Joseph and Catherine Bartula
Bremond, Robertson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born in Poland, Joseph (1840-1919) and Catherine (1841-1907) Bartula overcame many hardships after migrating to Texas in 1873. They became the first Polish settlers in Robertson County in 1875. Assisted by J. C. and Mary Roberts, on whose farm he worked, Bartula wrote letters urging other Polish immigrants to join him. Soon 50 families arrived from Poland and 60 moved here from the Marlin area. By 1885, the town of Bremond had the largest Polish settlement in Texas, 345 families. Bartula later bought his own farm and became a leader in community and church affairs. The Bartulas had ten children. (1975)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Poland, Joseph and Catherine Bartula endured the hardships of emigration to reach Texas in 1873 and became, in 1875, the first Polish settlers in Robertson County. Working on the farm of J. C. and Mary Roberts, Joseph wrote letters home urging others to follow — and follow they did, some fifty families arriving from Poland and sixty more from Marlin, until by 1885 nearby Bremond held the largest Polish settlement in Texas at 345 families. Bartula went on to buy his own farm and lead the community's civic and church life.
Why it matters
One immigrant's letters home seeded the largest Polish community in Texas, a vivid example of the chain migration that built ethnic settlements across rural America.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Joseph Bartula
- · Catherine Bartula
- · J. C. Roberts
- · Mary Roberts
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
St. Mary's Catholic Church
Bremond, TX
St. Mary's was founded in 1876 to serve the Polish immigrants who were settling around Bremond in that decade. The parish built its first church in 1879 and, under Fathers Krypajtis and Szymanski, raised the present Gothic edifice in 1908, donating much of the labor themselves and carrying its font and sacred art over from the older building. Descendants of the original settlers still return each year to worship there.
Bremond
Bremond, TX
Once part of an 1841 land grant, this site was sold in 1869 to investors who promptly granted right-of-way to the Houston and Texas Central Railway. The first train arrived in 1870 to a crowd of more than a thousand, and the new town—named for railroad executive Paul Bremond—quickly gained merchants, churches, doctors, a school, and a newspaper. Joseph Bartula and his family were among the many Polish immigrants who began arriving in the 1870s.
Kimik Kiln
Kosse, TX
Limestone County's rich kaolin clay, found in the Wilcox formation, made it a center of 19th-century Texas pottery. Most kilns were of the "groundhog" type—a brick- or rock-lined underground passage drawing heat from a firebox to bake ware within. German immigrant Lee Kimik built one such kiln active in the 1870s and 1880s, notable for its deeper sidewalls and for the rare practice of marking his pottery, which he sold directly to nearby Headsville. Archeologists documented the site in 1984.
Calvert Jewish Cemetery
Calvert, TX
In the decades when railroads stitched Texas together, the Houston and Texas Central line brought a small but thriving Jewish community to Calvert. Merchants like the Sanger brothers, Rudolph Oscar and Jake Abrams opened stores, a grand hotel and a saloon, and by 1870 Jewish families ran roughly sixteen downtown businesses. Without a synagogue or rabbi, the community still kept its traditions and, beginning in the 1870s, consecrated this cemetery — the first section bought during a yellow fever outbreak — where about 125 people now rest.