Panna Maria, Texas
| Panna Maria | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
 | |
  Panna Maria Location within the state of Texas | |
| Coordinates: 28°57′29″N 97°53′50″W / 28.95806°N 97.89722°WCoordinates: 28°57′29″N 97°53′50″W / 28.95806°N 97.89722°W | |
| 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] |
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 very rare language that's the offspring of Silesian 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, 1854.
The town's identity as an insular Polish enclave was sealed by four factors:
- Bypassed by the railroads
- Union in sympathy (Settlers were also unionist and were occasionally massacred in Texas during this period)
- Polish Resurrectionist priests arrived from Europe
- A sisterhood of Polish teaching nuns was established
The community is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Panna Maria Historic District.[2]
References
- ↑ "Panna Maria". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
- ↑ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Panna Maria, Texas. |
- Official website of Panna Maria, Texas
- "Panna Maria" Handbook of Texas Online.
- Stanley S. (1976). In Quest of a Cultural Identity: An Inquiry for the Polish Community. New York, New York: IUME, Teachers College, Columbia University. ISBN ERIC ED167674.
- Overview in info-poland.buffalo.edu - part 1,Part 2
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Panna Maria
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