DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Gilbert Onderdonk — now there's a name that deserves to be said slow. Born in New York in 1829, and the man was barely a teenager when he was already turning heads, developing new varieties of potatoes that earned him recognition before most boys his age had figured out what they were good for.
He graduated from the New York State Normal School in 1849, and then his health started speaking to him — said, get somewhere warmer. So Gilbert listened. He came to Texas, stepping off at the port of Indianola in 1851, and that decision, well, it would shape a whole corner of this state in ways nobody could have guessed standing on that dock.
He worked as a teacher and a ranch hand out at Green Lake in Calhoun County, and somewhere in all that honest labor, his health improved. Then he met Martha Jane Benham. They married in 1855 and moved to Mission Valley right here in Victoria County, where Onderdonk established his first nursery east of Coleto Creek.
A man with dirt under his fingernails and a vision in his head — that's a dangerous combination. Then came the Civil War, and like so many others, Onderdonk served in the Confederate Army. When it was over, he came back.
Back to his family, back to his nursery, back to the work. A new railroad line connected Victoria and Cuero in the 1870s, and by 1883 Martha Onderdonk had purchased a hundred acres nearby for a branch of the Onderdonk Nursery. A post office opened up not long after — named, plain and simple, Nursery.
Gilbert ran it as postmaster and served as the Wells Fargo shipping agent too, and you better believe a man in that position knew how to run a mail order nursery business. The town of Nursery grew right up around the railroad and the post office and the nursery operations, like something planted and tended with purpose. In 1895 a new bridge over the Guadalupe River brought more settlers into the area, and in 1901 the Onderdonk family donated land for a Methodist church.
All the while, Gilbert kept doing what he'd always done — coaxing something new out of the earth. He developed new varieties of peach and other fruit trees that earned him accolades and a national reputation. The boy who'd impressed people with potatoes in New York lived long enough to become one of the most respected horticulturists this country had ever seen.
Gilbert Onderdonk died in July 1920, at the age of ninety, and he's buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Victoria. Ninety years. New York to Indianola to Coleto Creek to a town that still carries the name of what he built.
Not a bad run for a man who just needed a warmer place to breathe.
What the marker says
Pioneer horticulturist Gilbert Onderdonk (1829-1920) exhibited early talent in his native New York, developing new varieties of potatoes that earned him recognition when he was still a teenager. After graduating from the New York State Normal School in 1849, he sought a warmer climate due to health concerns and moved to Texas, arriving at the port of Indianola in 1851. He was employed as a teacher and ranch worker at Green Lake in Calhoun County. His health improved and he soon met Martha Jane Benham. They married in 1855 and moved to Mission Valley in Victoria County, where Onderdonk established his first nursery east of Coleto Creek. After serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, Onderdonk returned to his family and his nursery business. A new railroad line connected Victoria and Cuero in the 1870s, and in 1883 Martha Onderdonk purchased 100 acres nearby for a branch of the Onderdonk Nursery. A post office named Nursery soon opened, and Gilbert Onderdonk served as both postmaster and Wells Fargo shipping agent, a position he used to advantage in his mail order nursery business. The small town of Nursery grew up around the railroad, post office and nursery operations, and a new bridge built over the Guadalupe River in 1895 helped bring more settlers to the area. The Onderdonk family donated land for a Methodist church in 1901. Gilbert Onderdonk was highly successful in developing new varieties of peach and other fruit trees, earning many accolades and a national reputation. He died in July 1920 at age 90 and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Victoria. (2007)