St. Ann's Catholic Church

Kosciusko began as a rural supply point for Polish and German settlers whom the San Antonio and Gulf Railroad brought into southeastern Wilson County, an area that still has a sizable population of Polish descent. In 1900 Frank Nieschwietz kept a store there and twenty-two people lived in the community. A post office operated from 1906 until 1920, when the mail was sent to Stockdale. Kosciusko counted ten residents in 1930 and forty, with three businesses, in 1947. It numbered fifty in 1965 and had grown to 390 by 1990.

What the plaque says

St. Ann's Catholic Church In 1880, about sixty families of Polish descent (Silesian Poles) bought the land in this sparsely settled area. After their arrival, the town became known as Kosciuszko, named after the noted Polish American hero, General Thaddeus Kosciuszko. In 1892 the polish settlers built their first Polish Catholic school, St. Ann's. It was a small one-room school, run by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. The Sisters lived in a room attached to the school. In 1898, under the direction of the Reverend Stanislaus Przyborowski, then pastor of nativity of the blessed Virgin Mary in Czestochowa, the people of Kosciuszko gathered together and built their first Catholic church for $2,000 plus donations. The small wooden structure measured 80 feet by 40 feet and was one of the largest churches in Wilson County at that time. Also named St. Ann's, the church was dedicated on October 27, 1898. It was a mission of Czestochowa for three years. In 1901 a rectory and cemetery were established. The first convent for the Sisters of Charity was built in 1918. By 1933 there were 146 families in the parish and the small wooden church was enlarged by 25 feet. The congregation continued to grow. A Polish choir and various societies were organized in the church over the years. In 1951 a new church building was erected. It had a modified Gothic design and included two sacristies, a baptistry and a large sanctuary. On October 25, 1998, St. Ann's Catholic Church celebrated its centennial. At that time, the parish consisted of 224 families. Parishioners continue to practice the traditions of their ancestors. St. Ann's Catholic Church remains the center of this small Polish Community. (1999)

Where it stands

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