Discovering Eden: Early Armenian Immigration to California

Armenians migrated to California’s San Joaquin Valley as early as the 1880s. In 1901, three Armenians were walking southeast from Fresno when they came across a region at the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. They felt an inexplicable connection to the land and began singing songs of their homeland. They set up tents and founded the town of Yettem - “Garden of Eden” in Armenian. To this day, it is the only town with an Armenian name in the United States.

Join TGHS Board Member Ani Mnatsakanyan as she shares stories of resilience and community strength as Armenians reconstruct their lives in a foreign land, while attempting to preserve their identity and memories of the homeland they were forced to leave behind.

Date | Time | Registration

Thursday, April 28, 2022 | 7 PM | Click here to register.

Ani Mnatsakanyan Bio

Ani Mnatsakanyan is a graduate of USC’s Master of Heritage Conservation program and is currently an Associate Architectural Historian at Historic Resources Group. Ani credits her love of the built environment, art, preservation, and history to growing up in Hollywood’s Little Armenia neighborhood, where she was immersed in Armenian culture and historic architecture. She is interested in Diasporan heritage, intangible heritage, and conserving community identities after communal experiences of cultural trauma. Ani advocates for the conversation of Southern California’s built environment with a focus on preserving the heritage of culturally rich and diverse communities that have helped shape the region into what it is today.