From the Boston Globe: Massachusetts’ ethnic mosaic

The story includes interactive maps, clusters of interest, state averages, and search tools.

Polish immigrants make up 5.3% of the state’s population. I had always thought that Poles had primarily congregated in the Chicopee area. In fact, Adams, MA has the largest percentage of people self-identifying as Polish-Americans — 29.1% of the local population. The story also notes the unfortunate breakdowns we see in the social fabric of a community, with R.C. church and business closings.

Adams, a small town in the Berkshires, has long had a significant Polish presence. Immigrants came in the early 1990s to work in the textile mills, and today about 28 percent of residents report Polish ancestry. Lisa Mendel of the local chapter of the Polish National Alliance said they hold a Polish dance classes for kids each Tuesday night. “We still try to hold onto our Polish culture and traditions,” she said. Yet some have faded. A Polish deli closed a couple years back, as did a Polish Catholic church.

The rest of the story:

Ever since the Pilgrims landed, waves of immigrants have come to Massachusetts, weaving themselves into the fabric of cities and towns with their food, music, idioms, and culture.

By far the largest, and most defining, were Irish, tens of thousands of whom crossed the ocean in the mid-19th century to escape famine. Many moved south of Boston, settling in coastal suburbs that became known as the Irish Riviera. Statewide, nearly one in four residents are of Irish descent, newly released Census data show.

Until the late 19th century, immigrants to Boston were almost exclusively from western Europe, primarily England, Scotland, and Ireland. But in the 1880s, immigrants began arriving from Poland, Russia, and especially Italy. Like the Irish before them, they settled in Boston, then gradually migrated outward.

In recent decades, an influx of immigrants from Portugal and Cape Verde, Asia, and an array of Spanish-speaking countries have settled in Massachusetts, creating vibrant clusters across the state that endure today — from Puerto Ricans in Holyoke to the Portuguese in the New Bedford area. – Peter Schworm