Marker Location: US 111, Yoakum city limit - east side, Yoakum Marker Size: 18" x 28" Repairs Completed: Faded; Redo Marker Text: On 50-acre site donated 1868 for church and school purposes by John H. and Stephen Dunn, in large Irish and Czech Catholic area near the post road trading station of Bovine. It was 1876-1912 Church of St. Joseph's Parish, founded in 1860s by Father John Anthony Forest (1838-1911), third bishop (1895-1911), Diocese of San Antonio. Parishioners built church 1869-76 of stone from Muldoon, East Texas milled pine, and hand-hewn logs. Blacksmiths made nails and hinges on the site. Floor was of hard-packed, mortared clay. On August 26, 1912, last Mass was said here; church burned in 1932. 1973

Hallettsville

Location: Hallettsville, Southwest corner of South La Grange Street and Highway 77/90a Hallettsville

Marker Text: Founded 1833 when John Hallett erected a log cabin near Lavaca River. Town was named for his widow, Margaret, who gave the land when town became county seat in 1852. Farming, livestock, poultry processing, and cotton marketing center. State Championship High School Rodeo held annually.

Site of Komensky School

Location: Moulton, from Moulton take FM 532 east about 7.5 miles then take FM 1295 north about .25 miles

Marker Text: Citizens of the Czech/German Woods Prairie settlement created a fund and hired a carpenter in 1895 to build a community school. By fall 1895 a one-room schoolhouse, named for 17th century Czech (Moravian) educator and religious leader Jan Amos Komensky, was built here on land owned by Emanuel Breitschoff. Student enrollment reached 107 in 1900 and in 1901 the school was enlarged. A teacherage was erected in 1903 and in 1910 a special tax was established for the Komensky School District. Two sixth grade graduates were recognized in 1913 in the school's first public graduation ceremony. The community proudly dedicated the opening of an impressive new school here in 1914. A Parents-Teachers Association was organized in 1928. Higher grades were added over the years and by 1940 Komensky School offered 12 grades of instruction and competitive athletic programs. Eight former Komensky school students lost their lives while on active duty in World War I and II. Although the school had dropped grades 10-12 by 1955 a new school building was erected. By 1958 Komensky School offered only eight grades and in 1966, after 71 years of providing educational opportunities for the area's rural community, Komensky School closed. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995.

Moravia General Store

Location: Hallettsville,  from Hallettsville, take FM 957 northwest about 13 miles (in Moravia) FM 957, at CR 229

Marker Text: Ignac (J. E.) Jalufka and Jakob Hollub brought their families to northern Lavaca County in 1874, followed by several other Czech families. Founded in 1881, Moravia was so named to honor Moravia, Czechoslovakia, the settlers' homeland. The first commercial structures here were a blacksmith shop, cotton gin, and school. In 1889 Jalufka built a two-story frame saloon on this site. Grocery and mercantile supplies took up the rear half of the ground floor; the saloon was located in the front. The second floor served as a dance hall. Masquerades, seasonal celebrations and other events made it a popular gathering place for the entire community. From 1891 to 1900 Jalufka also was United States Postmaster for the area, operating the post office from his store. The saloon was popular and successful until 1920, the year that J. E. Jalufka died and prohibition was passed into law. Agnes Jalufka inherited the business, and sold it to Annie Chromcak and Lillian Blahuta in 1922. Annie Chromcak sold her interest to Lillian and Frank Blahuta the following year. In 1930, a new dance hall was erected across the road. The second story was torn down, leaving the one-story Moravia General Store. The new dance hall across the road was torn down in 1950. The Moravia store remained in the Blahuta family until 1979. In 1990 the store was closed for the first time in 109 years, but it was reopened in 1996. The Moravia General Store remains a link to the past and to the spirit of the pioneers of Lavaca County. (1998)

Site of Moravia School

Location: Hallettsville, from Hallettsville, take FM 957 northwest about 13 miles (in Moravia)

 Marker Text: Many Czech and German immigrants settled in this area of South Texas in the 1870s. Moravia was a Czech farming community that included homes, a Catholic church, businesses, and a school. The first school in the Moravia community was a one-room structure located about one mile northwest of this site. Students attended classes on a tuition basis. The one-room schoolhouse was destroyed by fire in 1878, and students temporarily attended school in a former store building (about 1 mile north). Land at this site was acquired in 1885. Moravia School, a two-story schoolhouse with two classrooms, was erected in 1887. Classes were conducted primarily in the Czech language until 1895. Additional land acquisitions in 1908 and 1922 enlarged the school property, and in 1923 materials from the 1887 structure were used in the construction of a larger school facility with four classrooms. Serving students from a large rural area, the Moravia School continued to grow as other rural schools declined. Students participated in scholastic, literary, and athletic activities. The Moravia School was closed following the 1971-72 school year and was consolidated with the Hallettsville School System.

Moulton

Location: Moulton, Highway 95 at Nelson Street

 Marker Text: Founded (about 2 miles northwest) in early 1850s. Moved to this site after 1887 when the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad extended its line from Yoakum to Waco, placing a station at this point. Sam and Will Moore, brothers, took lead in building an outstanding school here in 1901. Town remains an agricultural and shipping center.

Saint Ludmila's Academy

Location:  Shiner, 424 St. Ludmila Street, Shiner

Marker Text: The first Catholic school in Shiner was built in 1896 by Scherbohm and Mewes, contractors. The two story French style frame building housed two classrooms, a dining room and kitchen on the first floor, and a residence for the Sisters on the second floor. Named Saint Ludmila's Academy in honor of a Slavic saint, the school opened in February 1897 and was operated by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament religious order in the state of Texas. The co-educational boarding and day school enrolled fifty-seven students the first year. Courses included German and Czech language; music courses featured piano, guitar, and mandolin. In 1902 two years of high school were added to the elementary grades. In 1916 a new structure was built to meet increased enrollment. In 1928 a four-year high school was incorporated, and the school received the designation of an academy. After 1939, no pupils were accepted as boarders. An elementary school was built in 1951, and a gymnasium, auditorium and cafeteria were added to the campus. In 1963 the Shiner Parish erected St. Paul High School. The educational complex is known as the Shiner Catholic School. (1997)

Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church

Location: Shiner County: 424 St. Ludmilla, Shiner

 Marker Text: Early German and Czech settlers in this area of Lavaca County attended Catholic worship services in private homes or at churches in Hallettsville or Moulton until 1890, when a new mission was established in Shiner by the Rev. John Anthony Forest. The new congregation was named for 9th-century Greek Missionaries Cyril and Methodius, who converted Slovakian-Moravian central Europeans to Christianity. The members acquired two acres of land at this site in 1891, and a frame sanctuary was completed in May of that year. In February 1892 a tornado caused extensive damage to the original church structure, but it was rebuilt on a larger scale. Designated a parish in 1912, the growing congregation soon needed larger facilities. This structure, designed by F. Wahrenburger, was built in 1920-21 by volunteer laborers led by the Rev. F. X. Wolf. An outstanding example of the Romanesque revival style of architecture, it features stained glass windows imported from Munich, Germany; cut stone detailing in the pinnacles and buttresses; an arcaded front portico; and a soaring, square tower with octagonal spire. Listed in the National Register of Historic places since 1983, it also features a magnificent painted interior. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1990

Shiner

Location: Shiner, City Hall grounds, 90A

 Marker Text: Originated as German-Czech community of Half Moon, located west of present town. When the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad came through in 1887, citizens moved to rail line, where H. B. Shiner, Victoria landowner, had given a town site. Shiner was developed by cattlemen. Industries include brewery, wire works. City has museum.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church

Location: Moulton, corner of church and Pecan, Moulton

 Marker Text: One of the oldest communities in Lavaca County, the town of Moulton was originally located about two miles from the current townsite. When the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad completed a line through the area in 1887, the population shifted to the new location. Many German and Czech immigrants moved here and established family farms. When Moulton residents expressed a desire for a Catholic parish here, the Rev. John Forest of Hallettsville established St. Joseph's Church. A small frame sanctuary was built in 1888. Initially a mission of the Hallettsville Church, St. Joseph's became an independent parish in 1892. A parish school, operated by the Sisters of Divine Providence, was built in 1894. Destroyed by fire in 1902, it was replaced by a second facility. As the church continued to grow, additional buildings were erected on the property. Beginning in 1921, the Rev. Joseph Kopp (1879-1961) led the parish through thirty-eight years of growth and service. After seventy-one years of instruction, the parish school closed in 1965. Throughout its history, St. Joseph's Parish has been an important part of the Moulton community.

Site of Velehrad School

Location: Hallettsville,  14.9 mi. N of Hallettsville on Fm 957; 2.2 mi. NW on County Line Rd. to CR 253

Marker Text: The Velehrad community was settled in the 1850s; the settlement was named Velehrad, or "Big Castle" for the Czech city of that name. The first marked burial in the local cemetery dates to 1855. From its earliest days, the community organized school classes in private homes. Children were taught in Czech because most area settlers were Czech immigrants. As the area population grew to 50 or 60 families, the settlers made plans to build a schoolhouse on land west of the cemetery. As was common, the one-room structure was placed on the lower part of the tract so that the building would be as close as possible to a water source. Classes were conducted in English when the school opened its doors about 1879. In 1887 school trustees sold off one acre of land which later became the site of S.P.J.S.T. Lodge Hall No. 19. By the turn of the 20th century, the area's population was growing. The Kahanek family operated a cotton gin just north of the school property in Fayette County. In 1924 the Velehrad School District traded land for 5.5 acres around their school that included the S.P.J.S.T. Lodge Hall property. The schoolhouse was moved onto the new land to be used as a vocational workshop, and a new two-room school with a stage was erected on the original part of the property to accommodate the increasing student population. Trustees added another room in the early 1930s. As the area population declined in the next decades, Velehrad School closed and its students were transferred to the Moravia School District No. 7. The Moravia District, in turn, closed to consolidate with Hallettsville schools in 1972. (1999)

Vsetin Cemetery

Location: Hallettsville, : from Hallettsville, take FM 2314 northeast about 5.6 miles to Vsetin Cemetery

Marker Text: About 1865, newly arrived Czechoslovakian immigrants settled in this vicinity, named Sublime by earlier Irish immigrants. The Czech settlers began calling the community "Vsetin" in remembrance of the area in Austria from which they came. After working as sharecroppers for several years, most earned enough money to purchase their own farms. The settlers soon established a Czech Moravian Bretheren Church congregation and constructed a school here. The favorable reports the settlers sent back to Austria inspired a group of their relatives to immigrate in 1880. The Vsetin Cemetery was founded ten years later. It originated as a private cemetery for the Mikush family, who had arrived with the second migration. The first burial, that of six-week-old Valentine, the infant son of Martin and Veronica (Stasny) Mikush, took place in 1890 when this property was part of a farm owned by Martin and Katerina Sralla. The graveyard later evolved into a community burial ground, and in 1927 the Vsetin Cemetery Association was established to maintain it. The Vsetin Cemetery continues to serve as a tangible reminder of the area's early permanent settlers.

Site of Breslau School

Location:: Halletsville

 Marker Text: German and Czech immigrants moved to this area in the 1860s and 1870s and established small farms to grow cotton. Their community, named Breslau in honor of the Prussian city of Breslau, was located on the east side of the Lavaca River. Fritz Ladewig established a store and cotton gin in the 1870s, and in 1872 donated land for a school. In 1887, the school building was converted to a teacherage and a larger schoolhouse was erected. The community of Breslau prospered, and in 1880 a post office was established. Henry Weller donated an acre of land for a school for African American residents and a schoolhouse was built. After 1900 Breslau included stores, a blacksmith, dance hall, school and Lutheran and Catholic churches. Private donations supported the school until 1910 when a school tax of seven cents was levied and additional classrooms were constructed. A teacherage was built in 1919, and in 1922 Wessel Buss sold three acres of land on which a modern school building was built. The African American school closed in 1955. The Breslau School provided quality education for the community until June 1963 when the school was closed and consolidated with Halletsville schools. (1997)

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

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