page_title: Poles in Chicago
section_title: Initial historical Polish patches
hierarchical_section_title: Poles in Chicago / History / Initial historical Polish patches
caption_attribution_description: Saint John Cantius Catholic Church — in the West Side of Chicago, Illinois.
context_page_description: Poles in Chicago are made up of both immigrant Poles and Americans of Polish heritage living in Chicago, Illinois. They are a part of worldwide Polonia, the Polish term for the Polish Diaspora outside 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 Joseph Napieralski, along with other veterans of the November Uprising first set foot there. As of the 2000 U.S. census, Poles in Chicago were the largest European American ethnic group in the city, making up 7.3% of the total population. However, according to the 2006–2008 American Community Survey, German Americans and Irish Americans each had slightly surpassed Polish Americans as the largest European American ethnic groups in Chicago. German Americans made up 7.3% of the population, and numbered at 199,789; Irish Americans also made up 7.3% of the population, and numbered at 199,294. Polish Americans now made up 6.7% of Chicago's population, and numbered at 182,064. Polish is the third most widely spoken language in Chicago behind English and Spanish.
context_section_description: In Polish the ending 'owo' in e.g., 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.
  Polish Downtown- (Pulaski Park, River West, Bucktown, Wicker Park, East Village, and Noble Square)
  Trojcowo – The area around Holy Trinity Polish Mission
  Stanislawowo – The area around St. Stanislaus Kostka in Chicago
  Kantowo – The area around St. John Cantius in Chicago
  Mlodziankowo – The area around Holy Innocents in Chicago
  Fidelisowo – The area around St. Fidelis
  Helenowo – The area around St. Helen
  Marianowo – The area around St. Mary of the Angels in Chicago
  Jadwigowo – The area around St. Hedwig's in Chicago
  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
caption: St. John Cantius Roman Catholic Church, one of Chicago's 'Polish Cathedrals'.
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