DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight with a little color on the side. Out in Matagorda County, in a place known as Polish Village, stands St. Francis Catholic Church — and this ain't just any church.
This is the first Euro-American Roman Catholic Church in the entire county. That alone earns it a place in the story. The land it sits on came as a gift, and for years the record named Mrs.
Frank Seerden and Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Butter as the ones who gave it. Generous folks, by any telling.
But here's where the story gets a little twist in the road — later research came along and set the record straighter than a fence line on flat prairie. Turns out the original land donors were Mrs. Frank Seerden and her nephew, a man who went by Zeflick — or just Z — Butter.
History had the right family, just not quite the right members of it. Now, the church itself has seen some things. In 1895, a hurricane came through and did what hurricanes do in this part of Texas — it destroyed the building.
But the congregation didn't walk away from Polish Village. They rebuilt. Stone by stone, board by board, they put it back up.
That's the kind of story that don't need any embellishing. The land, the storm, the rebuilding, and then a correction arriving ninety years later on a supplemental plate added in 1985 — St. Francis Catholic Church earned every word on that marker.
What the marker says
First Euro-American Roman Catholic Church in county. Land a gift of Mrs. Frank Seerden and Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Butter. In Polish Village. Rebuilt following 1895 hurricane destruction. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1965. 12 x 6 Supplemental Plate (1985) Later research showed original land donors were Mrs. Frank Seerden and her nephew Zeflick "Z" Butter.