From the 1670s to around the 1710s, settlers time and time again tried to settle the general area of Worcester, but failed every single time. Much of the time, The indigenous Nipmuc people occupied the Worcester area and lived around the Auburn area. Luckily, in 1713, Jonas Rice managed to establish the small settlement of Worcester after 2 failed attempts. By 1718, the town had 250 people but had been struggling to stay afloat. However, five ships with Worcester’s saving grace came along. On August 4th, 1718, nearly 12,000 Scotch-Irish immigrants landed in Boston from Ulster, Ireland. At the time, the Massachusetts governor asked that 250 of the Scotch-Irish immigrants go to Worcester. Little did we know, these 250 men and women were the reason why we still stand here in Worcester today. In essence, they made our population go up twofold and played a pivotal role in raising the small town of Worcester into something bigger. Without the help of the Scotch-Irish, the town of Worcester most likely would’ve disappeared, and none of us would be here in Worcester now.
In 1826, many immigrant groups would come to Worcester for work. The vast majority of them were Irish. Aside from that, many other groups of immigrants came, like the Jewish immigrants, and the French-Canadians. Nearly all of the workers came to Worcester to work on the upcoming Blackstone Canal.
The place where they all resided was what is now known as Green Island. It’s a quite large neighborhood located by the I-290 highway. While it was primarily the Irish that lived there, it was also home to essentially all of the other Immigrants in Worcester in the 1800s.
Much of the Green Island’s achievements can be credited to Tobey Boland. Boland worked hard as an Irish immigrant. He lived in Green Island with the rest of the Irish Immigrants, and worked to make the Worcester community the best for everyone in Green Island. He planned out new housing for the immigrants, he opened the first Irish store in Worcester. One of the biggest achievements of Boland was creating the first Catholic school in Worcester in his own house, but then moved to a building which would eventually be used for Holy Cross, so in all technicality, he was the first benefactor of Holy Cross. Alongside that he also helped establish the first Catholic church in Worcester and laid the cornerstone of the church. Year after year, the Irish would keep coming to Worcester, mainly in the 1850s after the famine in Ireland. In the 1860s and the 1880s, the first Polish people arrived in Worcester and would settle into Green Island.
After the 2nd World War, only more immigrants kept on coming! Not only that, post-Vietnam War, a large Vietnamese population would join the area too, being one of the most populous immigrant groups here in Worcester. Looking at this, you would already think this is a huge achievement, but the neighborhood keeps on growing even now. The Latino population in Green Island is on the rise. Many Latinos traveled to Worcester for better opportunities and to escape crises from their countries. Latinos. make up about 40% of the population of Green Island. African communities too! About 6% of Green Island’s population is African, and even continues to grow because of immigration from other countries! Green Island is undoubtedly one the most important communities in Worcester. They’ve shown resilience but also so much unity through the almost 200 years it’s existed. Green Island is the vibrant home of the majority of immigrants here in Worcester.
Massachusetts as a whole has one of the largest immigration populations in the USA, and we’re right here in the middle of it. Worcester in the last couple of decades has grown exponentially. Prior to the 1900s, the bulk of all the immigrants in Worcester were exclusively European, but things are starting to change. Lately, Worcester has had an influx of Brazilian, Chinese, Indian, Dominican, and Vietnamese people. Worcester has one of the highest Ghanian populations in the country as well. In 2023, it was reported that 23% of the population of Worcester was foreign born. That’s a lot of people Many immigrants that come to Worcester usually make their own businesses. Emmanuel Larbi is a Ghanaian born immigrant and runs Accra Girls on Grafton street with his mother, a Ghanaian restaurant and catering business.
(Credit to Worcester Business Journal for photography.)
Rosy and Marcos Reynoso, immigrants from the Dominican Republic have run their own beauty salon for around 30 years on Main street. Immigrants are integral to the community and give back to the community the best they can. However, that brings a whole lot of new risks too. With ICE being rampant in their search for undocumented citizens, immigrants are at risk of being targeted by them; whether they’re legal or not. Recently, ICE has been active in Worcester and has made several arrests in the area. Luckily, the Worcester Police Department has refused to collaborate with ICE which at least helps people in some way. Immigrants are the individuals who turned Worcester and many other cities in Worcester into the economical powerhouses but also cultural they are. However, with the political tides turning, will Worcester continue to embrace their immigrant population or get swayed by the winds of politics?
