Kosciusko | |
|---|---|
  Kosciusko Location in Texas and the United States  Kosciusko Kosciusko (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 29°06′19″N97°57′01″W / 29.10528°N 97.95028°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Wilson |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 390 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
Kosciusko is an unincorporated community in Wilson County, Texas, United States. In 2009, it was inhabited by 390 people. [1] [2]
The settlement was named after Tadeusz Kościuszko, a military general of Polish origin, who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Kosciusko is the anglicisation of his name. [1]
The town of Kosciusko was founded on March 12, 1880 in Wilson County, Texas when approximately 65 Polish families moved north from the neighboring town of Cestohowa in search of better farm land. The area they settled was previously known as "Little Egypt" and had been settled by a small handful of German families circa 1850. [3]
The first school established in the town of Kosciusko was St. Ann's School - a Catholic school established in 1892. This one-room school was run by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. The school was added on and expanded over the years before closing in 1968.
In 1896, a U.S. Post Office was established in the town of Kosciusko, inside the new general store named the Red and White Store, later known as the Farmer's General Store. At this time, there were approximately four businesses located in Kosciusko, including a blacksmith, meat market, and garage. The post office remained open until 1920, when rural delivery was made available. The Farmer's General Store closed in 1967. [3]
In 1898, the first church for St. Ann's Parish was erected. The first church was a wooden structure measuring 40x80 feet.
In 1934, electricity arrived to the town of Kosciusko, allowing homes to be hooked-up for a cost of $5. At this time Kosciusko had a population of 700 people, the vast majority of whom were located in the surrounding farms and ranches. In 1935, State Highway 123 began construction, connecting Kosciusko with other areas of the state. At this time, Pruski Store was constructed along the highway. The store was torn down in 1972. [3]
In 1937, a cotton gin was built called Farmer's Gin Company. The gin was located across the road from the Kosciusko Community Hall. The gin remained active until 1953.
Kosciusko hit its peak population in the late 1940s, with a total population of approximately 950 people in both the town and surrounding farms and ranches. As farming became less profitable, many people began to leave the community in search of employment in the city of San Antonio and surrounding small towns.
By the 1980s, Kosciusko's population had declined to around 400 people. The population remains about the same today. The vast majority of Kosciusko's current inhabitants trace their lineage back to the original founding families.
Today the town consists of St. Ann's Catholic Church - a painted church, St. Ann's Cemetery, Kosciusko Hall - a dance hall,a gas station and fertilizer company, the local water supply corporation, a plumbing company, a concrete plant, as well as numerous farms and ranches. Kosciusko remains an active community, known for its annual picnic - always celebrated the first weekend of August.
On October 27, 1898, with the help of the men of the town, the first Catholic Church was dedicated to St. Ann. It was a wooden structure, and cost $2,000 in materials, with donations in labor, and measured 80 by 40 feet. It had a beautiful hand carved wooden altar, and was built facing to the west, the opposite of the current church today.
In 1909, St. Ann’s had 445 parishioners, and 77 children in the school. Also at this time, St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Stockdale was a mission on Kosciusko.
In 1933 the church was lengthened by 20 feet, and 5 more pews were added to each side of the church. The steeple was also lowered and the entire church received a new coat of paint.
In 1934, St. Ann’s had 701 parishioners, and 105 students at the school. Also in 1934, electricity came to Kosciusko, and electric lighting was installed in the church. In 1935, a new rectory was built on the south side of the church, where the southern breeze would provide better cooling. Also electricity was installed in the convent, and a new school house was built. In 1936, the reed (pump) organ that was used in the choir was replaced with a Wicks Fuga pipe organ.
In 1941 a building fund was started for the building of a new and larger church, as the parish had far outgrown the original wooden church.
In 1948 the parish had 858 parishioners, and the parish celebrated its 50th anniversary.
In March of 1951 the construction of the new church was completed. It cost $117,000 excluding furnishings. It is a modified Gothic design with a 70 foot high bell tower. The church is 127 feet long by 59 feet wide and holds 450 people. The church has a hand poured terrazzo floor, very expensive for a rural church.
In 1973 the parish celebrated its 75th anniversary. At this time the stained glass windows were installed. The stained glass was created using a technique known as faceted glass.
In 1998, in preparation for the Centennial Celebration, the wooden stained glass doors were installed at the entrance of the church. Chandeliers were also hung above the center aisle.
In 2007 the interior of the church was remodeled, and painted by Polish Artist Cezary Sienkiel. Over the altar is now a beautiful painting of St. Ann. The church walls and portions of the ceiling were also painted. It is identified today as one of the Painted Polish Churches of South Texas.
The first school established in the town of Kosciusko was St. Ann's School - a Catholic school established in 1892. This one-room school was run by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. In 1918 a convent was built for the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, and another room was added to the schoolhouse.
In 1934, St. Ann's School became part of the public school system, while remaining under the direction of the Sisters of Charity. In 1937 a high school was built, and the gymnasium was converted into the community hall. The following year, in 1938, a school auditorium was built, as well as a new mess hall for the picnic grounds. In 1948 Kosciusko’s school became accredited as Kosciusko Junior High School. The high school juniors and seniors attended school in Poth. [3]
In 1968 the school in Kosciusko sent 7th grade and older students to attend school in Poth. By 1969 the school in Kosciusko was closed, and all students attended school in Poth. The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word were moved, and the convent was sold. Nothing remains of the original school to this day.
Aside from the Church, School, and Community Hall, Kosciusko was also well known for its local Baseball team - the Kosciusko Red Sox. The team was composed of local men who played in the small town bluebonnet league. The baseball team was well known in the surrounding communities. It was not uncommon to have a baseball game with over 1,500 people in attendance. [4]
St. Brigid's Roman Catholic Church, also known as St. Brigid's or Famine Church, is a church located at 123 Avenue B, on the southeast corner of East 8th Street, along the eastern edge of Tompkins Square Park in the Alphabet City section of the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. Associated with the church is a parish school, Saint Brigid School, consisting of grades Pre-K through 8, which has been in existence since 1856.
St. William is a US Catholic parish founded in January 1920 in the Philadelphia Pennsylvania neighborhood of Lawncrest. The parish originally served 70 households. The Parish elementary school was opened in 1924. The parish eventually expanded to include a rectory, convent, kindergarten, lower school, junior high school, day care center, parish hall and the two churches. The school, which reached a peak enrollment of 1,586 students in 1964, closed on June 15, 2012 with a final enrollment of 280 students. As of 2019, the church served 1,830 households totaling 5,080 people and Mass attendance currently averages 1,300 people, spread among the 8 Sunday Masses.
St. Edward's Catholic Church, located in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, was constructed in the late nineteenth century. Its congregation grew out of earlier Shamokin churches and served the men that worked on the Danville and Pottsville Railroad. With Edward the Confessor as its patron saint, the first St. Edward's Catholic Church was built and then dedicated in 1840. In August 1866, a parish was established and its first pastor was appointed in September of that year. A larger church was completed by Thanksgiving 1866.
St. Mary's Catholic Church, also known as St. Mary of the Visitation Church, is a parish church of the Diocese of Davenport which is located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The church building and rectory were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. They were both included as contributing properties in the Jefferson Street Historic District in 2004. The parish's first rectory, which is now a private home, is also listed on the National Register as St. Mary's Rectory. It is located a few blocks to the east of the present church location at 610 E. Jefferson St.
St. Stanislaus Church in Meriden, Connecticut is a Roman Catholic church originally established in 1891 and dedicated to the Bishop of Kraków, Stanislaus of Szczepanów, an 11th-century Polish Saint. St. Stanislaus's is the third oldest Polish-American Roman Catholic parish in New England and the oldest in the Archdiocese of Hartford. In 2017, Saint Stanislaus parish merged with the nearby Polish-American parish SS. Peter and Paul Parish in Wallingford to form St. Faustina Parish.
The Church of St Gregory the Great is a Roman Catholic parish located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. The parish is part of the Archdiocese of New York. The church building, designed by architect Elliott Lynch, contains the church and parish offices on the ground floor with St. Gregory the Great Parochial School on the next two floors above, the final fourth floor is occupied by the rectory. The address of the church is 144 West 90th Street, New York, New York 10024-1202; the address of the school is 138 West 90th Street, New York, NY 10024.
St. Anthony's Catholic Church is a parish church in the Diocese of Davenport. The parish complex is located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States, at the corner of Fourth and Main Streets. It is the first church congregation organized in the city of Davenport and the second Catholic congregation, after St. Raphael's in Dubuque, in the state of Iowa. The parish buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church Complex in 1984. The designation includes the church and the former school building, which is the parish's original church building and the oldest standing church building in Iowa. The designation also included the rectory, which was partially torn down in 2009. The complex was also listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1992 as St. Anthony's Church Square. The property has been known historically as Church Square. In 2020 the parish buildings, except for the parish center, were included as contributing properties in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District. Because of its recent construction date, the parish center is excluded as a contributing property.
Saint Peter the Apostle Church is a historic Roman Catholic church at 94 Somerset Street in New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.
Precious Blood Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Chickasaw, Ohio, United States. Erected in 1903 and still an active parish, the church historically owned two buildings constructed in its early years that have been designated as historic sites.
St. Joseph's Catholic Church is a former parish of the Diocese of Davenport. The church is located in Dallas township in rural Marion County, Iowa, United States. It was part of the now defunct village of Bauer. The closest communities are Melcher-Dallas and Lacona. The church building still stands and together with the adjacent cemetery comprises an historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
St. Mary's Catholic Church is a parish church of the Diocese of Davenport. The church is located at the corner of St. Mary's and Washburn Streets in the town of Riverside, Iowa, United States. The entire parish complex forms an historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places as St. Mary's Parish Church Buildings. The designation includes the church building, rectory, the former church, and former school building. The former convent, which was included in the historical designation, is no longer in existence.
Holy Family Catholic Church is a parish of the Diocese of Davenport. The parish is the result of a merger between Saints Mary and Joseph Parish and Sacred Heart Parish in the city of Fort Madison, Iowa, United States. It maintains both of the former parish church buildings as worship sites. The oldest parish in town, St. Joseph, and St. Mary of the Assumption had merged in the 1990s. St. Mary of the Assumption Church, which became Saints Mary and Joseph, is located at 11th Street and Avenue E. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Sacred Heart Church is located at 23rd Street and Ave I.
St. Mary's Catholic Church is a parish of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. The church is located in Guttenberg, Iowa, United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as St. Mary's Catholic Church Historic District. In addition to the church, the historic district includes the parish rectory, convent, and school building.
Saint Irenaeus Church is a former parish of the Diocese of Davenport. The church was founded in the town of Lyons, which now the north side of Clinton, Iowa, United States. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2010.
The Cathedral of Mary the Assumption, also known as St. Mary's Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral and parish church located in Saginaw, Michigan, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Saginaw. In 1979 it was included as a contributing property in the Saginaw Central City Historic Residential District on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Basilica of Saint Stanislaus Kostka is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona in Winona, Minnesota, United States, and a prominent fixture on the city's skyline. Within the diocese it is better known as Saint Stan's. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as Church of St. Stanislaus–Catholic and was designated as a Minor Basilica of the Roman Catholic Church on November 10, 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI.
St. Mary Magdalen Church is a historic Roman Catholic church at in Abbeville, Louisiana. In 1988 the church, along with the associated rectory and cemetery, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Parish of St. Gabriel and of St. Joseph was formed in August 2015 with the merger of the Territorial parish of St. Gabriel on Division Street with the personal parish of St. Joseph on Washington Avenue, both in New Rochelle, NY. St. Gabriel is the parish church. However, St. Joseph "will maintain a regular schedule of Masses and the celebration of other sacraments". Both parishes were established around 1900 through the generosity of the Iselin family.
St Mary's Church is a heritage-listed Roman Catholic church at 271–275 Adelaide Street, Maryborough, Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia, on land donated to the Church by Maryborough pioneer James Cleary. It was initially designed by Charles Tiffin with later additions and alterations by Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and POE Hawkes. The initial construction was from 1869 to 1872 by G Smith and J Thomas. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Mary Immaculate Church is a heritage-listed Roman Catholic church located on the corner of Ipswich Road and Ferndale Street, Annerley, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Mary Immaculate Church is located in the Archdiocese of Brisbane and is under the care of the Brisbane Oratory in Formation, a Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri.
Municipalities and communities of Wilson County, Texas, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Town | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |