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History on
a Pinhead
Settled by Polish immigrants sometime in the second
half of the nineteenth century, Polonia started off with a store,
gin, blacksmith, two schools and a church.
No population figures are available but in the late 1940s Polonia’s
schools joined those in Lockhart.
Today all that’s left of Polonia is the town cemetery. |
Polonia Cemetery
Historical Marker
N from Lockhart on US 183, then W on CR 233
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2006 |
Historical Marker
Text
Polonia Cemetery
The three-acre
tract of land that was the Polish settlement of Polonia was deeded
to Bishop John Neraz of the Catholic Diocese of San
Antonio in 1894 by Joseph and Veronica Dzierzanowski. The community
was founded one year after the death of Simon Dzierzanowski (1853-1896),
who was the first to be buried in his family's cemetery on this site.
The settlement once boasted a cotton gin, blacksmith shop, general
store, and the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Schools for both English
and Spanish speaking students were built. The Polish population retained
many traditions from their homeland. Polonia declined in the late
1930s because of a failing farm economy. The Catholic church was razed
in 1939.
The Dzierzanowski Family Cemetery, now Polonia Community Cemetery,
is the last reminder of the once vibrant village. Twenty-five percent
of those buried in the cemetery are veterans of the United States
Armed Forces.
The first known families of Polonia, settling near this site from
1891, were Bienek, Boniewiez, Bonkowski, Dedek, Dikowski, Dykowski,
Dzierzanowski, Foerster, Foryszewski, Grabarkewitz, Kalinowski, Krzywosinski,
Levandowski, Malinowski, Petroski, Pieniazek, Reisner, Scholwinski,
Slawinski, Urbanski, Wacluwzcyk, Wisniewski, Zaleski, Zarrasky, Zawadski,
and Zolewski.
(1998) |
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Caldwell
County 1907 Post Map showing Lockhart
Polonia, 6 miles NW of Lockhard,
is not on the map
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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