10/20/2023
The oldest permanent Polish settlement in North America is Panna Maria in Karnes County. The community was established in 1854.
Father Leopold Moczygemba, who had been a missionary in New Braunfels and seen the German Texans’ success, led a group of 100 immigrant families from Krakow and Upper Silesia. After nine weeks at sea, they landed in Galveston. From there, they walked some 200 miles inland to their new home near the confluence of the San Antonio River and Cibolo Creek.
The first stone house in the settlement was built in 1858—it belonged to stonemason John Gawlik. The house, designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 2014, was designed with a steeply pitched gable roof, a large overhang covering the porch, two small windows for ventilation, and interior meat-smoking rooms connected to fireplaces.