Zabcikville

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Zabcikville, right there in Bell County, Texas. Now settle in, because this one starts across an ocean and ends with a name that stuck. In 1856, Jan Zabcik Sr., born in 1810, packed up his life in Moravia along with his wife, Anna Hruska, born in 1825, their daughters Johanna and Katerina, his brother Martin Zabcik, and his sister Anna Zabcik, and the whole lot of them made for Galveston, Texas.

That is not a short trip by any measure of the imagination. Once they hit Texas soil, they pointed themselves toward Cat Springs in Austin County and got to work. And work they did, movin' through Austin and Washington Counties, puttin' down roots deep enough that five more children came along: John, who went by Jan Jr., then Anna, Marie, Martin, and Joseph.

A full house on a new continent. Now, land meant everything in the Czech community. Not just comfort, not just crops.

Status. So when 1886 came around and Anna Zabcik and her husband, Jan Kadlecek, moved to Bell County, it wasn't long before her brother Jan Jr. followed, and their brother-in-law Martin Stepan came along too. They all purchased land in Bell County.

That was the point. That was the statement. The little community they settled into was originally called Kocenda.

A good Czech name for a good Czech place. But around 1905, a man named John Alfred Lugo, born in 1875, opened a store in the community, and just like that, the area started answering to Lugoville. That's the power of a general store in a small community.

You open the doors, you own the name. But Lugo didn't hold it long. In 1907, he sold the store and the house to Frank Joseph Marek Sr., born in 1884, and the name shifted again, this time to Marekville.

Three names in not very many years for one little patch of Bell County. Then came 1923. Frank Zabcik purchased the store, the saloon, the house, and the land, and he did what any self-respecting man who just bought the whole block would do.

He changed the name to Zabcikville. And that one held. Frank wasn't just collectin' deeds, either.

In 1932 he replaced the old store building with a new stucco-faced structure, and the area and its businesses grew. There was a cotton gin, a blacksmith shop, an automobile repair garage, a granary, and a cafe. The community organized, joined co-ops, put on entertainment shows, played sports, and formed religious associations.

Life, full and busy. Here's the part that lands quiet but lands hard. Most of the original land purchased by the Zabcik family, that same land they crossed an ocean to own, remains in the hands of descendants.

Citizens of the area continue to farm that land and provide services to the community. Jan Zabcik Sr. died in 1881. Anna Hruska lived until 1900.

They never saw the town carry their family's name. But the land they chased across an ocean, the land their children followed into Bell County, the land that meant status and security and something to pass on, it's still there. Still in the family.

Some stories don't need a twist ending. They just need to last.

What the marker says

JAN ZABCIK SR. (1810-1881), HIS WIFE, ANNA HRUSKA (1825-1900), AND DAUGHTERS JOHANNA AND KATERINA TRAVELED TO GALVESTON, TEXAS FROM MORAVIA IN 1856 ALONG WITH JAN'S BROTHER, MARTIN ZABCIK, AND SISTER, ANNA ZABCIK. ONCE IN TEXAS, THE ZABCIKS MADE THEIR WAY TO CAT SPRINGS IN AUSTIN COUNTY. WHILE LIVING AND WORKING IN PARTS OF AUSTIN AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES, THE ZABCIKS HAD FIVE MORE CHILDREN: JOHN (JAN JR.), ANNA, MARIE, MARTIN AND JOSEPH. IN 1886, ANNA ZABCIK AND HER HUSBAND, JAN (JOHN) KADLECEK MOVED TO BELL COUNTY, FOLLOWED BY HER BROTHER, JAN JR., AND THEIR BROTHER-IN-LAW, MARTIN STEPAN. THEY ALL PURCHASED LAND IN BELL COUNTY AS LAND OWNERSHIP WAS A DETERMINING FACTOR IN STATUS IN THE CZECH COMMUNITY. THE AREA WAS ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS KOCENDA, BUT CHANGED TO LUGOVILLE AROUND 1905 WHEN JOHN ALFRED LUGO (1875-1963) OPENED A STORE IN THE COMMUNITY. IN 1907, LUGO SOLD HIS STORE AND HOUSE TO FRANK JOSPEH MAREK SR. (1884-1961) WHO CHANGED THE NAME TO MAREKVILLE. THE NAME CHANGED A FINAL TIME IN 1923 WHEN FRANK ZABCIK PURCHASED THE STORE, SALOON, HOUSE AND LAND AND CHANGED THE NAME TO ZABCIKVILLE. FRANK ZABCIK REPLACED THE OLD STORE BUILDING WITH A NEW STUCCO-FACED STRUCTURE IN 1932 AND THE AREA AND BUSINESSES GREW. OTHER BUSINESSES INCLUDED A COTTON GIN, BLACKSMITH SHOP, AUTOMOBILE REPAIR GARAGE, GRANARY AND CAFÉ. IN ADDITION, MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WERE INVOLVED IN SOCIAL ACTIVITIES SUCH AS SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT SHOWS AND RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATIONS, AND JOINED TO FORM CO-OPS. MOST OF THE ORIGINAL LAND PURCHASED BY THE ZABCIK FAMILY REMAINS IN THE HANDS OF DESCENDANTS. CITIZENS OF THE AREA CONTINUE TO FARM THE LAND AND PROVIDE SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY. (2012)