Many Czechs went to America during migration waves in the 19th century. One of the final destinations was the city of Chicago.
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries it became the largest Czech base abroad. Over a hundred thousand Czech people lived then in Chicago, and thereby it was considered the third largest Czech city.
There existed many associations, some of which derived its structure from the organizations in the Czech lands, while others were founded afresh and influenced by the American environment. The article focuses on cultural history and describes briefly the development of Czech association activities and summarizes typology of these associations.