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History of French Canadians in
Connecticut
Immigration, the process of coming to a
new country for permanent residence, has been a part of
the United Statesı existence since the beginning of
time. With every new immigrant, a part of his or her
culture becomes a piece of America as they settle into
their new way of life . Because of this simple
transition, America has been known as the melting pot of
cultures. Among many immigrants to come to the United
States, the total number of French Canadians to ever
migrate to America over a couple years is about 1.5
million people.
Canada, as the largest country in the world,
has an area encompassing over six million square miles.
As Americaıs northern neighbor, Canada is surrounded by
the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic oceans.
Canadaıs main provinces are Toronto, with 3.8 million
residents , Montreal with 3.2 million , and Vancouver
with 1.6 million. Although there are French Canadians in
all of these provinces, by far the majority live in
Quebec. The province of Quebec makes up sixteen percent
of Canadaıs total area and over one fourth of itıs
population; therefore, Quebec was the leading point of
departure for French Canadian immigration to the United
States.
Throughout the
decades, the peak years for Canadian immigration to the
United States was the 1920ıs when almost 920,000 new
arrivals crossed the boarder. Waves of migrations have
occurred since the early eighteen hundreds, yet the most
significant period for French Canadian immigration was in
the late eighteen hundreds, early nineteen hundreds when
the majority of the people sought out a better lifestyle.
Work in American textile mills and logging industries was
what drew the immigrants from the bone breaking farm
lands in Canada, whose economic times were tough. In 1869
alone, six new mills opened in the Lewiston area of
Maine.
When they finally did settle, French Canadians
tended to construct a sense of community centered around
family values in addition to a parish and a school in
efforts to make it like home. By sticking together, each
immigrant could lean on others for help in the struggle
to make ends meet. In addition, a large part of
immigrants were young families and therefore would
benefit from such a community. Clustering together to
remain linked to their own culture, the French Canadians
settled all around the New England area. By 1850, about
20,000 immigrants had settled in New England. Generally,
most Canadians did not gravitate towards large cities
such a Boston, Providence or Hartford, yet migrated
towards smaller towns like Manchester, New Hampshire,
Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Fall River and Lowell,
Massachusetts, and Lewiston, Maine. Ironically, these
towns form a circular pattern around Boston and since
1870 Massachusetts claims the majority of the French
Canadian population. Towns like Lowell, Worcester,
Holyoke and Fall River all encompassed the Canadian
population. Yet, later on, the migraters tended to remain
close to the Canadian boarder. States like Michigan,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York and even California held a
lot of French Canadians. Despite this trend, by 1990,
Massachusetts, with 310,636 people, was still the state
with the highest number of French Canadian Americans.
Followed by Michigan with 174,138 residents was
California with 156,625, New York with 155,531, New
Hampshire with 118,857 and finally Connecticut with
110,426. Even though California ranks third , the
Northeast predominates as home to French Canadian
Americans.
The influence of French Canadians on
Connecticut was minor yet definitely recognizable. French
Canadians began arriving to Connecticut at the turn of
the century and located themselves in whatıs called Frog
Hollow, the section between Park and Broad street in
Hartford, CT. Among other cultures, such as Italians,
Germans and Poles, the Canadians preserved their heritage
and their old culture by raising their communities with
the same ideals as "back home ". Restaurants,
churches, markets and stores changed from various ethnic
groups as you traveled from the east side of Hartford to
the west. Influences from every country seemed visible in
Hartford. "The United States census of 1870 listed
10,644 of Hartfordıs population of 37,743 as
"foreign born"." Of these, 396 were
Canadian.
Although French Canadian influence on
Connecticut was minimal, an effect on the rest of the
country was definitely made. French Canadian radio
stations such as WCUW-FM (91.3) or WFEA-AM were being
broad casted publicly; a third famous Franco-American in
baseball was Leo Durocher (1905-1982); newspapers like Le
Patriote Canadien, first published in Burlington, Vermont
on August 7,1839, were established around the areas;
French cuisine was reaching the highly regarded
restaurants as "classy food" and
"Bonjour", a thirty minute television program
was produced in Manchester, New Hampshire on the Cable
Network. In addition, museums and organizations were
growing widespread in efforts to keep French Canadians
feeling at home. The influence was definitely evident.
From the beginning of the eighteenth century,
French Canadians started migrating regularly to the
United States. Sticking together, this population of
newcomers spanned across the Northeast coast, making
their mark wherever they could. As a result, there still
today remains strong influence from those that immigrated
from Canada. Although many cultures come together in
efforts to be a part of the American lifestyle, each
culture retains a part of their own heritage. As a
result, America has become known for itıs diversity.
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