F.W. Flato

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about F.W. Flato, straight out of Fayette County, Texas. Now, some men leave a mark on a place.

F.W. Flato left his name on one. Born on February 22, 1820, in Bremen, Germany, Flato made his way across the Atlantic and arrived in Texas in 1846, setting down roots first in Austin County.

He brought with him the kind of restless ambition that doesn't stay put for long. By 1866, Flato and his wife, Sophia Welhausen, had moved themselves to southwestern Fayette County, where they set up a mercantile business, and by all accounts, a successful one. The town that grew up around that enterprise?

They named it Flatonia. In his honor. Not a bad legacy for a man who started out as an immigrant with a suitcase and a plan.

And he served as its postmaster, too, so he was both the reason the town had a name and the man handling its mail. Then came 1873, and with it the GH&SA Railway pushing into Fayette County. Now, a lesser man might have watched the rail line pass him by.

Not Flato. He helped negotiate moving the town itself closer to the new line, because if the future is comin' through on iron rails, you don't stand on the platform and wave, you move the whole station. Ever the entrepreneur, the marker calls him, and the record bears that out.

He built a brick factory. He built a steam saw mill. But what he was best known for was promoting land sales to the immigrants settling along that new rail line, helping newcomers find their footing in the same country he'd once come to as a stranger himself.

After a final move to Kendall County, F.W. Flato died on May 18, 1899. He's buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, in Flatonia.

The town still carries his name. Not a bad place to rest.

What the marker says

Born on February 22, 1820, in Bremen, Germany, F.W. Flato immigrated to Texas in 1846 and settled in Austin County. Flato and his wife, Sophia Welhausen, moved to southwestern Fayette County by 1866 where they operated a successful mercantile business. Eventually, the town was named Flatonia in his honor and he became its postmaster. When the GH&SA Railway approached Fayette County in 1873, Flato helped negotiate the move of the town closer to the rail line. Ever the entrepreneur, Flato built a brick factory and a steam saw mill, but was best known for his work promoting land sales to immigrants settling the area along the new rail line. After a final move to Kendall County, Flato died on May 18, 1899, and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Flatonia.