Bellville  

Location: Bellville, on SH 36 at south side of junction with SH 159

Marker Text: A part of the grant to Stephen F. Austin in 1821, created a municipality under the Mexican government in 1828, became a county of the Republic of Texas, March 17, 1836. Named in honor of Stephen Fuller Austin, 1793-1836, pioneer empresario, founder of Anglo-American Texas. San Felipe de Austin, capital of Austin's colony, 1824-1836, seat of provisional government of Texas, 1835-1836. County seat, 1837-1848, Bellville, since.

Location: Bellville, 30 S. Holland St.

Marker Text: Brothers Thomas and James Bell came to this area from Florida in 1822 with Stephen F. Austin's colony and acquired about 2,000 acres of land in 1837. Thomas Bell offered a portion of his land at this site for a new town site to replace San Felipe as the county seat; his offer was accepted by voters in 1846. Pioneers from such faraway places as England, Germany, Connecticut, Maryland and Georgia were drawn to the new town, which was platted in 1848 and soon called Bellville by popular vote. A courthouse and jail were erected in 1848 and Bellville's first hotel opened in 1849. Within ten years, the booming town boasted about fifteen businesses. The Civil War left the town nearly deserted, and as in many similar Texas towns it was difficult to rebuild during the Reconstruction era. Positive growth began about 1877 as new business ventures took root. In 1880 the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway arrived in Bellville, and the population doubled rapidly. The Episcopal and German Methodist churches organized about 1881, and the Bellville Standard newspaper was established in 1882. A telephone company began operations and a library was established by 1886. Cotton production rose in the late 1890s and more than 10,000 bales were shipped each growing season. By the turn of the century Bellville was thriving both culturally and economically. Oil replaced cotton as the area's major industry in 1915 when black gold was discovered around Bellville. Development of local oil fields further spurred the town's growth and continued to help support Bellville throughout the 20th century. (1999)

Town of Cat Spring

Location: Schlopata,  FM 1094, Schlopath (0.5 miles west of intersection of FM 1094 and FM 949)

 Marker Text: A pioneer German settlement founded in 1832 by members of the Amsler, Kleberg and Von Roeder families.

Friedrich Ernst

Location: Industry, FM 109, Ernst Memorial Park,

Marker Text: Christian Friedrich Ernst (Dirks) was born in Germany in 1796. Friedrich Ernst was inducted into the German army in 1814 and served for five years. He married Louise Gesine Auguste Weber in 1819. They became the parents of Caroline, John Friedrich, Ludwig, Wilhelmine, and Hermann Ernst. In 1829 the family sailed to the United States and settled in New York. In 1831 they came to Texas as part of Stephen F. Austin's second colony and are thought to be the first German family in Texas. Ernst received a land grant of 4,428 acres of land on Mill Creek in present day Industry where he grew produce and tobacco and was the first recorded European to manufacture cigars in Texas. Ernst became active in civic affairs in the area, serving as a Justice of the Peace and as a member of the commissioners court. He supported the establishment of Hermann's University and served on its first board of trustees. Ernst, who wrote a series of letters to German officials to encourage their citizens to move to America, was called the Father of German Immigration to Texas. Ernst died in 1848 and is remembered through this park located on land he once owned and a scholarship in his name. (1996)

First Czech Immigrants in Texas

Location: Nelsonville, 1 mile east of intersection of FM 2502 and SH 159 (on SH 159), Nelsonville

Marker Text: People from Czechy began to come to America for liberty as early as 1633. First known Czech in Texas was Jiri Rybar (George Fisher), customs officer in Galveston in 1829. Others arrived individually for years before letters sent home by the Rev. Josef Arnost Bergman, an 1849 Czech settler at Cat Spring (9 mi. S), inspired immigrants in large numbers. Josef Lidumil Lesikar (1806-1887) was instrumental in forming the first two large migrations, 1851 and 1853, with names of family parties listed on ship logs as Silar (Shiller), 69; Lesikar (Leshikar), 16; Mares (Maresh), 10; Pecacek (Pechacek), 9; Rypl (Ripple), 7; Coufal, 6; Rosler (Roesler), 6; Motl, 5; Jezek, 4; Cermak, 3; Janecek, 3; Jirasek, 3; Kroulik, 2; Tauber, 2; Marek, 1; Pavlicek, 1. With Pastor Bergman's counsel, many of the Czechs began to farm in Austin county. Other immigrations occurred in the 1850s, and became even heavier in the 1870s. Czechs eventually spread throughout the state, gaining recognition for industry, thrift, and cultural attainments. To preserve their heritage they succeeded in having a chair of Slavic Languages established (1915) at the University of Texas, and later at other schools. Their ethnic festivals have been held in various cities for many years. (1974)

Frydek Catholic Cemetery

Location:  Frydek, FM 1458, 1 mile south of IH-10, Frydek

 Marker Text: Czech immigrants began settling in this area in the 1850s. They named their new community Frydek after a town in their homeland. When two people died in 1885, they were buried here on land owned by Jan Pavlicek. By 1890, when Pavlicek officially deeded the land to be consecrated by the church, there were thirteen graves in the cemetery. In 1907 the citizens erected a school building here. Used also as a church and nuns' home, the structure was moved to the center of town in 1916. The cemetery remains as a reminder of the area's Czech heritage.

 Marker Location: Wallis,: 5610 Demel St.

Marker Text: This congregation was organized in 1892 by several Czech families who had relocated from Fayette County, Texas, to an area about 3 miles southeast of Wallis, Texas. The congregation held services in the Krasna School building which was located on four acres donated by Francis V. Smid in 1892. At the suggestion of the bishop of the Diocese of Galveston, church members erected a sanctuary in 1899 at a site closer to the railroad at Wallis. The congregation held their first services on Easter Sunday and named their church "Guardian Angel." The church building was destroyed in the storm of 1900, but rebuilt in 1904 after a determined effort by the small congregation. The Rev. Frank Machan became the first full-time pastor in 1909. In 1913 a new Gothic-style sanctuary was built at this site to accommodate a growing congregation. In 1914 a school was established with an enrollment of 64 students. By 1933 the school consisted of six teachers and 170 students and the parish had grown to 300 families. The congregation serves the community of Wallis and a number of rural communities in the area with a variety of outreach programs. (1995)The church continues to be an important element of the area's heritage. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995.

 Industry

Location: Industry,  .3 miles off FM 109 (in Lions Club Park) of Ernst Memorial Park Industry

Marker Text: Site of the first permanent German settlement in Texas, 1831. Founded by Friedrich Ernst, born at Varel, Oldenburg, Germany. Immigrated to America, 1829 and to Texas in 1831. Died here in 1858. The town was laid out in 1838.

Josef Lidumil Leshikar

Marker Location: New Ulm, FM 109, new Ulm Cemetery,

Marker Text: (May 16, 1806-October 21, 1887) Born along the Czech-Moravian border, Josef Lidumil Leshikar received early training as a tailor. During the revolution of 1848, he became a spokesman for political freedom in his homeland. In 1853 he led a group of immigrants to the new Czech settlements in Austin county. Always opposed to slavery, Leshikar spoke out against secession and Civil War.

Site of Town of New Ulm

Location:  New Ulm, School grounds, FM 109, New Ulm

Marker Text: Site of the town of New Ulm. First known as Duff's Settlement in honor of James C. Duff to whom the land was granted in 1841. Settled by Germans after 1845 and renamed in honor of the German city of Ulm. (1936)

Sealy

Location:  Sealy, 415 Main St.

Marker Text: Founded in 1879 on the route of the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad, Sealy was named for Galveston businessman and railroad president George Sealy (1835-1901). By January 1880 a depot was established here, and both freight and passenger service were inaugurated. Sealy became a main division point between Galveston and Temple, and the railroad was the town's principal employer. In addition to the depot, Sealy was the site of a roundhouse, wooden turntable, and machine shops. By August 1880 two passenger trains and two freight trains passed through the town daily. Sealy soon boasted numerous homes and businesses, including hotels, retail stores, factories, cotton gins, and grist mills. The citizens organized a public school and a number of churches. By 1899 the Santa Fe Railroad division point was moved to Bellville, causing Sealy's economic base to shift to agriculture. The Missouri, Kansas, and Texas (Katy) Railroad had built a line through here in 1892, however, and the Cane Belt Railroad, linking Sealy to Matagorda, began operations in 1903. Diversified businesses kept the town thriving, and in 1949 the citizens of Sealy voted to incorporate. (1991)

Sealy Cemetery

Location: Sealy,  Main Street, West End, Sealy

Marker Text: In 1879 Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Company agent George Sealy purchased 11,635 acres at this location from the township of San Felipe de Austin for the purpose of establishing a railroad depot. The village of Sealy soon developed around the depot and on July 5, 1883, it recorded its first burial here, that of the infant Annie Fowlkes. Families that settled in Sealy purchased cemetery plots directly from the railroad until the company donated the land to cemetery trustees C.H. Ruff, R.P. Josey, and John Hackbarth in 1887. The Sealy Cemetery Association was founded sometime prior to 1898 and officially chartered in 1924. The laides of the cemetery society, organized in 1904, helped the association cultivate community support to upgrade and maintain the cemetery. Two notable society members, Mrs. J.W. (Vera) Ripple and Mrs. Paul (Mahala) Hackbarth helped organize a Christmas bazaar fundraising event in the 1930's that developed into an important annual social affair in the community. Among the more than 2,400 grave sites are those of many of Sealy's early residents. The cemetery boasts a variety of gravestones and statuary and includes two mausoleums. (1993)

Wesley Brethren Church

Location: The Wesley Brethren Church is located on a 12 acre tract of land south of the Austin-Washington County line in Austin County. The property is part of a league originally granted in 1825 to Samuel May Williams, a land speculator who resided in Galveston. Built in 1866 and enlarged by 1/3 its size in 1883, the single-room wood frame structure is rectangular in plan with a squared bell tower intersecting the gable of the pitched roof above the entrance. The foundation is constructed of hand hewn native logs and features a 42' central log running lengthwise. Smaller logs intersect the central member at regular intervals and support the floor. The foundation rests on piers of native stone.

The facades of the building are composed of clapboard siding painted white and are basically unadorned. Presently the single entrance to the Sanctuary consists of double wooden doors with insets of beveled wooden panels and textured translucent glass. An early photograph of the church shows the original doors to be dark in value with five inset wooden panels in a lighter tone. Directly above the doors is a hand painted sign bearing the message: "JA JSEM TA CESTA I PRAVDA I ZIVOT SLOVA JEZISEKRISTA", meaning "I am the way, the truth, and the light, the words of Jesus Christ" in Czech. Above the sign is a semi-circular fan light, and above it a small circular window. The squared bell tower, with 4 louvered openings, and a conical, high pitched roof, intersect the gable. Currently the roof is covered with tin while the roof of the tower is shingled in asphalt. An early photograph shows both roofs covered with wooden shingles. The windows flanking the entrance reflect a Gothic Revival influence, with pointed arches, 5/4 double hung sashes, and stained and etched glass. The side elevations currently consist of four louvered windows with double hung windows featuring a simple geometric design of stained and etched glass. They had earlier been 9/6 double hung sashes. The rear facade is broken by two louvered windows.

Inside the church, much of the wall and ceiling surface is enriched with elaborate and detailed hand painting, added between 1889 and 1891. While a central aisle with pens on either side creates an axis between the entrance and pulpit, ceiling beams and pilasters painted in perspective give the illusion of side aisles. The walls are painted to represent brick from the floor up to about 12 ft. Above the brickwork are two horizontal bands, gray and white, respectively, featuring geometric designs and religious symbols. The windows are topped with simulated flat arches of cut stone. Behind the pulpit is a large black area surrounding a single gold chalice. Above this area is an elaborate linear composition incorporating the word BUHSNAMI, meaning "God with us".

The ceiling is bordered with an interlocking geometrical chain and features two centrally located geometric medallions from which hang two chandeliers. The church furnishings include a hand crafted pulpit, provincial pedestal base table, and pump organ. The original pens have been replaced, although a replica constructed from memory by a congregation member remains.

The church is sited on a gentle slope with the entrance to the northwest. Behind the church is a cemetery containing graves of charter members along with their twentieth century descendants.

The last service in the original sanctuary was on December 16, 1963. During that year, another church had been erected 40' to the southeast. While the old church is in relatively good condition, the foundation is in need of stabilization, and rotten wooden members need to be replaced. One area of the painting has begun to chip and peel; at one time a varnish was applied over the entire surface in an effort to preserve it. This process yellowed and dulled the colors. The Unity of the Brethren is interested in preserving the building according to the Department of the Interior's Standards.

The Wesley Brethren Church is the first building to house a Unity of the Brethren congregation in Texas and displays a valuable example of vernacular interior embellishment.

The origins of the Brethren can be traced back to the province of Bohemia, present day Czechoslovakia, during the mid-fifteenth century. In the first two decades of that century, Jan Hus had openly questioned practices of the Roman Catholic Church, and thereby became a catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. From the Reformation grew the first of the international Protestant churches, the Brethren of Bohemia, now called Moravians. The beliefs of the Brethren held that the individual had the ability to read the Bible and interpret its message without clerical intercession, as well as the right to receive communion from a chalice along with church officials. For this reason, the chalice has been an important image in the religious symbolism of the Brethren. The Catholic church persecuted the flourishing Protestants, forcing them to eliminate any public activities and pass on their beliefs by word of mouth.

In 1722, Count Zinzendorf of Austria, an aristocrat deeply concerned with both religious and state matters, invited a group of Moravians to move to his estate and establish a settlement based on the protestant beliefs of the Unity of the Brethren. The settlement, Herrnhut, grew and prospered. Count Zinzendorf, a religious and economic expansionist, began to send out missionaries to other parts of the world. During this time, missions in the U. S. were first established near present Savannah, Georgia, and later moved to Bethlehem and Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Settlers began to fan out from these early colonies as well as continue to emigrate from Austria and Czechoslovakia.

During the 1840s, Czech families began immigrating to Texas. The flow increased dramatically in the next decade, following the unsuccessful revolution in 1848 against the Hapsburg monarchy. The influx of Czechs grew steadily until the Civil War, and immigration was resumed again following the war. By the late 1800s, south central Texas was dotted with many towns and communities largely populated by these European immigrants: Dubina, Fayetteville, Hostyn, and Praha.

One of the Brethren groups from still predominantly Catholic Czechoslovakia settled in 1851 in an area they called Veseli, now known as Wesley, in southwestern Washington County. Under the direction of the Reverend Joseph Opocensky, a veteran of the Civil War and former resident of Mexico, the Wesley Brethren Church was officially organized on September 25, 1864. In 1866, the congregation erected the simple frame structure, at a total cost of $938.00, by some accounts the first building of the Czech Brethren to be built in North America, and certainly the first in Texas. The building, across the county line in Austin County, also served as a schoolhouse until about 1900, with the resident minister usually as the teacher. Many of the sixteen charter member families are still represented on the church rolls.

During the years 1889-1891, in his spare time from his pastoral duties, the Reverend Bohuslav C. Laciak (also written as Lacjak) painted the interior surfaces with religious symbols, geometrical and architectural forms. Laciak's intended meanings for the designs can only be conjectured, but many possibilities have been posited. Examples are the interlace pattern conveying the unbroken chain of brotherhood and the brickwork standing for the strength of the walls of Jerusalem. The richness of the primitive, yet intricate and detailed hand painting remains today as the church is virtually unchanged since its founding. The church is an outstanding example of provincial interior decor, designed by a lay artist to express a community's interpretation of grandeur and its pride in an enduring and democratic faith.

A new sanctuary was built in 1963 near the old one. As a museum and setting for special events, the original Wesley Brethren Church continues to serve the Czech community.

Information excerpted from Texas Historic Sites Atlas (on line) located at: http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Atlas/atlas_search_frame.html