Gilbert Onderdonk and Nursery, Texas
Nursery, Victoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Pioneer horticulturist Gilbert Onderdonk (1829-1920) exhibited early talent in his native New York, developing new varieties of potatoes that earned him recognition when he was still a teenager. After graduating from the New York State Normal School in 1849, he sought a warmer climate due to health concerns and moved to Texas, arriving at the port of Indianola in 1851. He was employed as a teacher and ranch worker at Green Lake in Calhoun County. His health improved and he soon met Martha Jane Benham. They married in 1855 and moved to Mission Valley in Victoria County, where Onderdonk established his first nursery east of Coleto Creek. After serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, Onderdonk returned to his family and his nursery business. A new railroad line connected Victoria and Cuero in the 1870s, and in 1883 Martha Onderdonk purchased 100 acres nearby for a branch of the Onderdonk Nursery. A post office named Nursery soon opened, and Gilbert Onderdonk served as both postmaster and Wells Fargo shipping agent, a position he used to advantage in his mail order nursery business. The small town of Nursery grew up around the railroad, post office and nursery operations, and a new bridge built over the Guadalupe River in 1895 helped bring more settlers to the area. The Onderdonk family donated land for a Methodist church in 1901. Gilbert Onderdonk was highly successful in developing new varieties of peach and other fruit trees, earning many accolades and a national reputation. He died in July 1920 at age 90 and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Victoria. (2007)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Pioneer horticulturist Gilbert Onderdonk (1829–1920) left New York for the warmer Texas coast in 1851 for his health, and after the Civil War built a renowned nursery business in Victoria County. When the railroad reached the area, his family opened a branch nursery in 1883 around which the town of Nursery grew, complete with a post office where Onderdonk served as postmaster and shipping agent for his mail-order trade. He earned a national reputation developing new varieties of peach and other fruit trees.
Why it matters
Onderdonk helped establish commercial fruit growing in the South, showing how rail lines and scientific horticulture transformed the agricultural map of Texas.
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Related people
- · Gilbert Onderdonk
- · Martha Jane Benham Onderdonk
Themes & tags
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