Why is Hubbardston MI Irish?

Hubbardston's Irish identity traces to the chain migration that began with John Cowman's arrival in 1849. Fleeing the Great Famine in Ireland, Cowman found fertile farmland in North Plains Township and sent word back to family and neighbors in Counties Wexford and Monaghan. By 1851, six more Irish families had followed. Over the next three decades, dozens of Irish Catholic families settled the area, drawn by the land and the comfort of an established Irish community with a Catholic parish. By the 1880s, Hubbardston was overwhelmingly Irish Catholic — a character it has maintained for over 170 years through its church, dance troupe, pub culture, and annual St. Patrick's Day celebrations.