness today to a hard life, labor, and a powerful connection to the homeland they never forgot.

Roslyn was founded in 1886 as a mining town following the discovery of rich coal deposits. In search of work and a better life, numerous immigrants arrived here, including a large number of Croats.

According to certain historical records, during its peak boom era, the town had about 4,000 inhabitants, and as many as half were immigrants from our regions—mostly Croats, along with a smaller number of Slovenes and Serbs.

Three Croatian Cemeteries Guard Thousands of Life Stories

The unique feature of Roslyn is its 26 historic cemetery sections, which came into existence thanks to the different national and workers' communities that lived there.

Among them are three Croatian cemeteries, witnesses to a time when Croatian miners, railway workers, and their families built a life far from their native land.

An important role in preserving unity was played by the Croatian Fraternal Union (Hrvatska bratska zajednica), which participated in financing the cemeteries. These were not only final resting places, but also locations where Croatian identity, faith, and community belonging were preserved.

Croatian Surnames That Even Time Has Not Erased

The exact number of buried Croats is unknown, but it is estimated to be at least a thousand.

Many of the poorest immigrants, especially children, were buried without tombstones. For others, surnames were altered and adapted to the English language over the years.

Thus, among the tombstones, one can find surnames like Marić, Kovačević, and Bebić, but also their Americanized variants such as Maritch, Kovach, and Babich.

On individual graves, crosses, old black-and-white photographs, and Croatian symbols are still visible—silent witnesses to the lives of people who sought their future across the ocean.

Croatian Traces Live on Beyond the Cemeteries

Today, Roslyn is a quiet American town, also known as the filming location for the popular television series Northern Exposure (Život na sjeveru).

However, its history is much richer than television fame. Once, its streets echoed with the Croatian, Italian, Polish, and Chinese languages, while the coal mines employed immigrants from different parts of the world.

The Croatian contribution to the development of the town is also preserved in local historical archives, the library, and collections dedicated to its first inhabitants.

Among Roslyn's points of interest, the legendary Brick Tavern stands out—a historic bar that has been operating since 1889 and is counted among the oldest in the state of Washington.

Far From the Homeland, But Never Without Croatian Roots

The story of the Croats in Roslyn is much more than the history of a mining town and its cemeteries. It is a story of people who left their homeland in search of a better life, did hard labor, and started new families, but through it all strived to preserve their language, faith, and customs.

More than a century later, their surnames on the tombstones continue to speak of the Croatian presence in the heart of America.

Roslyn may have fewer than a thousand inhabitants, but it preserves a grand story of Croats whose roots never faded.