Joseph L. Leshikar House
New Ulm, Austin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
After Rev. Josef E. Bergman of Cat Spring wrote letter praising Texas, 33 Czech families immigrated to locality, 1851-1853. This first home was built in 1854 by Josef L. Leshikar and his 4 sons. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Rev. Josef E. Bergman of Cat Spring sent home a letter praising Texas, some 33 Czech families answered the call and immigrated between 1851 and 1853 — among the earliest waves of Czech settlement in America. Josef L. Leshikar and his four sons built this first home in 1854.
Why it matters
It marks a foundational moment in Czech-American immigration, when a single letter helped plant one of the oldest Czech communities in the United States on Texas soil.
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Related people
- · Josef L. Leshikar
- · Josef E. Bergman
Related events
- · Czech immigration to Texas
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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This marker traces the roots of Czech settlement in Texas, beginning with a lone customs officer in 1829 Galveston and swelling into the organized migrations of the 1850s. Letters home from the Rev. Josef Arnest Bergman, a Czech settler at nearby Cat Spring, drew whole family parties across the Atlantic — the Silars, Lesikars, Mareses and others whose names filled the ship logs. Guided by Bergman's counsel, many took up farming in Austin County, and the community grew heavier in the 1870s, eventually spreading Czech language, festivals, and culture across the state.
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