Sokol Karel Havlicek Borovsky

The Handbook of Texas puts Ennis at the head of a Texas movement. Sokol, meaning falcon, began in Prague in 1862, founded by a physical-education teacher and his cofounder, and reached the United States in 1865 when the first unit formed in St. Louis. Ennis got the first Texas unit in 1908. By 1909 units had formed in Shiner, Hallettsville and Granger, and by 1930 Texas had fourteen, though many disbanded during the Depression. The Handbook describes the aim as physical, mental and cultural advancement, with the modern gymnasium as Sokol's trademark.

What the plaque says

Sokol Karel Havlicek Borovsky In the 19th century, Slavic people from Moravia, Bohemia and Silesia, from the modern-day Czech Republic, began immigrating to the United States due to political persecution, economic hardship and a desire for greater freedom. The first Czech immigrants to Ellis County came in the mid-1880s, bringing with them a Czech physical, educational and cultural organization known as a Sokol. In April 1908, 25 charter members from Ennis formed Sokol Karel Havlicek Borovsky (KHB), named after Czech figure Karel Havlicek Borovsky of Bohemia. The first president of the Sokol in Ennis was Alois Jurcik (1866-1954). Sokol KHB became the first Texas Sokol accepted into the National Union Sokol (now American Sokol) on April 2, 1909. Gymnastics classes were held in the hall of a local Czech fraternal order until the Sokol's gymnasium was built in 1912. New gyms were constructed in 1913, 1917, 1936, 1971 and 1991. Sokol KHB has provided calisthenics, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics, twirling, volleyball, swimming and traditional Czech music and dance. "Slets," or large festivals and exhibitions, began annually at both local and district levels. Gymnasts from Sokol KHB participated in competitions in Granger in 1910; Dallas and Chicago in 1925; and Vienna, Austria, in 1962. Sokol KBH has actively promoted Czech culture and heritage through traditional events such as dances and festivals, Czech language classes, folk dancing and authentic cooking. A Sokol band played at activities and dances. Czech classes were regularly sponsored. For over a century, Sokol Karel Havlicek Borovsky has continued to fulfill the motto adopted by Sokols worldwide of a "healthy mind in a healthy body" while providing a link to the Czech homeland. (2024)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Ellis County Courthouse — 15 mi
  J. Riely Gordon's courthouse of 1897 in Pecos red sandstone and pink granite, with twenty-one carved stone faces and two cornerstones left by a quarrel over its building.
• Petroleum Industry Park — 20 mi
  The pipes and drilling tower mark where a city water well struck oil on June 9, 1894, the start of the first Texas field to produce oil and gas in important quantities.
• Cedar Ridge Preserve — 29 mi
  A 633-acre Audubon Dallas preserve at the western edge of Dallas County, with about nine miles of trails through prairie, woodland and escarpment hills.

More markers nearby

• The Southern Pacific Railroad in Ennis — 2.3 mi
• Katie Daffan — 2.3 mi
• Railroads in Ennis — 2.3 mi
• Town of Ennis — 2.3 mi