Saint Hedwig

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Saint Hedwig, out in far eastern Bexar County. Settle in, because this one's got layers. Now, 1855.

A group of immigrants from upper Silesia in Prussian Poland set their boots down in Texas soil without so much as an empresario to hold their hand. No land grants. No funding.

No transportation lined up for them. Just people, determination, and a piece of ground they still had to negotiate for. That right there is the kind of beginning that separates a story from a legend.

The man who made the land deal happen was a planter from Georgia named Charles G. Napier. He agreed to sell the immigrants about half of his plantation sitting near the Martinez and Cibolo watersheds.

And the Silesians did not waste a single morning after that. They registered their cattle brands with the Bexar County Clerk, cleared land, built homes, and got to work on a church. Folks, when a community's first official acts include registering cattle brands and raising a house of worship, you already know what kind of people you're dealing with.

The settlement got the official name of Martinez, though locals had their own word for it — Polanderville. The settlers were farmers and ranchers. They did not own slaves.

Then the Civil War came knocking. Here's the part that stays with you: the reasons for that war were not well understood by this community. The nineteen men from Saint Hedwig who served only did so after Conscription Laws were enforced.

Not volunteers — conscripts. That is the marker's plain account, and it says something quiet and important about who these people were and where their loyalties truly lived. After the war, the community grew to about forty families.

And then something happened that you don't always hear in Texas histories. African slaves, freed from nearby plantations, were welcomed into the Polish settlement. Some of them bought land there.

And they taught the settlers how to produce cotton. Two communities, finding their way forward together, each with something to offer the other. In 1868, the Roman Catholic Poles broke ground on a sandstone church and school.

Both were completed in 1871. And right around that time, the settlement shed the name Martinez and took on the name Saint Hedwig — to honor the patron saint of Silesia. A name carried all the way from the old country, planted in Texas clay.

The first school for the Black community opened in 1877, and a church and cemetery followed shortly thereafter. This settlement was building something that went deeper than farmland. By 1890, Saint Hedwig had become the largest Polish community in all of Texas.

Through the whole of the twentieth century, even as San Antonio grew rapidly right next door, Saint Hedwig held onto its rural character, its farming roots, its particular way of being in the world. The city incorporated in 1957, and it carries on still — a place the marker calls rich in Polish-Texas culture and heritage. Far eastern Bexar County.

No empresario, no easy road, and a community built anyway — sandstone by sandstone, brand by brand, neighbor by neighbor. That's Saint Hedwig.

What the marker says

Located in far eastern Bexar County, Saint Hedwig was settled in 1855 by immigrants from upper Silesia in Prussian Poland. Without land grants, funding or transportation provided by an empresario, establishing a community proved to be difficult for the Silesians. Charles G. Napier, a planter from Georgia, agreed to sell the immigrants about half of his plantation near the Martinez and Cibolo watersheds. The settlers quickly registered their cattle brands with the Bexar County Clerk and cleared land to build homes and a church. The settlement was officially named "Martinez" and was known by locals as "Polanderville." The settlers were farmers and ranchers and did not own slaves. The reasons for the Civil War were not well understood by the community, and the 19 men who served only did so after Conscription Laws were enforced. After the Civil War, the community grew to about 40 families. African slaves, freed from nearby plantations, were welcomed into the polish settlement where some bought land. They taught the settlers how to produce cotton. In 1868, the Roman Catholic Poles began construction of a sandstone church and school. They were completed in 1871. Around this time, the settlement changed its name to Saint Hedwig to honor the patron saint of Silesia. The first school for the black community opened in 1877, and they established a church and cemetery quickly thereafter. By 1890, Saint Hedwig achieved status as the largest Polish community in Texas. Through the 20th century and with the rapid growth of nearby San Antonio, Saint Hedwig maintained its rural character as a farming community. The city, incorporated in 1957, continues to evolve as an area rich in Polish-Texas culture and heritage.