Immigration to Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo's establishment as a major city on the western side of Michigan marks the establishment of Dutch and German settlers seeking opportunity in the newly established state in the early 1800s. European, Canadian, Irish, and Dutch immigrants bought or obtained the land from Native Americans and began to establish a dense farming culture that cultivated celery, which served as the area's main crop that was shipped around the states and used for medicinal and nutritional purposes. Immigration has long served as one of the most effective ways to boost a small or dwindling areas development, as the introduction of new culture, labor, artisans, and new demographics spurred the growing trajectory of the city that would allow it to host vast and fertile farmland, successful industrial sectors, a profitable entrepreneurial sector and overall prosperity of the city.

The Kalamazoo public library and the 1850 census analysis show that Dutch immigrants had the largest influence on the city of each demographic. Originally, the Kalamazoo public library article The Dutch Influence states that rather than feeling due to persecution, famine or economic hardship, the religious hardliners of early western settlers were motivated by grievances with the Dutch monarchy and the Dutch reformation (The Dutch Influence, 2023). Additional factors that may have influenced immigration were poor economic conditions following the Napoleonic wars, an increase on taxes for the wealthy, the crippling potato blight affecting Ireland, and land availability decreasing compared to the promise of the new world.  The article also reports that “by 1900, those born in the Netherlands or their children accounted for roughly 25 percent of Kalamazoo's population’ (The Dutch Influence, 2023). The Dutch relocation led to the establishment of the Dutch triangle, where three cities became the prime destination for the Dutch, Kalamazoo, Holland, and Grand Rapids as they met Dutch Catholics on their way to Wisconsin and wanted to remain separate. The Paulus denBleyker party presents a historical account of the establishment of Dutch business and culture in Kalamazoo, as wealthy financier Paulus denBleyker led a group of 28 to purchase land in Illinois or Iowa. They stopped in Kalamazoo, and were quarantined after several members were contagious with Cholera. DenBleyker was not interested in forming a religious enclave and was more interested in the business opportunity in Kalamazoo, so much so that he stayed and abandoned his original venture. Paulus would go on to own a 180 acre farm and raise his son and grandson to be successful real estate developers like himself. He gained a reputation among Dutch immigrants as a goal, a status and wealth to strive towards, which resulted in the nickname the “Dutch Governor” and he played a role in developing a network of dutch Immigrants that would go on to provide a large amount of labor to kalamazoo in the mid 1800s (The Dutch Influence, 2023). The 1850 census reports Holland as the second largest immigration demographic during the time period, with 134 new residents, 39 behind Ireland’s 173. 48 of these were counted as laborers, and ten Dutch immigrants reported that their head of household was a farmer, each with varying value of their respective estates, some reaching 20,000. These statistics indicate that the Dutch were an integral portion of the early labor and farming sectors of the Kalamazoo economy, as the northern portion of where the Dutch settled shared similar swampy characteristics to those of their homeland, resulting in the boom of the celery industry.

The Irish also presented the community with a large surge of population growth and an increase of local culture and regional outlooks. KPL’s article Irish in Kalamazoo details that most Irish immigrants ended up as manual laborers in Detroit or Grand Rapids, or migrated north to join the growing mining and lumber industries. The article also talks about how the 1850 census reports that 270 Irish residents resided in Kalamazoo county, only doubling over the next 50 years. The small number of residents did not account for the cultural changes that resulted, as locals report that there was a heavy participation in local church affairs, and that Cork Street was named to give representation to those in the city with connections to County Cork, Ireland. (Irish in Kalamazoo). The 1850 census spreadsheet goes into more detail, accounting for 173 residents, only 5 of which became farmers, and 44 of which joined the labor sector. There were a large number of female immigrants from Ireland, as 78 were recorded to Men’s 98. The average marriage percentage of 42 percent can allow us to arrive at the conclusion that many of these immigrants started or came with their families and left the great potato famine of this time period to search for alternative work, as Mchigan has a suitable climate for growing potatoes and was a popular destination for the Irish because of this as well as opportunities provided by the industrial revolution. An article from MLIVE reports that friction between the Puritan ethics of the Dutch and Catholic Irish developed, as the Dutch, who had more influence and money than the Irish looked down upon drinking and had strict work ethics, and likely looked down on the Irish whose pubs were social centers.(Jessup, 2010)

The third ethnic group that contributed the most to Kalamazoo and played a large role in economic development and cultural diversity was Germans, as many brought skills and trade knowledge to their communities. They came and were brewers, shoemakers, painters, tailors and blacksmiths, and the Haymarket District saw a congregation of German American merchants who operated out of large commercial buildings along Main, Edwards, and Burdick streets (Germans in Kalamazoo).  A large number of Germans were successful entrepreneurs, with Sam Folz, the “clothing king” owning a large clothing store that was one of the most elaborate in the state, Folz would become mayor in 1903 and was appointed postmaster by Woodrow Wilson. His obituary lists his involvement in the community as one of the organizers of the Grand Army Realty Board, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and Director of the Lee Paper Company, which employed a significant number of Irish immigrants and shows how these ethnic communities interacted and worked with each other. (Germans in Kalamazoo). German Catholics also contributed to cultural evolutions in Kalamazoo, as most of the members of St Augustine's Church, built in 1869 were German. And by 1893 100 German families were members of the church.(Germans in Kalamazoo). The 1850 census only accounts for 27 German immigrants, with a high average employment rate and a majority of them being in working age, as only 7 are above the age of 30. Most of these also had a large number of people in their households, indicating that there was likely more Germans in the city than the census accounted for, which is backed up by the accounts of entrepreneurial and labor influence that their demographic had, despite accounting for less of the population than Dutch and Irish immigrants.

The overall implications of population growth and immigration into Kalamazoo presented agricultural and industrial benefits, as the newly acquired workforce contributed to economic and population growth, as the Germans specialized in trade for local industry, the Dutch in farming techniques, and the Irish in Labor, each group fostering economic growth in each sector respectively. Additionally, religious and cultural institutions grew under these communities, as Germans brought Luteran and Catholic churches, as well as traditions such as music, festivals and cuisine. The Dutch also brought their own Calvinist religious traditions, as they established the Christian Reformed churches in the area and these were essential to the communities social and spiritual life. The Irish immigrants also established Catholic practices, as St Augustine was a central community point to both German and Irish immigrants, as both were catholic. These three groups would serve the community as opportunities to grow economically, culturally, and socially, as the existing community experienced a variety of benefits from the organization and introduction of these groups in early communal life.

Works Cited

Kathy Jessup | Special to the Gazette. (2010, December 27). Kalamazoo has been both a boiling pot and a melting pot throughout its history. mlive. https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2010/12/kalamazoo_has_been_both_a_boil.html

Kalamazoo Public Library. (n.d.). The Dutch influence. Kalamazoo Public Library. https://www.kpl.gov/local-history/kalamazoo-history/immigrants/the-dutch-influence/ 

Kalamazoo Public Library. (n.d.-a). Germans in Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo Public Library. https://www.kpl.gov/local-history/kalamazoo-history/immigrants/germans-in-kalamazoo-2/ 

Kalamazoo Public Library. (n.d.-b). Irish in Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo Public Library. https://www.kpl.gov/local-history/kalamazoo-history/immigrants/irish-in-kalamazoo/