In 1902, Sophie Dahowski became the first Polish person to own a home lot on Old Main Street in Deerfield, Massachusetts. While the character of the town is typically associated with Indigenous and early American history, the town’s population drastically diversified in the 19th and 20th centuries as a result of increased immigration. Dahowski is representative of Deerfield’s Polish population, a population that would explode in quantity and remain visible in the modern day. A 1900 issue of the Greenfield Gazette predicted that the Poles “will be rich men.” The story of Polish immigrants in Deerfield is one of social and economic mobility, the town having all the factors available for the Poles to succeed within a foreign landscape. Originally arriving as farm laborers, Polish immigrants were able to accumulate savings to the point that they became the farm owners who originally hired them. Further generations of these Poles would seek opportunities for upward mobility through education, moving on to becoming teachers, lawyers, accountants, and integral parts of the American landscape. With these later generations comes the unique challenge of balancing one’s culture with the need to assimilate into a new culture and place. While families and individuals hold immense pride in their Polish heritage, assimilation through the loss of linguistics skills, Polish institutions, and personal connection to the culture are experienced. Deerfield serves not only as a case study of upward mobility, but also as one of the transitions of “Polish” culture into “Polish American” culture.

Dr. Silvana Siddali played an essential role in the completion of this paper and has been a consistent source of support for Weronika throughout this process. Without her encouragement, Weronika wouldn’t have pushed her writing and research skills to the extent that they had. This process has made Weronika not only a more critical researcher but a better writer. Additional thanks go to Dr. Lori Glover for acting as a second reader on this project, and Dr. Barbara Mathews, former academic director of Historic Deerfield, which was the place that gave inception to this paper.