DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — and friends, this one earns every word. Panna Maria, Texas. Karnes County.
The oldest permanent Polish colony in America. Let that settle in for a second before we go any further. It starts in 1854, when one hundred Polish families made a decision that would change everything they knew.
They were natives of Upper Silesia and Krakow, and what they were after was something this part of the world was supposed to offer in abundance — economic freedom, political freedom, religious freedom. Leading them was Father Leopold Moczygemba, O.F.M., Conv., a man who apparently believed that if a thing was worth doing, it was worth doing all the way from Poland to South Texas. Before they ever set foot on Texas soil, Father Moczygemba made a contract in 1854 with John Twohig, a San Antonio banker and merchant, for land at this very site.
So the destination was real. The plan was real. What nobody could fully plan for was the getting there.
They landed at Galveston after nine weeks on a sailing ship. Nine weeks. A hard voyage, the marker says, and you get the sense those two words are doing a lot of heavy lifting.
From Galveston, they hired Mexican carts to haul what they'd brought with them — farm implements, featherbeds, and the cross from their parish church back in Poland. That cross made the voyage. That cross was coming no matter what.
Now here is the part that stops you cold. Eight hundred men, women, and children — eight hundred — walked two hundred miles inland to their new home. Some of them wore boots.
Some of them walked barefoot. All two hundred miles. Babies were born on the way.
Some of the people died. And every single one of them suffered from hunger and exposure. That is not a metaphor.
That is what happened. On December 24th, 1854 — Christmas Eve — they reached this site. They named it Panna Maria, which means Virgin Mary, and they placed it under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception.
And then, beneath a large oak tree, exhausted and grieving and alive, they offered their first Midnight Mass — a mass of thanksgiving and petition for strength and courage. On Christmas Eve. Under an oak tree in Texas, after walking two hundred miles barefoot.
They camped out after that, until they could put up huts of mud, straw, or wood. Later they built in stone. And in spite of every hardship — and there were plenty — they founded a stable community.
They helped settle other frontiers. They pioneered in education. And they gave Texas many patriotic, dedicated citizens.
A hundred families. A nine-week voyage. Two hundred miles on foot.
And a midnight mass beneath an oak on Christmas Eve. That's how Panna Maria began, and that's a story Texas doesn't let you forget.
What the marker says
Oldest Permanent Polish Colony in America Panna Maria, Texas Settled by 100 Polish families who came to Texas to gain economic, political and religious freedom. Led by Father Leopold Moczygemba, O.F.M., Conv., they made a contract in 1854 with John Twohig, a San Antonio banker and merchant, for land at this site. The colonists, natives of Upper Silesia and Krakow, landed at Galveston after a hard voyage of nine weeks on a sailing ship. They hired Mexican carts to haul their farm implements, featherbeds, and the cross from their parish church in Poland. The 800 men, women, and children walked - some in boots, others barefoot - the 200 miles inland to their new home. Babies were born on the way, and some of the people died. All suffered from hunger and exposure. On Dec. 24, 1854, they reached this site. They named it Panna Maria (Virgin Mary), placing it under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception. Beneath a large oak they offered their first Midnight Mass of thanksgiving and petition for strength and courage. They camped out until they could put up huts of mud, straw or wood, later building in stone. In spite of hardships, they founded a stable community, aided in settling other frontiers, pioneered in education, and gave Texas many patriotic, dedicated citizens. (1966)