The first Armenian settlers in Fresno were Evangelicals who mainly came from Marzvan, Armenia. Mardiros Yanukian, a native of Marzvan, made his home in Fresno in 1878. Escaping the horrors of Ottoman Turkish misrule, he changed his name to “Normart” (“new man” in Armenian). By 1890 there were some 1,000 Armenians in Fresno.

The first Armenian settlers in Fresno were Evangelicals who mainly came from Marzvan, Armenia. Mardiros Yanukian, a native of Marzvan, made his home in Fresno in 1878. Escaping the horrors of Ottoman Turkish misrule, he changed his name to “Normart” (“new man” in Armenian). By 1890 there were some 1,000 Armenians in Fresno.