Manda

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Manda, up in Travis County. Now, most Texas towns got their names from generals, or rivers, or some fella who just happened to own the land. But Manda?

Manda got its name from a woman. Amanda Bengtson Gustafson, to be precise, sister of the town's very own postmaster. Swedish immigrants founded this community in the 1880s, and somebody decided that was worth commemorating in the most personal way possible.

Not a battle. Not a creek. A sister.

I like that. By the 1890s, this little patch of Travis County had pulled itself together into something real. Homes.

Farms. A cotton gin to keep the harvest moving. A general store for everything else.

And a blacksmith shop, because no frontier community got far without somebody who could bend iron to its will. Then came the congregations. The Manda Swedish Methodist Congregation organized in 1892, and they worshipped together long enough to build themselves a proper sanctuary in 1909.

That congregation stayed active all the way until 1962. A Lutheran chapel went up in 1896, adding another steeple to the skyline of this Swedish settlement on the Texas prairie. The Methodist cemetery is still there today, quiet and steady, doing what cemeteries do best: holding the memory of the people who showed up first.

In 1947, the area schools came together to form the Manda School District, and that school building, once full of children reciting lessons in a community their grandparents had carved from nothing, now serves as a community center. Amanda Bengtson Gustafson never ran for office. Never led a cavalry charge.

But a whole community carries her name across the generations. Not a bad legacy for a postmaster's sister.

What the marker says

Founded by Swedish immigrants in the 1880s, this community was named for Amanda Bengtson Gustafson, sister of the town's postmaster. By the 1890s Manda boasted homes, farms, a cotton gin, general store, and blacksmith shop. The Manda Swedish Methodist Congregation, organized in 1892, built a sanctuary in 1909 and was active until 1962. A Lutheran chapel was built in 1896. The Methodist cemetery serves as a reminder of the early settlement. In 1947 area schools combined to form the Manda School District. The school building now serves as a community center. (1990)