The Palms of Fayette County
Has anyone ever wondered about the palm trees, many of which are over 125 years old, that are seen around old homesteads in the central and southern parts of our county? In spite of multiple onslaughts by hurricane and tornadic winds throughout the years, these old sentinels still stand tall. However, many of these palms finally succumbed in the February 2021 “super freeze”, not being able to withstand the extreme Artic blast that relentlessly attacked them to their very cores for days on end. They now stand with frayed, brown foliage limply hanging off the tops of their dead trunks, a sad reminder of their passing. Others have been cut down by homeowners, who either feared property damage from a potential fall-over or because of their unsightly appearance.
How did these tropical exotics end up so far away from their original temperate habitats so long ago? The answer can most likely be attributed to the entrepreneurship of one man, Gilbert Onderdunk (1829-1920), a horticulturist of Dutch descent, who was born in New York State where he had already originated new prize-winning varieties of Irish potatoes as a teenager. Due to health problems, he came to Texas in 1851, seeking warmer weather. He first worked as a teacher and ranch hand in Calhoun County and married in 1855. By 1858, he had established his first nursery east of Coledo Creek at Mission Valley. After serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, Onderdunk returned to his family and nursery business after spending time as a prisoner-of-war. By 1872, he had developed a mail order catalog filled with his own drawings and descriptions of his nursery stock. He also became a Wells Fargo shipping agent, a position he used to his advantage in his mail order business. He traveled throughout south Texas and along the coast to find seeds and native plant stock for grafting and hybridizing.
In 1883, his wife purchased 100 acres for another branch of their nursery that was located about ten miles northwest of Victoria along the San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railroad. Onderdunk first focused on developing new varieties of fruit trees, primarily peaches, plums, pears, mulberries and apples, on 70 acres of this land. Soon a small town called Nursery grew up around the railroad, nursery and post office where he was the postmaster. He added flowers, shrubs and exotic plants to his stock and extensively published news about his work in various gardening magazines and almanacs, becoming well-known for his distinguished work in peach breeding and selection, especially the well-loved Elberta peach. He became a prolific letter writer, essayist and travel writer for newspapers, gaining international recognition for his horticultural work in South Texas. Because of his knowledge, he became a consultant to the United States Department of Agriculture, which regarded him as among the greatest horticulturists of his time. This position took him to Mexico, where he became intrigued with the wide variety of palms and other tropical plants that grew there. This gave him the opportunity to collect plants and seeds in Mexico that would acclimate to Texas. With the availability of the nearby railroad line to his nursery, Onderdunk was able to ship his plants and seeds to growers from the Rio Grande Valley to as far away as New Orleans. He also traveled around South Central Texas selling his fruit trees, palms and other plants from a cart.
The Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway (GH&SA), which later became the Southern Pacific Railroad, began running through southern Fayette County in late 1873; it connected southern Texas with New Orleans. Flatonia was established on the line in 1874, and in 1888, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway (SA&AP) was also built through the town, making it a railway crossroad. This more than likely explains how people in Fayette County acquired the palm trees that they considered an exotic addition to their homesteads.
In 2004, when questioned about the four palmetto palms that once stood outside of the parish rectory at Praha, Texas, Mrs. Stazy Hajek, a 91-yearold parishioner, stated that it was likely that the palm trees came from her grandfather’s local nursery. It’s highly probable that her grandfather ordered the palms from the Onderdunk Nursery catalog, and they were then shipped by rail to Flatonia, which was in close proximity to her grandfather’s nursery. Based on the time that her grandfather lived, it can be deduced that the trees at Praha were probably planted and fully grown well before the present church was completed in 1895. When Swiss artist Godfrey Flury was commissioned to paint the murals and frescoes for the interior of the new church, he painted Sabal palm frond designs similar to the trees that were growing on the church property, instead of the typical pinnate palm leaves used in traditional religious art. Unfortunately, a former priest thought that the palms were too messy and noisy, especially being so close to the rectory. So he had three of them cut down and burned. Fortunately, the parishioners asked him to keep the one that still stands by the rectory.
Family stories have been passed down that it was a Texas German tradition to plant a palm tree for every son born in the family. This could explain why many German families had multiple palm trees planted around their homesteads. Those trees were probably also obtained from Onderdonk’s Nursery or a local enterprise that purchased its stock from Onderdonk. Heinrich and Josefa Kreische had three palm trees, one for each of their sons, planted alongside a dirt road behind their home located adjacent to Monument Hill south of La Grange. Only two of the three trees that they planted in the 19th century remain today. Thankfully, those two survived the “super freeze”.
The old palm trees throughout the county that did manage to survive deserve to be recognized for their tenacity and endurance in spite of Mother Nature’s destructive intentions.
Sources:
Harms, Bob. “Recent History of the Praha Palmettos”; harms@austin.utexas,edu
Oppenheimer and Craig H. Roell. Onderdonk, Gilbert; www.tshaonline.org; 1995
Texas Historical Markers: Gilbert Onderdonk and Nursery, Texas; www.texashistoricalmarkers.weebly.com
Victoria Regional History Center. “Gilbert Onderdonk”; www.vrhc.uhv.edu
Footprints Of Fayette
Fayette County is one of the most historic counties in Texas. In this weekly feature from the County Historical Commission, a rotating group of writers looks back at local history.