The Creation of an Ethnic Culture Complex Region: Pennsylvania Germans in Central Ohio, 1790-1850

The delimitation, description, and analysis of ethnic space and place has occupied a central role in the literature relating to the cultural and historical geography of the United States. From the contributions of early luminaries such as Ellen Semple and John K. Wright, on through to the more recent well-known work of Wilbur Zelinsky and Terry Jordan, American cultural and historical geographers have busied themselves with the mapping and analysis of ethnic spaces and ethnic cultural landscapes in order to more fully understand the processes that have helped to shape and define different culture areas of the country. 1