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McDade’s Majestic Magnolia
Conroe’s landmark
withstands the test of time,
weathers the elements
By Jackie Barker
Contributing writer
March 20, 2011
The Courier
This historic magnolia tree provided the inspiration for the McDade Estates subdivision and serves as an area landmark at the subdivision's entrance today. The tree
is estimated to be 150 to 200 years old.
A towering Magnolia tree with a rich history provided the inspiration of a new subdivision in Conroe.
The late Steve Kasmiersky Sr. and his wife, Gerry, were taking a Sunday drive down Old Montgomery Road when Gerry noticed a beautiful magnolia tree and said she would love to
build a house behind it someday.
Kasmiersky knew the land was owned by their friend Little (McDade) O’Grady and asked her about buying it. Her replay was she would sell in on the condition she could build a
house next door.
Frank McDade stands beneath a historic magnolia tree that would later become the inspiration for the McDade Estates subdivision in Conroe. The photo is dated 1918 and is on display at the
Heritage Museum of Montgomery County.
“We had the first house in what was to become McDade Estates and Lillie lived next door to us,” Gerry Kasmiersky said. Bill Aumiller built the first two houses near the tree
and the start of the subdivision began in 1971.
As the community developed, Kasmiersky build some of the houses.
McDade Estates now has 101 homes and a homeowners association which is protective of the tree.
“At the early development stages, some brokers said McDade would not sell because it was too far out of town, Steve Kasmiersky Jr. laughingly remembered.
The Kasmiersky family donated land for the McDade Park which was names in honor of Lillie O’Grady. Mrs. O’Grady was described by Shellee Kasmiersky, who lived next door to
her for many years, as a very refined lady who was not extravagant for herself, but generous with others. She was a large contributor to Sacred Heart Catholic Church and the Sisters of the Holy Cross because her sister was a nun with that group.
Foresters have estimated the tree to be between 150 to 200 years old.
Tom Leroy, County Extension Agent-Horticulture, describes it as spectacular with a beautiful canopy.
Great care has been taken to preserve the tree. As McDade Estates was developed, the entrance and exit were split to go around it. Monte Stutes, president of McDade Estates
Property Owners Association said a tree service comes periodically to fertilize the magnolia and to do any other work needed. Some of the branches are wired to the trunk to hold them up.
Cathy smith, a former Conroe city councilman and resident of McDade who now lives in Mexico, asked her cousin Igenia Stinta to write a poem about the beauty of the tree. The
poem was engraved on a plaque which was placed at the base of the tree. It was dedicated to Steve Kasmiersky, Sr.
“At one time the highway department wanted to enlarge FM 2854 which goes by the entrance to McDade to four lanes but residents wouldn’t give permission because it would mean
cutting the tree down,” she said.
The magnolia has been described as blessed and charmed.
A photo of the magnolia tree in McDade Estates a it was in the 1980's. The tree still stands today, a survivor of time and the elements, including Hurricane Ike in 2008.
“It’s amazing the tree survived with the development of a subdivision,” Leroy said. It also survived Hurricane Ike with only minimal damage. Stutes said a driver going too
fast hit a gate at the entrance to McDade and went air borne but came down a few feet from the tree so it was once again spared.
The Texas Forest Service office in Conroe said the magnolia is the second largest in Montgomery County. The largest tree is located in South Montgomery County off Riley
Fuzzell Road on Spring Creek.
McDade’s tree may be a close second but its dimensions are impressive. Dawn Vollmer, staff forester, said their records show the McDade Magnolia has a circumference of 149”
with the measurement taken at 4˝ feet. It is 58-feet tall and has an average spread of 75 feet.
Susie Pokorski, a 20-year old resident of McDade, said the tree is an icon remembered by several generations.
Her mother Anne Moore remembers the tree and in turn Pokorski and her sisters enjoyed the beauty of the tree as they were growing up in the Conroe area.
“It’s a part of our Conroe history,” she said. “It is a spectacular sight when it is in full bloom.”
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