Italian immigrant broke ground on Llano County granite industry

Vincenzo Fantozzi Petrick epitomized the entrepreneurial immigrant who helped build a community. The Italian arrived in Llano County in the early 1900s and quickly saw a need and a resource to meet it.
Not one to shun hard work, he started a granite quarry in what would become Kingsland in 1932 with his sons working beside him. While the Petrick name lives on in the Highland Lakes, few people know the contributions this man made to the area.
But grandson John Petrick, recalling his father’s stories about the Petrick patriarch and the struggles he and his family endured, wanted to ensure he wasn't forgotten. In 2011, he started researching his grandfather’s work and the Llano County granite industry and began the process of getting a historical marker noting the elder Petrick’s efforts.
In 2015, the Texas Historical Commission and state acknowledged the Italian immigrant’s part in the success of Llano County and its granite industry with a marker at the roadside park at Texas 261 and Texas 29 in Buchanan Dam.
The story actually began more than 80 years prior when Vincenzo Fantozzi Petrick brought his family to Llano County and started quarrying granite for the construction of jetties on the Texas coast. 
“And as an Italian, he believed all the sons should do all the work alongside him,” John Petrick said. 
Vincenzo first landed in New York City, like so many immigrants before and after him, and made a living building sidewalks and in other low-paying jobs. He returned to Italy for a few years, got married, and learned more skills. Back in the United States, he moved to Pennsylvania and later Michigan, where he built one of largest dairy operations in the state.
His success was noticed by the local criminal element, particularly the Italian Black Hands, who specialized in extortion by threatening business owners and their families. John Petrick said the Black Hands tried to get his grandfather to pay up, but he refused.
And this didn’t sit well with them.
“He got word that they were coming after him. So one night, he packed up the family and moved to Texas,” Petrick said. “I don’t know why (he chose Texas), he just thought it was a good place to find work.”
The family settled in Waco before moving to the Hill Country. 
Though the Petricks established a thriving quarry (the family would go on to found several), they weren’t always welcomed with open arms, especially when World War II broke out. When Italian leader Benito Mussolini took up sides with the Germans, Italian-Americans came under suspicion.
“They had to go to the U.S. Marshal’s office in San Antonio and turn in all their guns and ammunition,” Petrick said. “Even though they were U.S. citizens.”
Vincenzo also had connections to the Burnet community. Over the years, Petrick learned that a home Vincenzo owned in Burnet served as the old Shepherd hospital as a new facility was being built.
While quarry work was the family's main vocation, Petrick said some of Vincenzo’s sons “rebelled” and found other work. Some of the family even returned to Michigan, while others settled in different parts of Central Texas.
“There’s still quite of few Petricks around,” he said.
It was the stories his father and family continually shared about Vincenzo and those early years in Llano County that intrigued Petrick.
“All the things they went through, the good and the bad,” he said. “I thought it was so interesting. I wanted to make sure he got recognized.”
Thanks to his efforts, Vincenzo’s story has become a permanent part of Llano County's story. 
daniel@thepicayune.com