Hamtramck

By Greg Kowalski

Fueled by a massive immigrant influx in the early 20th century, Hamtramck went from being a small farming village to a major industrial town in the space of 10 years. This phenomenal growth attracted national attention and set the city on a sometimes precarious path toward the future. Despite often teetering on financial ruin, the city has always managed to right itself. Once predominantly Polish, Hamtramck has recently turned in a new direction to become one of the most diverse cities in the nation. This human tapestry--intertwining memorable people, places, and events of the past and present--is woven with the many colors that are so richly evident on these pages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Mar 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781439650479

Greg Kowalski

Greg Kowalski spent more than forty years as a journalist reporting for and editing numerous newspapers and magazines--and covering the occasional murder. He is also the executive director of the Hamtramck Historical Museum in Hamtramck. He has written twelve books, ten on Hamtramck.

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Kirpluk.

INTRODUCTION

Everything changes. People and places evolve, and even memories fade. That also is true of cities, especially when they have been around a long time.

Hamtramck, Michigan, was founded in 1798 as a township that stretched from the Detroit River to Base Line Road (Eight Mile Road) and from Woodward Avenue through Grosse Pointe Township. Over the years, Hamtramck shrank as its big neighbor, Detroit, grew and gobbled the township up bit by bit, annexing portions through the 19th century and into the early 20th century. But, in 1901, a group of forward-thinking residents sought to protect the identity of their town and formed the village of Hamtramck, a 2.1-square-mile enclave that soon became completely surrounded by Detroit. In 1922, that urban island incorporated as a city and ensured its independence. But, even by then, the town had undergone a massive transformation—from a farming village of 3,500 people in 1910 to a major industrial town of 48,000 people in 1920. Drawn by the new Dodge Main auto plant and 23 other factories that sprang up in town, Hamtramck’s population exploded. It quickly became the fastest-growing town in America. In fact, in 1915, the federal government did a special census of Hamtramck and found that it was growing at a rate 50 times greater than the rest of the country.

By 1930, the population had reached 56,000 people, all within Hamtramck’s 2.1 square miles. The population density was immense, and the housing stock was inadequate. Such conditions could not persist, as there was not enough room to accommodate so many people in a safe and comfortable environment. Hamtramck began a gradual, then increasingly swift, population decline as people were drawn to the wider spaces of the suburbs.

The greatest population shift occurred following World War II, when young men returned from the armed services. Many had just married and were starting families. They wanted and needed more space—space that was plentiful in the suburbs of Detroit. It was a powerful lure to leave the city. The 1950s and thereafter became a challenging time as the city aged. It was also a time of loss on another front, and some of the old, historic buildings—like the original Hamtramck High School and even the vast and seemingly immortal Dodge Main Plant complex—became obsolete, deteriorated, and ultimately were demolished. Jos. Campau Avenue also lost many of its landmark businesses, but even as the city reeled with a string of crises, it showed its strength and resiliency. This also was a time when the huge and exceptionally popular city festivals were launched as an annual event. Furthermore, there seemed to be an endless stream of special occasions, many of them engineered by Mayor Robert Kozaren, who loved to do things to lift community members’ collective spirits and bring good publicity. Kozaren also had some strong political ties with Detroit, Michigan, and Washington, DC. Consequently, a host of political figures, some on the campaign trail, some just passing through, stopped by the city.

All of this nurtured the soul of Hamtramck, helping carry it through the rough times and assuring the population that this was indeed a vibrant town. Still, the numbers were indisputable. By 1990, the population had shrunk to around 18,000 people, which was not alarming for a city of just over two square miles, but it was big drop from earlier years.

Then, something happened: the population started growing again. There was a new influx of people, yet while Hamtramck’s original population explosion in the early decades of the 20th century had been made up primarily of Polish immigrants drawn to work at the auto factories in town, the new arrivals were (and are) now coming from around the world. Bangladeshis, Yeminis, Bosnians, Albanians, Indians, Russians, and many more have joined the Poles, African Americans, Ukrainians, and others who came before. All have given Hamtramck a new identity as one of the most diverse cities in Michigan—and even the entire nation.

Few people today remember the early immigrant influx, and photographs of that period show a town that bears almost no resemblance to what it is today, which is not surprising. Hamtramck a century ago looked nothing like it did two centuries ago.

Things change. We cannot stop that, and we should not try to. We can learn from the past, but we should not lament its passing, for in reality it was not as good as we remember it to be. We tend to forget all the bad things that occurred and only recall the good. There is a difference between history and nostalgia. Nostalgia is about remembering the good ol’ days of fun childhood baseball games in the street because school had been called off. History is about knowing that there was no school that week because two children died of polio, and the schools had to close (an incident that actually happened).

Still, there is much to treasure, and in a city like Hamtramck, even looking back a few decades opens up a fascinating vista. To view the past in color is a special treat. Most historical photographs are in black and white because when many were taken color film did not exist or was rare. And color photographs, especially old ones, fade. Consequently, there is a tendency