Thehistory of Poles inBaltimore dates back to the late 19th century. The Polish community is largely centered in the neighborhoods ofCanton,Fell's Point,Locust Point, andHighlandtown. Poles are the largest Slavic ethnic group in the city and one of the largest European ethnic groups.
An April 22, 1918, article in theBaltimore Sun about Bohemians, Lithuanians, and Polish people in Baltimore engaging in fundraising forliberty bonds.
In 1880, Poles made up a small portion of the foreign-born population of Baltimore at 1% of all foreign born residents. 16.9% (56,354) of Baltimore was foreign born, 563 of them Polish.[1]
In 1920, 11,083 foreign-born White people in Baltimore spoke thePolish language as their mother tongue, making Polish the most widely spoken Slavic or Baltic mother tongue among the city's immigrants.[2]
In 1940, approximately 34,000 Polish-Americans lived in the state of Maryland, most of them in Baltimore.[3] In the same year, 8,862 immigrants fromPoland lived in Baltimore. These immigrants comprised 14.2% of the city's foreign-born white population.[4] In total, 21,175 people of Polish birth or descent lived in the city, comprising 15.2% of the foreign-stock white population.[5]
The Polish community in theBaltimore metropolitan area numbered 122,814 as of 2000, making up 4.8 percent of the area's population.[6] In the same year Baltimore city's Polish population was 18,400, 2.8% of the city's population.[7]
As of 2011, immigrants fromPoland were the eighteenth largest foreign-born population in Baltimore and the Polish language was the eleventh most commonly spoken language among people who spoke English "less than very well".[8]
In 2013, an estimated 15,828 Polish-Americans resided in Baltimore city, 2.5% of the population.[9]
The firstPolish immigrants to Baltimore settled in theFell's Point neighborhood in 1868. Polish mass immigration to Baltimore and other U.S. cities first started around 1870, many of whom were fleeing theFranco-Prussian War.[10] Many Polish immigrants came from agricultural regions of Poland and were often considered unskilled workers. Many worked asstevedores for Baltimore'sInternational Longshoremen's Association. Other Polish immigrants worked in the canneries, some travelling to the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi to work in the seafood canneries during the winter months. After theabolition of slavery, farmers had lost their slaves and wanted a cheap source of labor. Following changes in U.S. immigration laws manyCentral andEastern European migrants, particularly Polish andCzech, came to Maryland to fill this need. These changes also affected other nations.[11]
The majority of Polish immigrants wereRoman Catholics. The first Polish-Catholic parish to be formed was the St. Stanislaus Kostka church, which was organized in 1880. TheHoly Rosary Church parish was founded in 1887. However, many werePolish Jews. Polish Jews helped found theB'nai Israel Synagogue in 1873.[12]
The firstPolish language newspaper in Baltimore, titledPolonia, began publication in 1891.[13]
By 1893, the Polish population was starting to become the backbone of Baltimore'slaboring class. 1,500 were arriving in Baltimore annually and by 1893 there were 23,000 Polish-Americans living in the city.[14]
TheSt. Casimir Church parish was established in 1902. St. Casimir's current building was constructed in 1927. Less than a year later,Holy Rosary Church built its current residence.
During the early years of the 20th century the Polish population became more established in Baltimore. The Polish community established ethnic clubs, Polish-language newspapers, and create their own savings and loans societies. By 1910, Eastern Avenue in Baltimore was known as thePolish Wall Street of Baltimore.[15]
In the years prior toWorld War I, the Polish population in Baltimore ranked seventh largest in the United States.[16]
Baltimore's Poles first gained political representation in 1923, when Edward I. Novak was elected to theBaltimore City Council for the city's 3rd ward.[17]
In 1925, the Polish community ofCurtis Bay established thePolish Home Hall in order to serve as a community center for the Polish community.
In the census of 1960, Polish-Americans comprised 15.2% of Baltimore's population. The Polish-born was a percentage of the total foreign-born population was 62.6% inFell's Point, 38.5% inLocust Point, and 74.7% in Southeast Baltimore.[18]
Ze Mean Bean Café in Fell's Point opened in 1995. It is a restaurant which offersPolish cuisine, as well as other Slavic and Eastern European fare.[19]
The Polish community has declined in numbers over the years, but there is still a strong Polish presence. The Polish National Alliance is located in Baltimore and maintains an archive of several thousand documents in the Polish language. There are a number of Polish delis and restaurants still in operation, such asKrakus Deli,Polock Johnny's,Ostrowski of Bank Street, andZe Mean Bean Café.
In 2011, Baltimore's long-running Polish festival left Baltimore after 37 years of being held there; the festival was relocated toLutherville-Timonium. According toThe Baltimore Sun, the move was due to the shrinking size of the Polish community in Baltimore.[20] The organizers of the annual Polish festival in Baltimore, The Polish Community Association of Maryland (PCAM), provide an alternate reason for moving the festival out of the city: the city sharply increased fees for space rental and services, and mandated expensive insurance coverages be provided by the organizers.[21]
TheNational Slavic Museum opened in 2012. The museum focuses on the Slavic history of Baltimore, including Baltimore's Polish history.[22]
The Lemko House, an apartment complex on South Ann Street, provides housing for Eastern European immigrants. Founded in 1983 by Ivan Dornic, anEastern Rite priest, the complex is named after Dornic's ethnic group, theLemkos. The Lemkos are aRusyn ethnic group inhabitingLemkivshchyna, a part ofTranscarpathia that spans parts of Slovakia, Poland, and Ukraine. Lemko House has opened its doors to low-income residents of any ethnicity, but is still home to many Slavic and Eastern European immigrants.[23]
Barbara Mikulski, the senior United States senator from Maryland, a former United States Representative, the longest-serving female senator, and the longest-serving woman in the history of the U.S. Congress.
Rafael Alvarez, an author based in Baltimore and Los Angeles.
Mike Bielecki, a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues for five different teams.
Dick Bielski, a former professional American football player and coach
Kendel Ehrlich, former First Lady of Maryland, having served from 2003 to 2007 during the administration of Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich.
Henry Einspruch, a Polish-born Messianic missionary affiliated with the Hebrew-Christian movement who translated the Christian New Testament into Yiddish.
Aharon Feldman, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean) of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel (Ner Israel Rabbinical College) in Baltimore.
Philip H. Goodman, 42nd Mayor of the City of Baltimore and a member of the Maryland Senate.
Arthur Hertzberg, a Conservative rabbi and prominent Jewish-American scholar and activist.
Leon Uris, a novelist known for his historical fiction.
Albert Warner, a Polish-born Jewish-American film executive who was one of the founders of Warner Bros. Studios.
Harry Warner, a Polish-born Jewish-American studio executive, one of the founders of Warner Bros., and a major contributor to the development of the film industry.
Jack L. Warner, a Canadian-born Jewish-American film executive who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios.
Sam Warner, a Polish-born Jewish-American film producer who was the co-founder and chief executive officer of Warner Bros. Studios.
Carolyn Wasilewski, a 14-year-old victim of an unsolved murder that made national headlines.
Leo Wolman, a noted economist whose work focused on labor economics.
^Hollowak, Thomas L. (1992).Baltimore's Polish Language Newspapers: Historical and Genealogical Abstracts, 1891-1925. Baltimore, Maryland: Historyk Press.ISBN1-8871-2401-2.
Baltimore County Genealogical Society.Tombstone inscriptions of Holy Rosary Church Cemetery, Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County Genealogical Society, 1999.
Baltimore County Genealogical Society.Tombstone inscriptions of St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore County Genealogical Society, 2002.
Haremski, Roman L.The unattached, aged immigrant; a descriptive analysis of the problems experienced in old age by three groups of Poles living apart from their families in Baltimore ..., Washington, D.C., Catholic University of America Press, 1940.
Hollowak, Thomas L.A history of Polish longshoremen and their role in the establishment of a union at the port of Baltimore, Historyk Press, 1996.
Hollowak, Thomas L.Baltimore's Polonia: A Brief History, Historyk Press, 1995.
Przeciszewski, Tadeusz.Past and present problems of Polish ethnic groups in America (analyzed primarily through the example of the Baltimore community), 1975.
Davis-White, Jeanne S.; Hollowak, Thomas L.People of Polonia : the 1910 census, ward one, Baltimore City, Maryland, Historyk Press, 1993.
Davis-White, Jeanne S.; Hollowak, Thomas L.People of Polonia : the 1910 census, Ward two, Baltimore City, Maryland, Historyk Press, 1994.
Davis-White, Jeanne S.; Hollowak, Thomas L.People of Polonia : the 1910 census, ward three, Baltimore City, Maryland, Historyk Press, 1993.
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