Joseph Martinek bought a Texas farm in 1911; 115 years later, family protects 470 acres

From left to right: Tiffany Osburn, TLC Board Member and Deputy State Archeologist; Russell Friemel, landowner; and Sergio Ayala, archeologist. (Photo: Stephen Ramirez) Martinek Farm, located outside La Grange in Fayette County, Texas, has become the county’s latest conservation success story. The property, which has remained connected to the same family since 1911, is now permanently protected through a donated conservation easement.The easement was contributed by longtime landowners Russell and Debbie Friemel and Ardie Friemel Holsinger in honour of their great-grandfather, Joseph Martinek, whose purchase of the property more than 100 years ago began the family’s relationship with the land.A family legacy dating back to 1911Joseph Martinek bought this Texas farm in 1911; 115 years later, his descendants have permanently protected it. (Photo: Stephen Ramirez)According to Texas Land Conservancy, Joseph Martinek purchased the property in 1911, establishing a tradition of farming and caring for the land that continued through generations.In the 1980s, siblings Russell Friemel and Ardie Friemel Holsinger inherited the family property. They continued its working-land legacy while maint...