| Panna Maria, Texas | |||||||||||
| Settlement Type: | Unincorporated community | ||||||||||
| Pushpin Map: | Texas#USA | ||||||||||
| Pushpin Label: | Panna Maria | ||||||||||
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Texas and the United States | ||||||||||
| Pushpin Relief: | yes | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Type: | Country | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Name: | United States | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Type1: | State | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Name1: | Texas | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Type2: | County | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Name2: | Karnes | ||||||||||
| Unit Pref: | Imperial | ||||||||||
| Population As Of: | 2000 | ||||||||||
| Population Density Km2: | auto | ||||||||||
| Timezone: | Central (CST) | ||||||||||
| Utc Offset: | -6 | ||||||||||
| Timezone Dst: | CDT | ||||||||||
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 | ||||||||||
| Coordinates: | 28.9581°N -97.8972°W | ||||||||||
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes | ||||||||||
| Postal Code: | 78144 | ||||||||||
| Blank Name: | FIPS code | ||||||||||
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID | ||||||||||
| Blank1 Info: | 1364749 | ||||||||||
| Footnotes: |
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Panna Maria (Polish for Virgin Mary) is a small unincorporated community in Karnes County, Texas, United States. It is the oldest Polish settlement in the United States.
A Franciscan missionary, Father Leopold Moczygemba, started recruiting Upper Silesians in 1852, when Silesia belonged to 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 in 1854.
The town's identity as an insular Polish enclave was sealed by four factors:
The Texas Silesian dialect has continued to be spoken for several generations.
The Panna Maria Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.