The term "Kashubia" today is used for a part of northwestern Poland in which Kashubian Poles live, and in which the Kashubian language is spoken. It does not now describe, nor has it ever described a territory ruled by Kashubian Poles or even one in which Kashubian Poles have made up a significant majority. The map below, by the scholar Dr. Jan Mordawski, shows the districts of Poland where Kashubian Poles lived in 1999: they do constitute a majority in some parts but do not in others.
The map below shows the home towns and villages of Kashubians who emigrated to Winona and Pine Creek. It is a much smaller part of southern Kashubia, bounded roughly by Bytow, Koscierzyna, Czersk, and Lipnica, in what is called the "Kashubian Switzerland" due to its rolling hills and numerous lakes. Despite its undeniable beauty, the "Kashubian Switzerland" is not noted for its fertile farm land, which was a major factor in driving Kashubians to emigrate in the second half of the nineteenth century. Often Kashubians from a single village, or from an area of nearby villages, would emigrate to the United States in a single group.
