The Belmont County Heritage Museum in St. Clairsville (OH) is boasting its newest exhibit, “A Family’s Journey: From Italy to Belmont County.” The exhibit features the Italian immigrant experience to life in Belmont County, including the importance that the coal mining industry had in the decision to move to the USA for work opportunities post the Great War.

Items on display include family photos, passports and health certificates from the 1920s, an ocean liner ticket, mining tools and photos, as well as a Bellaire HS diploma, yearbook, and class ring from 1930. Imagine boarding a ship to a faraway land, leaving behind your family, friends, and life as you knew it. During the early 1900s, the US experienced a great wave of immigration, especially from Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe.