Mosty Brothers Nursery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Mosty Brothers Nursery in Kerr County. Now settle in, because this one's got roots that go deep. Leander A.

Mosty came from Belgian immigrant stock, and before he ever set eyes on the Texas Hill Country, he was out on the Kansas plains working as a cattle driver and broker. That's a man who knew how to read a landscape and spot an opportunity. And when he migrated to Kerr County in 1897, something caught his eye.

The land along the Guadalupe River was, as the marker puts it, sparsely treed. Most folks might see a problem. Leander Mosty saw a market.

He and his wife Elizabeth, born a Bean over in Lampasas, moved the family to a tract along that river, and in 1898 the Kerrville orchards and nursery took root. Took root. You'll forgive the expression, but it fits.

Now, the state of Texas certified the nursery in 1907, and the very next year it expanded to Center Point. Leander wasn't just growin' trees other people had already figured out. He was developin' new varieties, cling peach, freestone peach, and pecan trees, all of which, to this day, bear the Mosty name.

Then 1917 came, and Leander was gone. That's the kind of moment that ends a lot of family stories. But not this one.

His sons Lee and Harvey took what their father built and turned it into one of the largest wholesale nurseries in the entire Southwest, with one of the region's largest greenhouses to its name. In 1927, Lee Mosty built his family an eight-room house right there in the Center Point property's pecan orchard. Imagine sitting on the porch of that house, surrounded by trees your family grew.

The 1930s brought hard times across the country, but Lee and Harvey were thinking about the future of their whole industry. They helped organize the Texas Association of Nurserymen. And then, they did something that still echoes today.

They provided native plants to landscape the Texas Centennial Central Exposition grounds in Dallas, the very grounds that are now the Texas State Fair Grounds. Their trees and shrubs helped dress the stage for one of Texas's grandest celebrations. After Lee's death in 1964, the next generation stepped forward.

His sons Robert Lee, Raymond, and C.H., known as Scott, continued to develop the business and support the Texas horticulture industry. The Kerrville nursery closed in 1985, but that wasn't the end. Not even close.

Mosty family descendants, now in the fifth generation, continue to operate the Center Point location. One Belgian immigrant's son looked at a sparsely treed river valley and imagined orchards. Over a century later, his family is still there, still growin'.

Some roots, it turns out, you just can't pull up.

What the marker says

MOSTY BROTHERS NURSERY A son of Belgian immigrants, Leander A. Mosty worked as a cattle driver and broker in Kansas before migrating to Kerr County in 1897. Sensing a market for fruit and pecan trees in the sparsely treed area, Mosty and his wife, Elizabeth (Bean), a Lampasas native, moved their family to a tract along the Guadalupe River, where the Kerrville orchards and nursery, later known as Mosty Brothers Nursery, began in 1898. After being certified by the state of Texas in 1907, the nursery expanded to center point the next year. Along with several ornamental shrubs, Mosty developed new varieties of cling peach, freestone peach, and pecan trees, all of which bear the Mosty name. After his death in 1917, Mosty's sons Lee and Harvey turned the business into one of the largest wholesale nurseries in the southwest with one of the region's largest greenhouses. In 1927, Lee Mosty built his family an eight-room house in the center point property's pecan orchard. In the 1930s, Lee and Harvey helped organize the Texas association of nurserymen. They also provided native plants to landscape the Texas centennial central exposition grounds, now the Texas State Fair Grounds, in Dallas. After Lee's death in 1964, his sons Robert Lee, Raymond, and C.H. (Scott) continued to develop their business and support the Texas horticulture industry. The Kerrville nursery closed in 1985, but Mosty family descendants, now in the fifth generation, continue to operate the center point location. One of the community's iconic businesses since 1908, the nursery continues to contribute to the economy and culture of center point. (2014)