Joseph V. Frnka
Columbus, Colorado County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Joseph V. Frnka, born in Industry, Texas, built a home here in 1906. A self-taught lawyer, Frnka was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1915. A business leader, he was active in the local Masonic Lodge and helped found the Columbus Lions club. In 1923-1927 he represented this area in the Texas House of Representatives. He practiced law locally and in 1945 was appointed assistant state attorney general. Following World War II he served as a prosecutor and judge with the U.S. military government in Germany. Frnka later served as chief title examiner of the Veterans Land Board in Austin.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Joseph V. Frnka, born in the Czech-Texan community of Industry, built this Columbus home in 1906 and taught himself law well enough to join the Texas Bar in 1915. He served in the Texas House in the 1920s, rose to assistant state attorney general, and after World War II sat as a prosecutor and judge with the U.S. military government in occupied Germany.
Why it matters
Frnka's rise from a self-taught country lawyer to a judge overseeing postwar justice in Germany reflects the reach of ordinary Texans into the great events of the American century.
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