Panna Maria, Texas

Panna Maria
Unincorporated community
Panna Maria
Panna Maria

Location within the state of Texas

Coordinates: 28°57′29″N 97°53′50″W / 28.95806°N 97.89722°W / 28.95806; -97.89722Coordinates: 28°57′29″N 97°53′50″W / 28.95806°N 97.89722°W / 28.95806; -97.89722
Country United States
State Texas
County Karnes
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 78144
GNIS feature ID 1364749[1]
Hand-painted welcome sign welcoming visitors to town

Panna Maria (Polish for Virgin Mary) is a small unincorporated community in Karnes County, Texas, United States. It is the oldest Upper Silesian settlement in the United States, which most of whom speak a dialect of the Silesian language known as Texas Silesian.

History

A Franciscan missionary, Father Leopold Moczygemba, started recruiting Upper Silesians in 1852, when Silesia was part of the Kingdom of Prussia. The immigrants began arriving at Indianola in early December 1854. With carts to haul them inland being scarce, the immigrants walked to their land grants near San Antonio and the town was settled on Christmas Eve in 1854.

The town's identity as an insular Polish enclave was sealed by four factors:

  1. Bypassed by the railroads
  2. Union in sympathy (Settlers were also unionist and were occasionally massacred in Texas during this period)
  3. Polish Resurrectionist priests arrived from Europe
  4. A sisterhood of Polish teaching nuns was established

The Panna Maria Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Panna Maria". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
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