South Brooklyn Polish Neighborhoods ( est.1930s)
The neighborhood known as South Brooklyn was first organized as Brooklyn Township in 1814 on land belonging to farmer Warren Young. Residents called the area Brighton Village and it was incorporated as such in 1838 but in 1839 the name was returned to Brooklyn Township. By 1880, most of the inhabitants were of German heritage. Many were gardeners by trade. In 1889, the area was incorporated as South Brooklyn Village. The city of Cleveland officially annexed the village in 1903 but the area would still remain known as South Brooklyn.
In the early 1900s, first and second generation Polish immigrants began moving out of their original settlements in Cleveland. By 1930, many original residents of the Kantowa (Tremont) neighborhood had settled in South Brooklyn. In 1934, a group of South Brooklyn Polish Catholics petitioned the Bishop for their own parish. Being the Depression era, the Bishop informed them that there were no funds to start a new parish and that they should worship at the Polish parish of St. Barbara’s on Denison Ave. The residents continued to petition the Bishop and noted the possibility of a Polish National Catholic Church forming in the area. This prompted the Bishop to submit to the demands of the residents and in 1935 the Corpus Christi Parish was established.
The old Polish neighborhood of South Brooklyn is centered around the intersection of Biddulph and Pearl Roads.