Peter Curko

Dear Mr. Eterovich:

First, let me express my gratitude for the work you do for Croatians all over the world, but especially here in the U.S. Although I imagine the research and work you do is a labor of love, it nevertheless must be time-consuming and tiring. However, I must thank you because the results of your work are so rewarding to me and, hopefully, other Croatians.

My name is Peter Curko, and I am a 30-year-old born and raised in Fairview, NJ (near NYC), my parents are both from Nin (once capital of Croatia in the ninth century), and I am married to a Croatian born and raised in Whitestone (Queens), NY (her parents are from Pag). Our 2-year-old daughter spoke Croatian first, and now she is absorbing English.

The reason I'm e-mailing you (aside from thanking you) is because recently my father and I (we own a machine shop) embarked upon a trip to Pennsylvania, somewhere near Reading. I pulled out a map, and after figuring out the best way to our destination, my eyes began to wander in search of Croatian-named towns. I figured, if there are places such as Belgrade, Macedonia, and Athens in our country, then surely there must be some Cro-towns. Surely enough, I found one. Dalmatia, Pennsylvania.

After some web-surfing, I found someone who may know something about how it got its name, so I e-mailed him. Here is his response:

Hi,

Well, that is a very interesting question and one on which I've spent a

lot of time trying to answer. Four years ago I wrote a lengthy book for

the Dalmatia (PA) bicentennial celebration. One of the questions left

unanswered was "Why do we call it 'Dalmatia'?" No, there are not a lot

of Croatians in the Dalmatia (PA) region. The population is primarily

of German descent and the early settlers were a pretty much closed

population of Germans. One family name, Dreibelbis, did claim to have

had an ancestor who had once lived in Dalmatia (Croatia). The village

now known as Dalmatia (PA) was originally named Georgetown after its

founder George Brosius in 1798. In 1717 the U.S. Postal Department

decided to put a post office there but there were too many Georgetowns

already in Pennsylvania. This was commonly the case that a local name

had duplicates in other counties. So, as in many other cases, the Post

Office assigned another name, "Dalmatia." Sometimes the first

postmaster was allowed to suggest a name. In this case he was Martin

A. Stock, but I have never been able to tie him to Croatia. There is a

legend which is repeated on metal signs in Dalmatia (PA) put up in the

1930s by the PA Historical Commission, that the village was named

because of its resemblence to the Dalmatia coastline in Europe. Behind

that legend is a story that an early surveyor traveling up the

Susquehanna river stopped at the site and made a notation on his map

that it resembled the Dalmatia coast. A friend of mine who lives in

Dalmatia (PA) and is a local historian said he once saw a picture of

such a map but could not recall where. I searched every source I could

find in the PA State Archives and Library to try to confirm the story

but with no luck. Neither are there any records of why the metal signs

where placed there with that inscription. Usually they are put up by a

petition from the local historical society. Northumberland County

Historical Society would have been the most likely source but they have

no records of such a petition in the 1930s.

I have even compared that section of the Susquehanna with period maps of

Dalmatia, Croatia but it doesn't really matter if the coastlines are

similar, only that someone somewhere thought they did. So my 400-page

"definitive" bicentennial history doesn't even tell you how the village

got its name. Worse yet I don't know what ever happened to its founder,

George Brosius. It appears he moved on (west, probably) after selling

his town lots. He doesn't appear to be buried locally.

I hope this helps a tiny bit.

Dick Martz

> pcurko wrote:

>

> My ancestors are from the region of Croatia known as Dalmatia. Was

> Dalmatia, Pennsylvania named for this place? Was there a significant

> population of Croatians in Dalmatia, PA long ago?

>

> Thanks in advance for your reply.

I thought you might find this to be of interest. Thank you again for your gifts to all of us.

Sincerely,

Peter Curko

Norwood, NJ

pcurko@netzero.net