Did You Know …
The most significant story of the first half of the 20th century was the influx of Polish immigrants who began arriving in the area around the turn of the century. Often they worked first as farm laborers, saving up enough money to eventually buy farms of their own. By the middle of the 20th century, most of the land was farmed by families of Polish descent.
Typical of these Polish farmers was Konstanty Cichanowicz. He came to America as a young man in 1902. He was employed for a few years on a local farm, and then moved to Glen Cove where he was an estate manager. Along the way, he met and married Adele Lipnicka, who was also born in Poland. In 1923 they bought the farm just west of the museum complex.
The old Isaiah Hallock house on the farm had burned down in 1915. The Cichanowiczes initially lived in a small outbuilding. But, by about 1930, the hard-working family had saved enough money to build the four-square farmhouse that now is part of the museum. Konstanty farmed the property successfully until his death in 1944. His children and grandchildren continued to farm that property and land across the street.
One by one, all of the old Hallock farms were either acquired or taken over by Kujawskis, Trubiszes, Celics, Naugles, Cichanowiczes and Romanowskis. These families all worked hard and became successful farmers. Like the Hallocks before them, in most cases they passed on their farms for two or three subsequent generations. In the end, their run on the property may be as long as was the Hallocks’.
Typically, the first generation worked hard and acquired the farm and made a success of the operation. Generally, the next generation also stayed on the farm, with the third generation often moving on to other occupations.
Written by Board Member and resident historian Richard Wines. To read more, visit Polish Immigrant Farmers Achieve Success.
|
