The Bohemians of Turners Falls, Massachusetts, began life as serfs on the estates of wealthy nobles in the heart of Europe. Fleeing their homeland to escape poverty and mandatory military service, they crossed the ocean in the bowels of immigrant ships, chasing the dream of a better life in America. But conditions in a small factory village in rural New England were almost as harsh as they had been in Bohemia. Life in the tenements was crowded. Work in the dust-laden air of the local cutlery led to grinder’s consumption and an early grave. Children fell prey to the grim reaper at an alarming rate. The immigrants soon learned that the streets of America were not paved with gold. This book uncovers the lost story of the courageous pioneers from Bohemia who gave up everything they knew to start life again in a small New England village.