Town of Panna Maria

The plaques fix Panna Maria's founding; the town's later story is quieter and stranger. In 1966, the millennium of Polish Christianity and nationhood, about 10,000 people converged on the small town for a Mass and barbecue. In 1977 Chevron Resources was licensed for a uranium mill near Hobson, and it made yellowcake from 1979 to 1992. In the 1980s residents began filing evidence of health hazards. As of 2026 the state was still working to hand the covered 150-acre tailings pile to the Energy Department. Panna Maria counted about ninety-six residents in 2000.

What the plaque says

Town of Panna Maria Oldest Polish settlement in Texas - Established December 24, 1854 by the Reverend Leopold Moczygemba O.F.M., who was instrumental in bringing from Poland about 100 Polish peasant families - Within a few months the majority sought homes in other localities in Texas. Erected by the State of Texas 1936 Panna Maria, Texas Oldest Permanent Polish Colony in America Panna Maria, Texas Settled by 100 Polish families who came to Texas to gain economic, political and religious freedom. Led by Father Leopold Moczygemba, O.F.M., Conv., they made a contract in 1854 with John Twohig, a San Antonio banker and merchant, for land at this site. The colonists, natives of Upper Silesia and Krakow, landed at Galveston after a hard voyage of nine weeks on a sailing ship. They hired Mexican carts to haul their farm implements, featherbeds, and the cross from their parish church in Poland. The 800 men, women, and children walked - some in boots, others barefoot - the 200 miles inland to their new home. Babies were born on the way, and some of the people died. All suffered from hunger and exposure. On Dec. 24, 1854, they reached this site. They named it Panna Maria (Virgin Mary), placing it under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception. Beneath a large oak they offered their first Midnight Mass of thanksgiving and petition for strength and courage. They camped out until they could put up huts of mud, straw or wood, later building in stone. In spite of hardships, they founded a stable community, aided in settling other frontiers, pioneered in education, and gave Texas many patriotic, dedicated citizens. (1966)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Panna Maria — steps away
  The Silesian village on a plateau above the San Antonio River that claims the oldest permanent Polish settlement in America, with a church of 1878 and a ceiling found again in 2000.

More markers nearby

• Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Cemetery — 4.1 mi
• Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church — 4.3 mi
• El Fuerte del Cibolo — 4.3 mi
• Helena Union Church — 4.7 mi