Kashubian Americans are

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

of Kashubian descent.

History

The two earliest Kashubian American settlements in the United States were centered around

Winona, Minnesota Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, Winona County, in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota ...

, and

Portage County, Wisconsin Portage County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of th2020 census the population was 70,377. Its county seat is Stevens Point. Portage County comprises the Stevens Point, WI Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the ...

. The Winona settlement included the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

town of Pine Creek and the

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

towns of Dodge, Fountain City, and Trempealeau. The Portage County settlement included the Wisconsin towns of Hull, Polonia, and Sharon. The Winona settlement is traditionally dated to 1855, but actually began in 1859. The Portage County settlement can be definitively traced back to 1858. Winona is dubbed the "Kashubian Capital of America" because of the large population of Kashubians there. After the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

and the German Kulturkampf from 1848-1884, Kashubians emigrated to the United States in three waves through the Kashubian region. While some headed for the Winona area and for Portage County, many Kashubians wound up living in major urban centers such as Buffalo,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

. A smaller number of Kashubians settled in small farming communities scattered throughout

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

, and

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

.Szulist, ''Kaszubi w Ameryce: szkice i materiały.'' By the turn of the century, Kashubian Americans tended to identify themselves completely as Polish Americans, although in Winona at least the Kashubian language would survive for another generation or two.

Notable people

* Paul Breza *

Jan Romuald Byzewski Jan Romuald Byzewski, better known in America as Father Romuald Byzewski, was born in the Kaszubian village of Karwia, in the Prussian jurisdiction of Danzig (Gdansk), on Oct. 10, 1842. Biography After graduating from secondary school in Wejherow ...

Jozef Cieminski Józef Franciszek Darzyn Ciemiński ( Borzyszkowy, 4 August 1867- Winona, 1959) was a Polish-born Roman Catholic priest. He emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1881 and was ordained as a Priest in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1895. He w ...

Hieronim Derdowski Hieronim Derdowski (March 9, 1852, Wiele, Pomeranian Voivodeship, German Empire – August 13, 1902, Winona, Minnesota, America) ( Kashubian ''Hieronim Derdowsczi'' or ''Jarosz Derdowsczi''), Kashubian-Polish intellectual and activist, was bor ...

* Antoni Klawiter * Jakub W.J. Pacholski * Anne Pellowski * Paul Peter Rhode

References

{{ethnic groups in the United States Polish American

History

Notable people

See also

Further reading

References