An overview of Polish immigration through 1896

The Polanders in Wisconsin


One of the first Polish farming communities in the nation was established in Portage County, Wisconsin, in 1855. Located among earlier German, Irish, and French communities, Polonia, as the town was called, soon became a prosperous rural community that attracted more Poles to the region. Poles also began settling in Milwaukee in the 1850s although they did not begin coming in great numbers until the late nineteenth century. In this article from the Parkman Club (an organization devoted to research and writing on the history of the Old Northwest), Frank Miller discusses Polish immigration to Wisconsin. He focuses particularly on the role of the Koscuisko Guard in the labor strike at Bay View in 1886.


Related Topics: Immigration and Settlement
The Progressive Era
Wisconsin's Response to 20th-century change
19th-Century Immigration
The Birth of the Labor Movement
20th-Century Immigration
Creator: Miller, Frank Hayden
Pub Data: Parkman Club Publications. no. 10. Milwaukee, Wis.: Parkman Club, 1896. pp 239-246. (F476 P249 no.10 rare books)
Citation: Miller, Frank Hayden. "The Polanders in Wisconsin." (Parkman Club Publications. no. 10. Milwaukee, Wis.: Parkman Club, 1896); online facsimile at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1336 Online facsimile at:  http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1336; Visited on: 4/17/2024