The national Croatian Fraternal Union was founded in 1894 in Pittsburgh, PA and is a fraternal benefit society with hundreds of lodges across the United States, Canada and Croatia. Washington State has about a dozen lodges in the cities and towns where large concentrations of Croats who worked in, and pioneered commercial salmon fishing, logging, boat building and coal mining industries.
Seattle’s lodge 439 Sinovi Hrvatske Domovine was founded in 1912 and has approximately 400 members. Annual events include an Epiphany Celebration in January which benefits orphans in Croatia; an annual picnic with traditional bbq lamb and pork and cultural presentations throughout the year.
