after the american civil war and the german kulturkampf of the early 1870s, kashubians emigrated to the united states in much larger numbers. while some headed for the winona area and for portage county, many kashubians wound up living in major urban centers such as buffalo, detroit, chicago, and milwaukee. a smaller number of kashubians settled in small farming communities scattered throughout minnesota, north dakota, and montana. by the turn of the century, kashubian americans tended to identify themselves completely as polish americans, although in winona (at least) the kashubian language would survive for another generation or two.