The Handbook of Texas Online notes that the diversity of German cultures in the state was striking:. The Czechs were a much more homogeneous group. Most immigrants had been small landowners who saw little new economic opportunity back home. Their attitude toward the land and their family structure were distinctive. Farming was considered a way of life, not just a way to accumulate wealth, and Czech farm families functioned as self-contained economic and social units.
Spurred on by railroad promotion, a land boom resulted in the area of Lipan Flat, a section that stretched east from San Angelo to the Colorado River. Eola was one of the communities created during this boom, which included many immigrants from central and eastern Europe. In more than people in the vicinity of Eola were reported to be of Czech descent.
The first family to settle in the area was that of Asher L. Its population rose from thirty-five in to by In the community had a population of The community's population reached a reported high of in ; from to it was recorded as History: It is often called the "Cradle of Czech settlement in TX," because many of the early Czech settlers stopped here to rest and obtain information before moving on to other towns and counties.
The first Czech arrived here in By 's Fayetteville was a flourishing place with a great many Czech and Moravian families living around the town. It is said to be the smallest town in the US with a town clock. Historical Markers St. Encouraged by Dubuis, the Czech community organized St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and erected a sanctuary in Fayetteville in The Rev. Joseph Chromcik arrived on Christmas day in to minister at St.
John Baptist Church and became the first Czech-speaking priest in Texas. The church prospered and in the Chromcik School was opened. A mission church was established in nearby Warrenton in Chromcik extended his missionary work throughout the region and remained in Fayetteville until his death in A new sanctuary was erected in and a new 2-story school built in during the pastorate of the Rev.
John Vanicek. A convent for the Sisters of Divine Providence was built in A new sanctuary was erected in , and a parish hall, educational center, and other facilities were added over the years. John the Baptist Church is representative of the area's Czech heritage and continues a tradition of leadership in the region's Catholic community. Eventually they petitioned the Bishop of Texas for their own Czech priest, and in the Rev.
Joseph Chromcik arrived from Europe. He held his first service in Fayetteville that year and became Texas' first permanent Czech Catholic priest. He was fondly referred to as "Taticek" dear little father by many of the people who knew him. His 13 children made up the band, which is generally considered to be the first Czech band in TX.
The Baca family were pioneers in the development of Czech music in TX. A Czech folk instrument, the dulcimer, was unique to their particular sound which continued until the 's when the Baca Band gave their final performance.
The annex is found at the Fayetteville School on Highway west. Exhibits include instruments from the famous Baca Band and the old fire truck. Joseph Chromcik Location: St. Lodge No. Location: Flatonia is on Interstate Highway 10, U. Highway 90, and the main line of the Southern Pacific Railroad twelve miles west of Schulenburg in southwestern Fayette County. At that time residents of the original Flatonia settlement, one mile southeast, and Oso, three miles northeast, loaded their homes and businesses on wagons and moved to the new location on the tracks.
The post office that had been established at old Flatonia in was moved to the new town without changing its name. Flatonia was incorporated on November 10, , and its first election was held the following December 6. By the town had a population of , and the economy depended equally on cattle and cotton.
The original settlers in the area were primarily Anglo-American. Opportunities provided by the railroad and inexpensive real estate, which sold for one to fifteen dollars an acre for uncultivated land and five to thirty-five dollars per acre for cultivated, brought successive waves of German, Bohemian, Greek, Arabian, and Italian immigrants.
In the town had forty businesses, a population of 1,, and a wide service area of farms and ranches. The population remained between 1, and 1,, and the number of businesses rose to sixty-nine by The completion of I during the s caused tourist-oriented businesses to move away from Highway 90 and the railroad to the new highway, a mile north.
Each year a week-long "Czhilispiel," a festival named by Czechs who like chili, attracts visitors from a wide area of Central Texas. In the population of Flatonia was 1, Historical Marker Flatonia Main Square, 0. Situated on land granted in s to rancher William A.
Germans began to settle here in s, and soon needed a shipping point for their products. Sailing master Friedrich Wilhelm Flato and his wife Sophie, of the German Colony, had a store about 2 miles south of here. John Cline, F. Flato, John Lattimore, and railroad president T. Pierce founded Flatonia on Oct. At the same time, adjacent landowners Anton Freytag and James Faires platted Freytag and Faires' additions to the town.
Post office opened in Town was incorporated Nov. Soon it had churches, a school, cotton gins, a newspaper The Flatonia "Argus" , a cottonseed oil mill, and other businesses. A casino was built for political gatherings, dances, dramas, and other uses. Throughout its first century, the town has remained industrious, thrifty, and stable.
Worth, Tarrant Co. Frelsburg Frelsburgh was founded around by Capt. William Frels and his brother John, who immigrated to Texas from Germany in It located at the intersection of Farm roads and in the northern corner of Colorado County.
The original settlers were Germans from the area around Holstein and Oldenburg followed by immigrants from the Rhineland. Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery.
History: Settlement in the area began in the mids. The community was founded by Czech Catholic families, who first arrived in the area in Two years later about forty Czech families were established there, some from Caldwell, eleven miles to the north. The community was named Frenstat in the summer of , after the town of Frenstat, Moravia, from which most of the original inhabitants had emigrated.
A school was soon erected, and by the settlers had constructed Holy Rosary Catholic Church, the first Catholic church in Burleson County. A local post office was established in , and a cotton gin and a general store were located in the settlement during the late s.
A population estimate of twenty-five was reported in and again in the s, the last time for which a population figure is available. In some eighty-five Czech families lived in the vicinity. The community's post office was discontinued in , and in the local school was consolidated with the Somerville Independent School District.
In the late s the community comprised a handful of farm dwellings scattered around the church and recreation center. History: The community was founded in the s by Czech and other immigrants and was associated with a second community, Allison, also called Old Friendship. Friendship once had a church, a school, a cooperative association, a general store, a gin, and a community center. In a new school was built at Friendship when Allison was destroyed by a flood.
In the school was consolidated with the Granger schools. The dam was constructed between and History: Frydek was established about by Czechs, on a league of land south of the San Felipe town tract. The community, named after the Moravian city of Frydek-Mistek, soon became a market center for farmers and stockmen of the vicinity.
A Frydek post office operated from until The local school had thirty-six pupils in By the community had four businesses. A church was located in the town through much of the twentieth century. The population, which has remained predominantly Czech in origin, was an estimated twenty-five in The figure climbed to an estimated seventy-five in and then to , the number reported from to They named their new community Frydek after a town in their homeland.
When two people died in , they were buried here on land owned by Jan Pavlicek. By , when Pavlicek officially deeded the land to be consecrated by the church, there were thirteen graves in the cemetery. In 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 The cemetery remains as a reminder of the area's Czech heritage.
When the federal government replaced state administrations in processing immigrants at the turn of the century, efforts began to redirect the flow of immigration from the Northeast to Texas.
Pelican Island became federal property, and the government constructed an immigration center and quarantine station there. By Galveston was considered a "second Ellis Island. Main port of entry for pioneer Czech immigrants to Texas. Located off Port Industrial Blvd. Harborside Dr. Computer database information available on thousands of immigrants who entered Texas through this Port.
Next to, and part of, the Museum is the Elisa moored at Pier Open daily, admission charge. Location: Ganado, on U. S Highway 59 nine miles east of Edna, is the second largest town in Jackson County. History: Its position on the Southern Pacific Railroad made it a shipping and retail center for eastern Jackson County. An informal cluster of cabins at the site was originally called Mustang Settlement, after Mustang Creek.
Viewing a large body of cattle from his rail car window, an official of the company remarked that the place should be called Ganado-Spanish for "herd. A post office came the next year. In a large number of northern Scandinavians purchased land and began farming in the area. Although many of the old settlers were initially wary of these outsiders, they came to respect the Scandinavian colonists as a "hard-working, industrious class of people. In T. Mauritz opened the first bank in Ganado. By there were residents.
By the population had increased to 1, In forty-three businesses served 1, citizens. In the population was 1, Huling, donated land for the site. Pioneers were attracted by the abundance of timber and good, clear water, as were the Tonkawa Indians, who had a village there. In addition, the land was inexpensive and extremely fertile.
Swedish settlers came by the s; after German, Austrian, and Swiss settlers began arriving and after Moravian and Czech. A few blacks came with early Anglo families, and migration from Mexico began about The population in was 9,, and 4, more lived in the area. In the population was 14, Czechs were attracted to the cheap, fertile land, and by the early twentieth century Czech culture, both Catholic and Protestant, had become strong and influential in the community.
A Czech Protestant church was first organized in Granger in A Brethren congregation, the most important Czech Protestant church in Texas, was established in In a convention of Brethren congregations in Texas was held in Granger and successfully unified all the congregations into the Evangelical Unity of Bohemian and Moravian Brethren.
A Brethren teacher-training summer school, called Hus Memorial School, was established in Granger in It was later moved to Temple. Broadway Czech protestant immigrants began settling in this area in the early s.
Many of them established family farms in the rich farmland surrounding Granger. Services were held sporadically whenever a traveling minister was available to preach. Adolph Chlumsky, a Czech Brethren minister from Brenham, encouraged the people here to organize a church. On July 10, , they officially founded a congregation and elected Chlumsky Pastor. He commuted from Brenham to serve the congregation for the next 18 years. The congregation built its first church structure in On December 29, , under the leadership of the Rev.
In Chlumsky was succeeded by the Rev. Josef Barton, Sr. The church continued to thrive over the years, serving the community with a variety of programs. It remains an important part of Williamson County history.
As their informal congregation grew so did the community of Granger. In they erected a wood frame sanctuary here on land donated by Austinite W. Walton, and named their church after the Czech patron saints, Cyril and Methodius. During the Rev. His successor, the Rev. Following the death of the beloved Father Pridal in , the Rev. John Vanicek became pastor. He helped many young parishioners enter the priesthood and sisterhood, and guided several parishioners into leadership roles in stateside Catholic fraternal organizations.
In this church became a part of the newly formed Austin Diocese. A two-story brick school building was added in , a recreation center in , and a brick convent in The church continues to play an integral role in church and community affairs. In the Sisters of Divine Providence began their long affiliation of providing teachers for the school.
Educational facilities grew from a small frame schoolhouse to larger brick buildings as student enrollment increased over time. Although classes no longer are conducted in Czech and the students no longer are exclusively from the parish, SS.
Cyril and Methodius School continues to reflect its early heritage in its commitment to a sound education for its students. Highway 77 and alternate U. Highway 90A, eighty miles southeast of Austin.
History: One of the first settlers in the area was John Hallett, who received a land grant from Stephen F. Austin in After Hallett's death in his wife, Margaret L. Hallett, donated land for the town site. A post office was opened in Hallettsville was chosen county seat when La Baca County was formed in , but the county was afterward abolished. After Texas became a state and Lavaca County was organized in , Hallettsville became county seat. The present courthouse, built in , is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The population rose from an estimated in to 1, in Many who settled in Hallettsville in the late nineteenth century immigrated from Czechoslovakia and Germany. Sacred Heart Academy was founded in , and a public school system was in place by the late s.
Publication of weekly newspapers in Czech and German began in the s. By Hallettsville, with an estimated population of 1, residents, had thirteen newspapers with a combined circulation of 25, In Hallettsville had a population of 2, In the population was 2, Mary's Catholic Church about four miles west of Hallettsville. John Anthony Forest served the new congregation, as well as other missions in Lavaca County. Early worship services were held in the homes of members, most of whom had recently immigrated to Texas from Europe.
Construction began in and was supervised by Father Forest. After the building was completed in , Sacred Heart became a full-time parish. Father Forest served as pastor until , when he left to become bishop of the Diocese of San Antonio. Sacred Heart Academy, located on the grounds of the church, was established by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament in The parish continued to operate the school after the nuns relocated to San Antonio in An important part of Hallettsville history since its founding, Sacred Heart Catholic Church continues to serve the community and counts among its members many descendants of early German and Czech immigrants.
Mary's Church The present church was built in and dedicated under the title of the Immaculate Conception. History: The area was originally part of the E. Anderson league and was settled in the s. Around the late s German immigrants established two small settlements, Blum Hill and Oldenburg, and High Hill eventually grew out of them.
Blum Hill, at a site that would become the southern part of High Hill, was named for left-wing political activist Robert B. Blum, who was assassinated in Oldenburg, in what would become the northern part of High Hill, was named for a German province.
Henry Ebeling opened a store in Oldenburg in , and John F. Hillje was operating a cotton gin and gristmill in the community by In the community was granted a post office with the name High Hill. High Hill had a local Turnverein. In the community comprised six stores, three blacksmith and wheelwright shops, a hotel, and a brewery. According to some sources, residents of High Hill refused to allow the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway to build through their community in , fearing that the railroad would destroy the tranquility and culture of the town, but with the building of the line to nearby Schulenburg, many of High Hill's residents moved there.
A Catholic church had been constructed at High Hill by , and by the town had residents, four schools including a Catholic parochial school , two saloons, two general stores, a church, and a steam gristmill and cotton gin.
In the community reported a population of The post office closed in , and by High Hill had a population of seventy-five, a church, a school, and three businesses. From the s into the s the unincorporated town reported a population of In the early s the town had three historical markers, and St. The church, which celebrated its th birthday in , is the focal point for a town celebration every Sunday before Labor Day.
Weekdays: Monday 6 a. A Hillje school was opened in In L. Wychopen opened a general store. A post office operated there from until Hillje reported a population of twenty in From to the town had a population of seventy-five, but by it had fifty-one residents and no businesses. State highway maps in showed five businesses, a church, and community hall at the town site. The population remained at fifty-one in Location: Hobson is on U. A post office was established there in Shortly thereafter the Spanish-American War hero Capt.
Richmond Pearson Hobson made a railroad tour of Texas and spoke at Castine; local citizens renamed their town Hobson in Polasek operated the first Hobson business, a store and a post office, in a small frame building. Later he added a general store, a cotton gin, a lumberyard, and a gristmill. Another thriving business was Kowalik's General Store. Hobson was composed largely of people of Czech, German, and Polish descent. In the community had seven businesses and a population of The town reached a peak reported population of in the early s.
In it reported a population of At that time Hobson had St. Boniface Catholic Church, a post office, a community hall, and four businesses. Location: Holik developed around a post office west of what is now Farm Road , five miles southeast of Sunny Side, and five miles northwest of Brookshire in southern Waller County.
History: From to John B. Holik, the son of a Czech immigrant, served local farmers with a post office and gristmill at his home site. The beginning of rural free mail delivery in the area reduced the need for a local post office, and the community declined sharply after its post office closed in The county highway map does not show Holik.
History: Around James R. Holland settled on Darrs Creek near what is now the site of the community. In he built the first steam cotton gin in the southern part of the county. A post office named Holland opened there in , and the railroad was built through the town soon thereafter. By the population had doubled to , and Holland had four churches and a newspaper, the Guard. There was considerable Czech immigration to the town in the early s, and a Czech Brethren Church was organized there in The town had incorporated by , when it reported a population of In its population was 1, Location: Holman is at the intersection of Farm roads and , fifteen miles southeast of La Grange in southeastern Fayette County.
History: It was originally called Pecan because its site was on Pecan Creek. The community developed on lands granted to Jesse Burnam by Stephen F. Austin on August 16, Nearby, Burnam built his home, along with a a trading post and a ferry to cross the Colorado River; the ferry was used and then destroyed by Gen. Sam Houston and the Texas army in their retreat from Gonzales after the fall of the Alamo. The community that developed at this site was eventually named for John Holman, who established a plantation there after marrying Burnam's daughter, and for his son Nat Holman, who during the Civil War served in Company F of Terry's Texas Rangers.
During the period to many German and Czech families moved into the area to grow cotton on the rich bottomlands along the Colorado River. The post office closed in , and most of the area trade was conducted in Weimar. The construction of St. Perhaps the one most people are familiar with is the kolache. Though the Czech immigrants brought these pastries, they also transported much more into Texas through their journey from Europe.
If one man can be attributed with bringing Czech immigrants to Texas, it is Rev. Josef Arnost Bergmann. Born in what is today the Czech Republic, Bergmann married and had six children before emigrating to Texas, where he arrived in After a long, arduous journey over sea and land, the Bergmann family arrived in Cat Spring, near Sealy.
There, he served as the preacher and schoolteacher to the German community in the area. While in Cat Spring, Bergmann wrote a letter to those still back in Europe about his experiences in Texas. After publication in the Moravian News, Czech immigrants began to flock to Texas.
Without reading that letter by Bergmann, many of these new Texans would not have chosen to leave Europe. The Czech immigrants largely came from the same demographic. In late August , 16 families from northeastern Bohemia left Hamburg, Germany, to begin an arduous week voyage to the Texas coast. Those first Czech immigrants arrived in early and were followed in and by other Czech families. Although Protestants initiated the emigration to Texas, the majority of Czech immigrants — estimates range from 70 to 90 percent — were Catholics.
Many of these families settled around Fayetteville, often referred to as the "cradle of Czech immigration" in Texas. The first Catholic church to serve Czechs was built in just south of Fayetteville at Ross Prairie. The log chapel was replaced by a frame building in , and in the church was moved closer to Ellinger Live Oak Hill. The settlers of both places came over on the same ship. Catholic Czech Texans today honor St.
Mary's Church in Praha as their "mother parish. The first Czech Protestant service was held in near the present location of the Fayetteville Brethren Church. The Protestants were followers of a 15th-century reformist Bohemian priest, Jan Hus, and were known as Hussites in Europe, or the Brethren, as they called themselves.
The first Brethren congregation was formed in in Vesely. The town, on the Austin and Washington county line, is known today as Wesley, and has an church that contains interior paintwork added by Pastor Bohuslav Lacjak in Similar paintwork, in a more elaborate style, was used in Catholic churches in the vicinity of Schulenburg. The churches, today called the "Painted Churches of Texas," have become a popular tourist pilgrimage.
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