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Polish Falcons of America Nests (Sokolstwo Polskie w Ameryce)

PolishRoots and the Polish Falcons of America have joined hands in promoting Polish history and culture to our internet subscribers. Thanks to Polish Falcons' President Wallace Zielinski and Vice-president Timothy Kuzma, PolishRoots is proud to bring to our researchers, a complete list of the fraternal lodges, called "nests" of the Polish Falcons of America.

 

Founded from the Sokol movement started in Bohemia by Miroslav Tyrs in the mid-19th Century, it soon spread into Poland with its concept of "a sound mind in a sound body." The Polish Falcons of America were founded in Chicago, IL on June 12, 1887, as the Alliance of Polish Turners of the United States of America, and soon, nests were located in every heavily populated Polish enclave in the country. With a predominance in the Great Lakes and industrialized Northeast, the Falcons continued to grow, spurred on by the increased patriotism developing prior to World War I. As a direct result of this patriotism, recruitment for an independent Polish Army was started prior to the outbreak of the War, and continued with the eventual formation of the Polish Army in France, also know as Haller's Army and the Blue Army. The headquarters moved to Pittsburgh in 1912 and are located there today.

 

A brief summary of the changes in the Falcons organization:

 

In 1905, the Polish Falcons merged with the PNA.
In 1909, a group broke off and became the Free Falcons.
In 1912, they all separated from PNA.
In 1914, the Falcons were called the Związek Sokołów Polskich w Ameryce (ZSP ) (this is what shows up on Haller's army enlistment forms)
In 1928, the Falcons became the Sokolstwo Polskie w Ameryce.

 

We invite you to check out and support the Polish Falcons of America website at www.polishfalcons.org

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