Panna Maria, Texas
Panna Maria, Karnes County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Oldest Permanent Polish Colony in America Panna Maria, Texas Settled by 100 Polish families who came to Texas to gain economic, political and religious freedom. Led by Father Leopold Moczygemba, O.F.M., Conv., they made a contract in 1854 with John Twohig, a San Antonio banker and merchant, for land at this site. The colonists, natives of Upper Silesia and Krakow, landed at Galveston after a hard voyage of nine weeks on a sailing ship. They hired Mexican carts to haul their farm implements, featherbeds, and the cross from their parish church in Poland. The 800 men, women, and children walked - some in boots, others barefoot - the 200 miles inland to their new home. Babies were born on the way, and some of the people died. All suffered from hunger and exposure. On Dec. 24, 1854, they reached this site. They named it Panna Maria (Virgin Mary), placing it under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception. Beneath a large oak they offered their first Midnight Mass of thanksgiving and petition for strength and courage. They camped out until they could put up huts of mud, straw or wood, later building in stone. In spite of hardships, they founded a stable community, aided in settling other frontiers, pioneered in education, and gave Texas many patriotic, dedicated citizens. (1966)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On Christmas Eve 1854, about a hundred Polish families from Upper Silesia and Krakow reached this spot and founded Panna Maria—the oldest permanent Polish colony in America. Led by Father Leopold Moczygemba and having contracted for land through San Antonio banker John Twohig, they had endured a nine-week ocean voyage and a 200-mile inland walk, some barefoot, carrying featherbeds and the cross from their parish church in Poland. Naming the site for the Virgin Mary, they celebrated a first Midnight Mass beneath a great oak and built their new home from mud, straw, and eventually stone.
Why it matters
Panna Maria is the cradle of Polish America, where immigrants seeking economic, political, and religious freedom planted a community whose faith and culture endure to this day.
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Related people
- · Leopold Moczygemba
- · John Twohig
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Town of Panna Maria
Panna Maria, TX
On Christmas Eve of 1854, the Rev. Leopold Moczygemba established Panna Maria, the oldest Polish settlement in Texas, having helped bring roughly 100 Polish peasant families across the ocean to the Karnes County prairie. The transition was hard, and within a few months many of the families scattered to seek homes elsewhere in Texas. Those who stayed rooted a Polish American community that endures on this spot.
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