Macedonians

Wars, political oppression, and economic instability caused Macedonian individuals of eastern Europe to immigrate to the United States after 1900. By 1915, approximately 1,000 Macedonian Americans were living in Indianapolis, most known to work at Kingan And Company meat packers, in the railroad yards, and at National Malleable Castings in Haughville. Others, predominately men who planned to earn money and return home, established small businesses such as restaurants, bakeries, and markets along the 400-600 blocks of West Washington Street. Some took English classes at the American Settlement on Pearl Street and studied to obtain U.S. citizenship.

In 1915, St. Stephen Bulgarian (Eastern) Orthodox Church began serving the Macedonian community’s religious needs in a remodeled house at 226 North Blackford Street. During the 1940s, the community began moving out of the Military Park and Haughville areas to West 16^th Street and Kessler Boulevard. A new church building was constructed at 1435 North Medford Street in 1955 and consecrated in 1962. A center of religious, cultural, and social life, the church sponsored folk dances, picnics, fund-raisers, and charitable projects; hosted diocesan conventions; and cosponsored an annual Balkan Festival with the Serbs and Romanians in the city.

Beyond religious activity, the Macedonian community in Indianapolis put together other groups such as a chapter in the advocacy organization known as the Macedonian Political Organization (now referred to as the Macedonian Patriotic Organization or MPO). The MPO got its start as an organization in nearby Fort Wayne. The MPO also put together the Macedonian Tribune, which has a historic marker along West Washington Street recognizing Indianapolis as the site of the paper’s first publishing. The Tribune has gone on to become the longest-running Macedonian newspaper in the world.

By the early 1990s, there were approximately 450 Macedonian citizens in the city.

*Note: This entry is from the original print edition of the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis (1994). We are currently seeking an individual with knowledge of this topic to update this entry.