The Panek Family History

The Paneks  of  Buffalo, New York and Hamilton, Ontario come from a small town called  Ropczyce  located in the  Subcarpathian Voivodeship in south-eastern Poland and situated in the valley of the Wielopolka River (a tributary of the Wisłoka River). As of 2009 the town has a population of 15,098, however in the 1800’s the town  had a population of less than 1,000. 

Ropczyce is also located east of Kraków and west of Rzeszów. The first reference to Ropczyce comes from a document of 1252, which confirmed the donation of land by brothers Klemens and Marek Gryf to a Cistercian Abbey in Szczyrzyc near Limanowa. Ropczyce officially received town status in 1362.

In the 15th and 16th centuries Ropczyce became a major centre in the manufacture of canvas goods.  The 19th Century especially between 1860 and 1880 was however an age of prosperity for Ropczyce as it’s polulation exceeded 3,000.  The main occupation of its citizenry was agriculture, craft and trade. 

There was even a famously known “Ropczyce fair”  during this time.  Today, the town’s industry is quite diversified with two dominating companies:  A magnesite factory  listed on the Warsaw Stock exchange and a sugar factory.