Poles in Omaha, Nebraska facts for kids

Polish People in Omaha, Nebraska

Polish immigrants started coming to Omaha, Nebraska quite early in the city's history. The first Polish families arrived in the 1870s. By the late 1890s, the community had grown to over 1,000 people. In the 1930s, there were about 10,000 people of Polish background in Omaha, making it the largest Polish community in the Great Plains region. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, out of Omaha's total population of 390,112, about 18,447 people said they had Polish family roots. Historically, Omaha's Polish community lived in special neighborhoods in South Omaha, like Little Poland and Sheelytown.

A Look Back: Polish History in Omaha

Polish people have been part of Omaha since the late 1870s. They came to work in big industries like meatpacking, the Omaha Stockyards (where animals were bought and sold), smelting (processing metals), and railroads. More Polish immigrants arrived in the 1880s, but most came after 1900.

Starting in 1877, groups like the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America and the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad advertised Nebraska and Omaha in Poland. They told people there were many jobs here. A famous Polish-American engineer named Ralph Modjeski even helped build the Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge in Omaha in 1872.

Growing Polish Communities

Polish people continued to move to Omaha, especially in the early 1900s. This slowed down when World War I started and new immigration laws were passed in 1923. By the 1930s, over 10,000 Polish residents lived in South Omaha. Many of these immigrants came from farming backgrounds. Their new jobs in factories and stockyards were very different from their old lives.

Many Polish immigrants worked at the Omaha Stockyards and in meatpacking plants. They lived in neighborhoods like Sheelytown, the Burlington Road area, and "Little Poland." This "Little Poland" area grew from South 25th to South 29th Streets, and from F Street south to L Street. It later stretched west to South 45th Street and was sometimes called Golden Hill.

Around 1895, only about 200 Polish families lived in Omaha. Polish families were very close-knit and mostly Roman Catholic. As more Polish people arrived, they built and supported three Polish Catholic churches in the city. Many of them did not speak English well, and few were skilled workers. Their social lives often centered around groups that celebrated their heritage, such as the Polish Roman Catholic Union and the Pulaski Club.

These Polish neighborhoods were often next to other immigrant communities, like Little Bohemia (Czech) and Greektown. Immigrants often settled together where they shared a language, culture, and religion. Nellie Tayloe Ross, who later became the first woman governor of an American state, taught at a school in one of Omaha's Polish neighborhoods in the late 1890s.

The St. Paul's Church Story

In 1891, some Polish families built a Catholic church at South 29th and Elm Streets in the Sheelytown neighborhood. A priest named Father T. Jakimowicz came to lead the church but left after a few years because of disagreements with the people. Some members of the church wanted a different priest, Stephen Kaminski, who was a Polish nationalist. However, the bishop (the church leader) did not agree with their choice.

Those who supported Kaminski owned the church building and land. But a court ruled on March 27, 1895, that the Roman Catholic bishop legally owned the church and land. Before the problem was fully solved, some people who disagreed burned down the church. After this, the church leaders reorganized the parish. They sent the members to other churches, including the Immaculate Conception Church, which still has many members of Polish descent today.

Polish Life in the 20th Century

Around the early 1900s, members of the Hanscom Park Methodist Episcopal Church tried to offer fun activities for Polish people in Sheelytown. They organized dances to compete with other places in the area. These events were popular and continued for many years.

The Western Star was a newspaper published in the Polish language in Omaha from 1904 to 1945. In the 1920s, Polish neighborhoods in Omaha were known for their many successful amateur baseball teams. A statue was put up at St. John's Cemetery in Bellevue to honor Polish people from Omaha who fought with the Blue Army during World War I.

In the 1950s, a study of Omaha noted that "nearly all the Poles live in this area [South Omaha]." It also said that these neighborhoods were "the most segregated and congested" (crowded) in Omaha.

Immigration from Poland slowed down because of the World Wars and new U.S. immigration laws passed in 1923. After World War II, Poland came under Communist rule, which stopped most immigration. Few new Polish immigrants arrived until the Soviet Union's power lessened and the Solidarity movement began in Poland.

Polish Community Today

As Polish descendants became more integrated into American society and moved to the suburbs, their old neighborhoods in South Omaha began to welcome new immigrants. Today, many Mexican immigrants and other Latino families live there. They also often work in the meatpacking industry.

The Immigration History Research Center Archives at the University of Minnesota Libraries has a collection of photos about Omaha. This collection includes many pictures of Little Poland and Polish people in Omaha.

Notable Polish-Americans from Omaha

• Leo J. Dulacki was born in Omaha on December 29, 1918. He served in the United States Marine Corps for 32 years and became a Lieutenant General. He was honored for his work in intelligence.
• Bernard Kolasa was a political scientist at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He also served on the Omaha Public Schools School Board for 32 years. He was respected for his work in his field and for supporting Omaha's Polish community.
• John Synowiecki is a Nebraska state senator from Omaha. He also works for Catholic Charities, helping with government relations.
• Michael Zagurski is a baseball pitcher who was born in Omaha on January 27, 1983. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies.