Everything about Poles In Chicago totally explained
Poles in Chicago, also known as
Chicago Polonia, refers to both immigrant
Poles and
Americans of Polish heritage living in
Chicago,
Illinois. They are a part of worldwide
Polonia, the proper term for the Polish
Diaspora outside of the Republic of
Poland. Poles in Chicago have contributed to the economic, social and cultural well-being of
Chicago from its very beginning.
Poles have been a part of the
history of Chicago since
1837, when Captain John Napieralski, along with other veterans of the
January Insurrection first set foot there. Today Poles in Chicago are held to be the largest
white ethnic group in the city.
History
A number of
Poles contributed to the history of the city together with Captain Napieralski, a veteran of Cross Mountain during the
January Insurrection. Along with him came other early
Polish settlers such as Major Louis Chlopicki, the nephew of
General Józef Chłopicki who had been the leader of the same insurrection. Not to mention certain A. Panakaske (Panakaski) who resided in the second ward in the
1830s as well as J. Zoliski who lived in the sixth ward with records of both men having cast their ballots for
William B. Ogden in the
1837 mayoral race in
Chicago.
Distribution
According to Dominic Pacyga, most of the
Poles who first came to
Chicago settled in five distinct parts of the city. The first of those
Polish Patches, as they were colloquially referred to, was located on the
Near Northwest Side. Centering on the
Polish Triangle at the intersection of
Milwaukee and Ashland avenues with Division street it later became known as
Polish Downtown. The second large settlement developed in
Pilsen on the west side near 18th street and Ashland avenue. Poles established two separate enclaves in the
Stock Yard district, one in
Bridgeport, the other in the
Back of the Yards near 47th street and Ashland avenue. Another Polish neighborhood developed in the area around the massive
Illinois Steel works in
South Chicago in the area colloquially referred to as "the Bush". Polish communities in Chicago were often founded and organized around churches mostly by
peasant immigrants who named their neighbourhoods after them, like
Bronislawowo, named after St. Bronislava.
* Sometimes the neighbourhoods are contiguous so its difficult to say precisely where one ends and one begins, as in the case of 'Stanislawowo' by the church of
St. Stanislaus Kostka and 'Trojcowo' by
Holy Trinity Polish Mission in the former area of
Polish Downtown.
» * In Polish the ending 'owo' in for example Bronislawowo functions similar to English 'ville' in Johnsville or 'ton' in Charleston. When added to a name of a saint, it indicates a Polish sounding town or a village. This is a colloquial phenomenon, not present in educated Polish; however, it persists in the names of different Polish areas of Chicago.
Original Historical Polish Patches
Polish Downtown
Lower West Side
Wojciechowo- The area around St. Adalbert's in Chicago
Annowo- The area around St.Anns in Chicago
Romanowo- The area around St. Roman's
Kazimierzowo- The area around the former St. Casimir's
Bridgeport
NMP Nieustajacej Pomocy- The area around St. Mary of Perpetual Help
Barbarowo- The area around St. Barbara in Chicago
Back of the Yards
Jozefowo- The area around St. Joseph's in Chicago
Janowo- The area around St. John of God
Sercanowo- The area around Sacred Heart
South Chicago
Niepokolanowo- The area around Immaculate Conception in Chicago
Michalowo- The area around St. Michael's in Chicago
Magdalenowo- The area around St. Mary Magdalene
Bronislawowo- The area around St. Bronislava
Later as Poles grew in number and advanced economically, they migrated further out into outlying areas.. The result was that the West Town/Logan Square settlement in Polish Downtown spread westward along North Avenue and northwestward along Milwaukee thereby creating a "Polish Corridor" which tied in contiguous areas such as Norwood Park, Jefferson Park, Portage Park, and Belmont-Cragin. The same kind of advance occurred in the other original areas of Polish settlements so that Poles from both the Lower West Side and the Back of the Yards moved into both sides of Archer avenue, giving rise to sizable Polish settlements on the Southwest Side of the city such as McKinley Park, Garfield Ridge, Brighton Park and Archer Heights. On the far Southeast Side, the South Chicago "steel mill settlements" spilled over into Pullman, Roseland, Hegewisch and Calumet City as well as into Lake County in Northwest Indiana, where thriving Polish communities were found in North Hammond, Whiting, the Indian Harbor section of East Chicago and several neighborhoods in the newly built industrial city of Gary.
Subsequent Historical Polish Patches
Lincoln Park
Jozafatowo - The area around St. Josaphat's in Chicago
Lincoln Square
U Przemienienia - The area around Transfiguration
Avondale
Jackowo - The area around St. Hyacinth Basilica
Waclawowo - The area around St. Wenceslaus
Irving Park
The area around Immaculate Heart of Mary
Portage Park
Wladyslawowo - The area around St. Ladislaus in Chicago
Jefferson Park
Konstancowo - The area around St. Constance
Norwood Park
Teklowo - The area around St. Thecla
Belmont Cragin
Jakubowo - The area around St. James
U Biskupa (Stanislawowo) - The area around St.Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr
McKinley Park
U Piotra i Pawla - The area around Ss Peter and Paul
Archer Heights
Brunowo - The area around St. Bruno
Garfield Ridge
Kamilowo - The area around St. Camillus by Midway Airport
Brighton Park
U Pieciu Braci - The area around Five Holy Martyrs
Pankracowo - The area around St. Pancratius
Humboldt Park
U Franciszka - The area around St. Fancis of Assisi
South Lawndale
U Dobrego Pasterza - The area around Good Shepherd
West Elsdon
Turibiuszowo - The area around St. Turibius
Roseland
Salomejowo - The area around St. Salomea
Hegewisch
Florianowo - The area around St.Florian
Over the course of the city's development as the city's Polish community climbed further up the economic ladder and were followed by new waves of immigrants the concentration of Poles shifted to different areas of the city.
Current Polish Patches: Polish Masses in Chicago Area 
provided by Polsort
The Polish Presence in Chicago Today
Chicago bills itself as the largest Polish city outside of Poland with approximately 185,000 Polish speakers in Chicago metropolitan area, although some maintain that after Poland's entry into the EU, London, England is now likely to have more than double this. Chicago's Polish presence is felt in the large number of Polish-American organizations located here beginning with the Polish Museum of America, the Polish American Association, the Polish National Alliance and the Polish Highlander's Alliance of North America. Chicago celebrates its Polish Heritage every Labor Day weekend at the Taste of Polonia Festival in Jefferson Park. Illinois is one of the few states that celebrates Casimir Pulaski Day due to the influence of this large population.
The Almanac of American Politics 2004 states that "Even today, in Archer Heights [aneighborhood of Chicago], you can scarcely go a block without hearing someone speaking Polish".
Further Information
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