Worthing

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of Worthing, Texas — and it's got more twists than a country backroad. After the Civil War, the original Anglo settlers who'd staked their claims in this corner of Lavaca County started giving way to a new wave of folks — German and Czech immigrants arriving eager to work the land, growing corn and cotton on small family farms. The community that took shape out of that shift would come to carry a name worth rememberin'.

In 1882, a man named Joseph Orsak established a steam-powered cotton gin. Now, Orsak didn't hold onto that gin long — he quickly sold it to a fellow by the name of J.F. Kutach and turned around to open himself a general store instead.

Seemed like a reasonable pivot. But December of that same year, Joseph Orsak was shot to death. That's the marker's plain and somber accounting of it.

Just like that, a man who'd been building something was gone. His widow sold the store to a man named Fabian Arthur Worthing, who was one of the few remaining Anglo settlers in the area. Worthing had already been named postmaster back in April of 1882, and when that post office was established, it took on his name — Worthing.

Then Joseph Orsak became postmaster, and the name shifted to Orsak. But in 1892, the pendulum swung back, and the post office was re-established as Worthing. It held that name until 1904, when mail was routed over to Hallettsville and the post office closed its doors for good.

Fabian Worthing himself eventually sold the store to a man named Joseph A. Kutach. Now, you may have noticed that Kutach name showing up more than once in this story, and it ain't done yet.

J.A. Kutach expanded his store with additional buildings in 1909, then sold the whole property to Louis Kutach in 1912. By 1936, Louis Kutach had seen enough of the old store — he demolished it and built a new, modern general store, positioned closer to the highway.

That store stayed in business for several years under different management. Then, in the late 1940s, a Worthing native named Blase Konvicka opened a new store with a gas station. Over the years, Konvicka kept addin' to it — an open-air dance platform, a barbershop.

His store became a genuine gathering place, serving as a meeting spot for the local butcher club. Community was happening right there under one roof. And community had deep roots in Worthing.

Back in 1901, the Agricultural Benevolent Society of St. Isidore had been formed to provide support and fellowship to local farmers and their families. Worthing was also a town that liked its good times — it had a band, a movie theater, and local events like picnics.

This was a place with music in its bones. But beginning in the 1950s, something shifted. The small family farm — the very thing that had drawn those German and Czech immigrants here in the first place — began to fade.

And as those farms went, so went Worthing. A community built on cotton and corn, shaped by steam-powered ambition and a postmaster's name, sustained by a dance platform and a butcher club and a society of farmers looking out for their own — it rose, it thrived, and it quietly wound down. The marker remembers it all.

What the marker says

Following the Civil War, many of the original Anglo settlers to the area were gradually replaced by German and Czech immigrants eager to grow corn and cotton on small family farms. In 1882, Joseph Orsak established a steam-powered cotton gin. He quickly sold the gin to J.F. Kutach and opened a general store. After Orsak was shot to death in December 1882, his widow sold the store to Fabian Arthur Worthing who later sold it to Joseph A. Kutach. Worthing, one of few remaining Anglos in the area, was named postmaster in April 1882 and the post office was established as Worthing. The name changed to Orsak when Joseph Orsak became postmaster but was re-established as Worthing in 1892. The post office functioned until 1904 when mail was routed to Hallettsville. J.A. Kutach expanded his store with additional buildings in 1909 and later sold the property to Louis Kutach in 1912. In 1936, Louis Kutach demolished the old store and built a new, modern general store closer to the highway. The store remained in business for several years under different management. In the late 1940s, Worthing native Blase Konvicka opened a new store with a gas station. Over the years, Konvicka added an open-air dance platform and a barbershop. His store served as a meeting place for the local butcher club. In 1901, the Agricultural Benevolent Society of St. Isidore was formed to provide support and fellowship to local farmers and their families. Worthing was also a community interested in music and entertainment complete with a band, movie theater, and local events such as picnics, but beginning in the 1950s, the shift from small family farms signaled the decline of Worthing. 175 Years of Texas Independence * 1836-2011