John Ruckman House, Helena Tx

04/23/2024

11/10/2023

Tomorrow! November 11, 10am-4pm.

10/26/2022

Conservation Society of San Antonio award plaque installed at John Ruckman house

03/18/2022

We are thrilled to annouce that the John Ruckman House received an award for Historic Preservation in the Built Environment from the Conservation Society of San Antonio tonight 3/17/2022.

10/30/2021

The John Ruckman House will be open for tours during the Indian Summer Heritage Festival
TODAY- Saturday October 30 10:00-4:00

10/18/2021

The oldest permanent Polish settlement in North America is Panna Maria in Karnes County. The community was established in 1854.

Father Leopold Moczygemba, who had been a missionary in New Braunfels and seen the German Texans’ success, led a group of 100 immigrant families from Krakow and Upper Silesia. After nine weeks at sea, they landed in Galveston. From there, they walked some 200 miles inland to their new home near the confluence of the San Antonio River and Cibolo Creek.

The first stone house in the settlement was built in 1858—it belonged to stonemason John Gawlik. The house, designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 2014, was designed with a steeply pitched gable roof, a large overhang covering the porch, two small windows for ventilation, and interior meat smoking rooms connected to fireplaces.