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Schulenburg, Texas

Everything Schulenburg is known for

1 song mention this city 2 artists from here

RoadyGoat plays music like this when you drive through Schulenburg. It's free on iPhone, and full songs play through Apple Music.

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Music in Schulenburg

Songs About Schulenburg

Grandpa Drank Too Much at St. John Picnic
Dujka Brothers
95%

Artists From Schulenburg

T
The Fabulous Ginn Sisters
country
A
Annie Rost
country

Rivers & Roads in Song near Schulenburg

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Schulenburg.

Interstate 10 36 songs US Route 90 9 songs Texas Colorado River 6 songs Texas State Highway 71 2 songs Guadalupe River 18 songs

Musical Heritage

Moravia Store RoadyGoat

1889

There's a Texas polka waltz called "Moon Over Moravia," and the Moravia it's named for is a Lavaca County hamlet about ten minutes out of Schulenburg — pretty much dead center between Houston and San Antonio. The store at the heart of it opened in 1889 as a country market and saloon, back when Czech settlers were just starting to farm the land and named the place for the old country. It sat closed six years until Henrietta Filip bought it in 1996 and brought it back as a bar. Same wooden floors, same bar, same shelves. She grew up a few miles off, watching farmers play an old card game called tarok while the neighbors danced. Daniel Klapuch and Mark Harmes wrote that waltz about this very room. Twenty-five years on, they're coming back to play it here.

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History of Schulenburg

Plain Churches Hiding European Cathedrals RoadyGoat

1900

Schulenburg is the gateway to one of the most surprising sights in Texas, the Painted Churches, though most of them sit just outside town in tiny communities like Dubina, Ammannsville, Praha, and High Hill. From the road they look like ordinary plain country churches, simple wood or masonry, nothing to slow down for. Then you step inside, and it is breathtaking: ceilings and arches and walls covered in color, and wooden columns painted so cleverly that they look like polished marble. German and Czech immigrant artists, many of them arriving after 1900, brought the look of the grand cathedrals of the old country and recreated it out here in the Texas countryside, on a farm-community budget, with paint and patience instead of stone and gold. The plain exterior is almost part of the trick. You have no idea what is waiting until the door swings open and a little Texas prairie church turns into a piece of Europe.

The Painted Churches of Fayette County RoadyGoat

Just outside Schulenburg, you’ll find some of the most surprising buildings in all of Texas. They’re known as the Painted Churches. From the outside, they look like simple, white wooden churches you’d see anywhere in the rural South. But when you step inside, you’re transported to another world. The interiors are an explosion of color, art, and intricate detail, mimicking the grand cathedrals of Europe. These churches were built by German and Czech immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Far from home and with limited resources, they used their own folk-art traditions to make their houses of worship beautiful. Artists used stencils, freehand painting, and clever techniques to create faux marble columns, gilded arches, and sky-blue ceilings dotted with stars. Visiting a place like St. Mary’s in High Hill is an unforgettable experience—a testament to the faith and artistry these pioneers brought to the Texas prairie.

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The Brothers Who Built the Sky RoadyGoat

In Schulenburg, the dream of flight wasn't just for the birds. It was for two local brothers, Victor and Joe Stanzel, who turned a boyhood hobby into a world-renowned business. Victor used to stop plowing the family farm to watch airplanes pass over town; he became the idea man, and Joe was the one who made the ideas real. Starting in the 1930s they designed and built model airplanes that became icons of the hobby. They were true innovators, pioneering the control-line field with their 'G-Line' flying system, which let a flyer steer a plane in the air on a single line — a patent they were granted in 1951. Their gas-powered Tiger Shark, finished in 1939, went out from their factory here to kids and adults all over the world, and Victor was still developing electric control-line planes when he died in 1997. Between them they held better than two dozen patents. Their work wasn't just about toys; it was about applying principles of aerodynamics and engineering. Today you can visit the Stanzel Museum in the old 1935 factory building and see the story of two local boys whose ingenuity and passion for flight took off and circled the globe.

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Schulenburg Painted Churches

1890

Czech and German immigrants in Fayette County built and painted elaborate church interiors in small prairie communities between the 1890s and 1910s.

Anderson Place, Old

1857

Area's oldest occupied house. Built before 1857 by William B. and Rosetta Anderson, three of whose eleven children were born here. Anderson was a carpenter, blacksmith, postmaster in town of Lyons, justice of the peace, notary public (appointed by the Governor of Texas), and sergeant of Lyons Riflemen, C.S.A. Family watched military drills from second story during Civil War. Later owners: Louis Schulenburg, for whom town was named; T. W. Pierce, a principal investor in Galveston, Houston & San Antonio Railroad; and C. A. Rose family, who remodeled house for roomers. (1971)

Historical Marker →

Morene, Carl T.

1933

Carl T. Morene, the “Music Man of Schulenburg,” was born on November 13, 1887, in Muldoon, a small community located in southwestern Fayette County, Texas. He was the son of A. F. Morene, and his parents were Swedish immigrants. The family moved often because of his father’s occupation as a railroad worker, and in 1896 they lived at Lyon’s Station in Burleson County. Morene’s mother died that year, and his father’s death in Gonzales County four years later left Morene an orphan. At the end of his eighth grade year, he left school to find work. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1909 and served for four years and subsequently joined the United States Army and served in the Motor Transport Corps during World War I . He most likely learned the electrical trade during his military service and began employment in the electric utility business at Nixon in Gonzales County after the war. He worked in Hallettsville for the Central Power and Light Company in 1924 and moved to Schulenburg to head company operations there in 1928. He eventually became city manager over the town’s municipal utility program. Morene, known as an able and productive manager, opened a new chapter in his life due to the economic consequences of the Great Depression . In 1933 a financial shortfall prompted the local school board to discontinue the paid directorship position for the Schulenburg High School Orchestra even though the program had earned regional accolades. Orchestral programs were rare in public schools in Texas at that time. In order to save the program, Carl Morene offered to serve as the unpaid director of the Schulenburg High School Orchestra. Intrigued by the creative plan to continue the orchestra and with little left to lose, the school board approved Morene’s directorship. After working his regular job during the day, Morene enthusiastically volunteered his time for the orchestra in the evening. He possessed the fundamental skills for reading and playing music and proved to be a resourceful and inspiring teacher. He accepted the economic challenges posed by the depression and persevered to build and maintain a high-quality orchestra. He personally recruited participants and offered personal lessons free of charge. Morene invested his own money to purchase musical instruments, sheet music, and other supplies for the orchestra. He furnished transportation, using his own car, to help students attend rehearsals, which occurred in the school auditorium every Monday and Wednesday night. In September 1934 an appreciative school board secured a special Texas teaching certificate for Morene. He stated, “I had never expected to have a teacher’s certificate because of the lack of school education I have had. I never graduated from high school.” Under Morene’s leadership the orchestra gained recognition for its repertoire of classical works, marches, and patriotic songs. The Schulenburg High School Orchestra achieved high honors at interscholastic events and impressed audiences at public concerts, local community events, and on the radio. The group also embarked on regional concert tours to destinations such as Shiner, Gonzales, Waelder, and Yoakum. Morene composed the words and music for Schulenburg High School’s official school song, “Shorthorns Forever,” which his orchestra debuted at a school assembly in February 1938. During World War II , Morene continued his dedication and volunteer service to lead the orchestra. With the coming of gasoline rationing, he used his own ration stamps to assist with student transportation. He continued his work as manager of the city’s utility program and in that capacity also mentored mechanically-inclined students. He maintained memberships in the Masons, Lion’s Club, and American Legion . After the war he initiated a marching drum and bugle corps program at Schulenburg High. In 1947 the corps had evolved into a full-fledged marching band. In early 1948 Morene was stricken with pneumonia which was probably th

Tsha Handbook →

Upton, William Felton

1861

William Felton Upton, early Schulenburg settler and legislator, was born on August 31, 1832, near Winchester, Franklin County, Tennessee, the son of John and Ann (Cunningham) Upton. In 1853 he moved to Texas with his mother and became a farmer and store owner in the Blum Hill community, west of Foerster's Creek in southern Fayette County. William married Mary Ann Henderson in Austin on January 21, 1858, and the couple had one son. In 1859 he was joined by his older brother, John Cunningham Upton , who took charge of the farming operations while William concentrated on the mercantile business in the community, which by 1858 was called High Hill. During the Civil War both brothers rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. John served in Hood's Texas Brigade and was killed during the second battle of Manassas. William enlisted for six months on October 19, 1861, in Galveston as a second lieutenant in Walter L. Mann 's Texas Cavalry. He re-enlisted on June 16, 1864, as a captain in Company H of Charles M. Bradford 's Texas Cavalry that served along the Texas coast and frontier. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in March 1865. On October 20, 1873, the new town of Schulenburg was platted on the route of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway four miles southeast of High Hill. Upton Avenue in the new town was named jointly for the two brothers. In 1875 Upton moved his business to the growing city, where he was elected alderman, and his father-in-law, Alfred Henderson, was the newly elected mayor. Upton served Fayette County as a State Representative in the 11 th Texas legislature in 1866 and in the 16 th through 19 th legislatures from 1879 to 1885. He died in Schulenburg on February 7, 1887, and is buried in the Schulenburg City Cemetery beside his wife, who died in 1911, and her parents. Upton County, established in 1887 and organized in 1910, was named for the two brothers.

Tsha Handbook →

Lyons Family Cemetery

1820

James Lyons (b. 1778) brought his family to Texas from New York in 1820. While working outside his cabin near this site on Oct. 15, 1837, Lyons was killed by Comanches. His was the first grave in this family cemetery. His 12-year-old son Warren (b. 1825) was captured in the attack and held by the Indians for about 10 years before he was able to return home. In 1848 he married Lucy Boatright. They later settled in Johnson County, where he died in 1870. A stone erected here in 1931 states incorrectly that Warren Lyons, rather than his father James, was a victim of the 1837 raid.

Historical Marker →

Schulenburg, TX

1873

Schulenburg is at the intersection of Interstate 10, U.S. Highway 77, and Farm Road 1579, on the Southern Pacific Railroad, eighteen miles south of La Grange in southern Fayette County. The area was settled by German, Austrian, and Czech settlers in the mid-nineteenth century. Schulenburg was founded in 1873, when the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway built through the site, and was named for Louis Schulenburg, who donated land for the railroad. The community was granted a post office in 1874 and incorporated in 1875. Another land donor was John Christian Baumgarten Sr., one of the "Forty-eighters" from Germany, who built a cottonseed-crushing plant in the community. He also operated a lumberyard, a planing mill, a sash and door factory, and a cotton gin, and in 1883 he opened the Schulenburg Oil Mill, which manufactured Baumgarten Process Allison Flour from cottonseed. In 1884 the community had 1,000 inhabitants, two churches, a bank, schools, thirteen general stores, and four saloons. Among the early newspapers in the community were the Schulenburg Enterprise , the Messenger , the Sticker , and the Texas Volksfreund . Schulenburg had electric lights by 1896, and in 1900 the community had 1,149 inhabitants. By 1914 it had Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, and Methodist churches and the G. E. Ruhman plant, which manufactured steel furnaces and wire goods. The population of the town slowly climbed to 1,246 in 1920, 1,640 in 1930, and 1,970 in 1940. In 1945 Schulenburg had 112 businesses, including two manufacturing companies, three cotton gins, a machine shop, and the Stanzel Company—a model airplane factory. The population of the town continued its slow rise in the postwar period, reaching 2,207 in 1960, 2,347 in 1980, and 2,455 in 1990. The population was 2,699 in 2000 and 2,945 in 2015. Schulenburg has a rich musical heritage, especially polka music , and has had several orchestras, the Gold Chain Bohemian Band, and the Texas Polka Music Museum . The town is also noted for the painted churches in the region and is home to the Stanzel Model Aircraft Museum. See also COTTONSEED INDUSTRY .

Tsha Handbook →

Things to Do in Schulenburg

quirky 15.2 mi away
The Chicken Ranch

A brothel outside La Grange operated continuously from the 1840s until Houston television reporter Marvin Zindler exposed it in 1973 -- one of the…
food 23.6 mi away
Spoetzl Brewery

Home of Shiner beer since 1909. Free tours and tastings in tiny Shiner Texas.
quirky 23.9 mi away
The Beer That Tasted Like Medicine

In 1909 a group of homesick German and Czech farmers in tiny Shiner Texas pooled their money built a ramshackle brewery and tried to make beer that reminded…
historical 23.9 mi away
The Brewmaster from Egypt

Kosmos Spoetzl took one of the strangest paths to small-town Texas. Born in Bavaria he trained at brewmaster school in Germany then spent eight years brewing…
historical 23.9 mi away
The Only Female Brewery Owner in America

When Kosmos Spoetzl died in 1950 his daughter Cecile -- known as Miss Celie -- took over the brewery. She became the only female brewery owner in the entire…
quirky 24.0 mi away
When Hippies Discovered Shiner Beer

For its first 60 years Shiner Beer barely left the county. Then in the 1970s something unexpected happened. At the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin an…
food 15.7 mi away
Hruska's Bakery & Store

Family-run Czech bakery on Highway 71 in Ellinger since 1912. Kolaches, klobasniky, and a roadside-store side hustle for travelers between Houston and Austin.
historical 23.8 mi away
Surviving Prohibition with Near Beer and Ice

When Prohibition hit in 1920 most breweries across America shut their doors forever. Not Kosmos Spoetzl. He kept the Shiner brewery alive by officially…
day trip
Day Trip to Schulenburg 🇩🇪 (FULL EPISODE) S6 E11

Featured on The Daytripper — a full-episode local travel guide.

Everything Near Schulenburg

504 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the nearest 200 are listed here — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

  • Schulenburg Painted Churches · Historical Marker

    Czech and German immigrants in Fayette County built and painted elaborate church interiors in small prairie communities between the 1890s and 1910s.

  • Old Anderson Place: the House You Cannot Build · 0.1 mi

    You're passing the Old Anderson Place at 510 South Main Street in Schulenburg, the oldest continuously occupied house in the area. It was built before 1857 by William B. Anderson, a carpenter, blacksmith, postmaster of…

  • Anderson Place, Old · 0.1 mi · Historical Marker

    Area's oldest occupied house. Built before 1857 by William B. and Rosetta Anderson, three of whose eleven children were born here. Anderson was a carpenter, blacksmith, postmaster in town of Lyons, justice of the peace,…

  • Original Site of First Oil Mill in Texas · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the original site of Texas's very first oil mill, right here in Schulenburg. Back in 1866, Frederick Hillje built this place, adapting a German sugar beet crusher to process seeds. His mill grew,…

  • United Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the United Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, right where the Swiss Alp community got its start around 1865. The Philadelphia Evangelical Lutheran Church was established soon after, meeting on land…

  • Lyons Lodge No. 195, A.F. & A.M. · 0.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Lyons Lodge No. 195, A.F. & A.M.. Lyons Lodge No. 195, A.F.& A.M. began in the community of Lyons in 1856. The first meeting place was at a farm in the town.

  • Heartbreak, Then a Shutout in the Rain: The 1991 Title · 0.3 mi

    Schulenburg's 1991 state championship was set up by a heartbreak. In 1990 David Husmann's Shorthorns reached the Class 2A semifinals and lost a 41-36 shootout to Groveton, which went on to win the title. A year later…

  • The Coach's Astrodome Homecoming: Back-to-Back in 1992 · 0.3 mi

    Schulenburg repeated as Class 2A state champion in 1992, beating Goldthwaite 35-20 in the Astrodome to finish 15-1 — a win official enough that the Texas House of Representatives passed a resolution about it, praising…

  • Why the Stadium Says Husmann on It · 0.3 mi

    Schulenburg's football stadium is named David Husmann Memorial Stadium, for the coach who ran the Shorthorns from 1985 through the 1997 season: 139 wins in 13 seasons, the playoffs 11 times in those 13 seasons, three…

  • The First Title Came Down to the Last 27 Seconds · 0.3 mi

    Schulenburg's first state football championship came in 1972, when Tom Walker's Shorthorns went 12-1-2 and beat the Clarendon Broncos 14-10 for the Class 1A title on December 22 at Brownwood's Municipal Stadium. It was…

  • Sixty-Nine Wins, Six Losses, and the One That Got Away · 0.3 mi

    From 1990 through 1994, David Husmann's Schulenburg teams went 69-6 with three perfect regular seasons and back-to-back state championships in 1991 and 1992. The 1994 team nearly made it three titles in four seasons:…

  • Bill Bucek: Schulenburg's First Four-Year Letterman · 0.3 mi

    Billy 'Bill' Bucek was Schulenburg's first four-year football letterman, finishing with his senior season of 1955, when his Texas High School Football Hall of Fame bio credits him with 1,273 rushing yards and 17…

Show all 200 nearby places
  • Morene, Carl T. · 0.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Carl T. Morene, the “Music Man of Schulenburg,” was born on November 13, 1887, in Muldoon, a small community located in southwestern Fayette County, Texas. He was the son of A. F. Morene, and his parents were Swedish…

  • Upton, William Felton · 0.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    William Felton Upton, early Schulenburg settler and legislator, was born on August 31, 1832, near Winchester, Franklin County, Tennessee, the son of John and Ann (Cunningham) Upton. In 1853 he moved to Texas with his…

  • Schulenburg, TX · 0.3 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Schulenburg is at the intersection of Interstate 10, U.S. Highway 77, and Farm Road 1579, on the Southern Pacific Railroad, eighteen miles south of La Grange in southern Fayette County. The area was settled by German,…

  • Gus Cranz Mansion, 1874 · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising past the Gus Cranz Mansion in Schulenburg, a beautiful example of German craftsmanship. <break time="400ms"/> Built in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1874</say-as>, immigrant carpenters used…

  • Schulenburg · 0.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're passing through Schulenburg, a town that owes its existence to the railroad and a bit of German and Czech grit. In 1873, settlers from nearby Lyons and High Hill found a new home when the Galveston, Houston & San…

  • Plain Churches Hiding European Cathedrals · 0.5 mi

    Schulenburg is the gateway to one of the most surprising sights in Texas, the Painted Churches, though most of them sit just outside town in tiny communities like Dubina, Ammannsville, Praha, and High Hill. From the…

  • The Painted Churches of Fayette County · 0.6 mi

    Just outside Schulenburg, you’ll find some of the most surprising buildings in all of Texas. They’re known as the Painted Churches. From the outside, they look like simple, white wooden churches you’d see anywhere in…

  • The Brothers Who Built the Sky · 0.6 mi

    In Schulenburg, the dream of flight wasn't just for the birds. It was for two local brothers, Victor and Joe Stanzel, who turned a boyhood hobby into a world-renowned business. Victor used to stop plowing the family…

  • The Second Saturday, at the Farmers State Bank · 0.6 mi

    On Saturday the twelfth of November, 1960, a man in a green plaid shirt carried a military duffle bag into the Farmers State Bank in Schulenburg. He had a forty five caliber revolver. He left with four thousand eight…

  • How Schulenburg Got Its Name, and What It Means · 0.6 mi

    Schulenburg got its name in what amounts to a polite argument. In 1873 the railroad was laying track through southern Fayette County, and that spring it bought up the farm of Louis and Johanna Schulenburg, about 450…

  • The Texas Town That Built Airplanes · 0.6 mi

    Here is something you would never guess about a quiet farm town: for the better part of a century, Schulenburg built flying toys for children all over America. It started in the 1930s, in the teeth of the Depression,…

  • Where the Saloon Was Downstairs and the Polka Was Upstairs · 0.6 mi

    One of Schulenburg's grandest old buildings was built for two appetites at once: drinking and dancing. In 1894 brothers Charles and Gustav Sengelmann put up the Two Brothers Saloon, and they stacked the town's social…

  • Moravia Store · 0.6 mi

    There's a Texas polka waltz called "Moon Over Moravia," and the Moravia it's named for is a Lavaca County hamlet about ten minutes out of Schulenburg — pretty much dead center between Houston and San Antonio. The store…

  • The Soul of Saturday Night · 0.6 mi

    If the walls of Sengelmann Hall could talk, they'd probably sing a polka. Built in 1894 on Main Street, right across from the railroad tracks, it went up after fire destroyed the Sengelmann brothers' earlier saloon on…

  • The Highway That Reshaped the Town · 0.6 mi

    If you’re driving on Interstate 10, you are experiencing the piece of engineering that redefined Schulenburg for the modern era. When this highway was built in the mid-20th century, it was a monumental undertaking of…

  • Schulenburg, TX · 0.6 mi

    In 1831, the Mexican government granted 4,428 acres of land to Kesiah Crier, marking the beginning of European-American settlement in the area that would become Schulenburg. The town developed from two nearby…

  • The Bishop Forest Ranger Who Buried Home Plate · 0.6 mi

    There was a Catholic high school in Schulenburg called Bishop Forest. It opened on Ranger Drive in nineteen fifty-six, it closed in nineteen eighty-nine, and in between it turned out one of the most entertaining men in…

  • The Revolutionary Who Turned Cottonseed Into Industry · 0.6 mi

    The man who almost gave Schulenburg his own name was a former revolutionary. John Christian Baumgarten was one of the German Forty-Eighters, the idealists who fled Europe after the failed revolutions of 1848, and he…

  • Four Saloons and a Railroad Town · 0.6 mi

    Schulenburg went from empty prairie to a real town at startling speed. The railroad arrived in 1873, the town incorporated just two years later in 1875, and by 1884, only about eleven years in, it was already humming.…

  • The Poison Hidden in Baumgarten’s Cottonseed Flour · 0.6 mi

    Baumgarten's Schulenburg Oil Mill, opened in 1883, hid a real chemical problem inside the cottonseed flour it sold, even if nobody in town had the word for it yet. Cottonseed is loaded with protein, which is why it…

  • Schulenburg Baptist Church · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Schulenburg, and right here is the story of a church that moved itself! Organized around 1871 as High Hill Missionary Baptist Church, the lumber for their first building was hauled by oxen three…

  • Turner Hall · 0.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a building that was the heart of Schulenburg for decades. Built in 1886 by Henry Bohlman for the Schulenburg Turnverein, a German gymnastic club, this was Turner Hall. More than just a…

  • Lyons Family Cemetery · 0.9 mi · Historical Marker

    James Lyons (b. 1778) brought his family to Texas from New York in 1820. While working outside his cabin near this site on Oct. 15, 1837, Lyons was killed by Comanches. His was the first grave in this family cemetery.…

  • Upton, Col. William F. · 0.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Schulenburg, and if you look closely, you might be seeing the area where Colonel William F. Upton made his home. He arrived in Texas way back in 1853, settling near High Hill. When the Civil War…

  • William B. Bridgers · 1.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the area where William B. Bridgers lived, a true pioneer who arrived in Texas in 1824 as one of Stephen F. Austin's original 300 settlers. He fought in the Texas Revolution with Captain Alley's…

  • Carl T. Morene: A Shorthorn Forever · 1.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Schulenburg, where Carl T. Morene left a lasting musical legacy. Born in 1887, he came here in 1928 to manage the local utility. When the school could no longer afford a music teacher in 1933,…

  • Lyons, Site of Former Town of · 1.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Fayette County, not far from where the town of Lyons once stood. It started on land granted to Keziah Cryer, but the town got its name from settler James Lyons. He was killed by Indian raiders…

  • Bermuda Valley Farm · 1.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Bermuda Valley Farm, and just off to your left, about fifty yards, is the site of a famous race track. It was laid out in 1889 by Dr. I.E. Clark, a physician and state senator who owned this land. He…

  • Nativity of Mary, Blessed Virgin Catholic Church · 2.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    Prepare to be amazed by the Nativity of Mary, Blessed Virgin Catholic Church, a true architectural gem rising from the Texas countryside. This stunning church, located in High Hill, wasn't just thrown together; it was…

  • Bedstead Truss Bridge (Mulberry Creek Bridge) · 2.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past a piece of Texas engineering history! This is the Bedstead Truss Bridge, built way back in 1888 by the King Iron Bridge Company. For decades, this 60-foot iron marvel was a vital link, connecting…

  • Navidad Baptist Cemetery · 2.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Navidad Baptist Cemetery, a quiet reminder of a town that vanished. Back in the 1840s, this area was the pioneer community of Lyons, established on land originally granted in 1831. By 1853, Seth…

  • Creuzbaur's Battery, C.S.A. "The Big Guns of Fayette" · 3.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Creuzbaur's Battery, known as 'The Big Guns of Fayette.' Organized in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1861</say-as> by a former Prussian officer, this Confederate artillery unit of…

  • High Hill Cemetery · 4.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past High Hill Cemetery, a final resting place for many German immigrants who settled this part of Texas. The community itself got its name from a post office established around 1858. This six-acre…

  • Dubina · 5.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Fayette County, heading towards a place called Dubina. The name itself means 'Oak Grove' in Czech. This spot was founded way back in 1856 by a determined group of Moravian immigrants, families…

  • Clear Creek Cemetery · 5.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Clear Creek Cemetery, established in the 1850s near the old Gonzales Road. It served as the main burial ground for the community, with the last recorded burial in 1929.

  • Lawrence, Joseph · 6.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a Texas hero! Joseph Lawrence fought in the Texas War for Independence and was there at the Battle of San Jacinto, the fight that won Texas its freedom. Imagine the courage it took to…

  • Andrews Chapel Cemetery · 6.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Andrews Chapel Cemetery, a place with roots going back to the 1860s. It's named for A.G. Andrews, who donated land for a church and burial ground. Look for the grave of Alfred Morrow, a Mexican War…

  • Weimar Masonic Cemetery · 6.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Weimar Masonic Cemetery. Masonic Lodge No. 423 purchased two acres for this cemetery back in 1877. The burial ground was later combined with the adjacent I.O.O.F. Cemetery, and Weimar Cemetery,…

  • Borden, John Pettit · 6.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the birthplace of John Pettit Borden, a man who saw Texas history unfold. Born in New York in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1812</say-as>, he arrived in Texas in 1829, settling in Stephen F.…

  • Route of the Texas Army · 6.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Lavaca County, not far from where history was made. It's March 15th, 1836, and General Sam Houston and his Texas Army are on the move, retreating eastward from Gonzales. They cross Rocky Creek…

  • Freyburg Methodist Church · 6.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Freyburg Methodist Church. Services began in the late 1860s, with this sanctuary built in 1879. It's a fine example of an open Gothic style church, and it still serves the community today.

  • Freyburg Methodist Church Cemetery · 6.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Freyburg United Methodist Church Cemetery, established in 1880. It was recognized as a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2005.

  • Site of Velehrad School · 7.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Velehrad, a community founded by Czech immigrants in the 1850s. They named it for a Czech city, meaning 'Big Castle.' From the start, these settlers prioritized education, holding classes in their…

  • SPJST Velehrad Cemetery · 7.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the SPJST Velehrad Cemetery near Hallettsville. This burial ground was established by Czech immigrants from Moravia, who settled the Velehrad community. Filip Bucek, a Czech resident, dreamed of a…

  • Kenny Konz: The Deer Hunter, the Hitchhike, and Two NFL Titles · 7.1 mi

    Kenneth 'Kenny' Konz joined the Weimar varsity as a freshman in 1943 and, with his older brother Max, led the Wildcats to their first undefeated season and first district championship. His teams went 31-3-1 with three…

  • The Upside-Down Season: 0-5-1, Then District Champions · 7.1 mi

    Weimar's 1972 season, under coach Robert Gall, may be the strangest championship run in school history. The Wildcats went 0-5-1 in non-district play: a 6-6 tie with Ganado, a 20-18 heartbreaker against a Schulenburg…

  • Both Diamonds, Same Spring: Weimar in 2003 · 7.1 mi

    Winning one state championship is what a small Texas town talks about for forty years. Weimar won two in the same school year. In 2003 the Wildcats took the UIL state title in baseball and the Weimar softball program…

  • Perfect at Six-Man, Winless at Eleven · 7.1 mi

    Weimar dropped eleven-man football in 1939 for six-man — the wide-open small-school game on an 80-yard field where every player is an eligible receiver — and went 50-18-2 over eight seasons. The 1946 team under coach…

  • The First Eleven-Man Title Ran Through Schulenburg · 7.1 mi

    Weimar's first eleven-man district football championship came in 1960, under coach James Guyton, and it was decided the way it should have been: against Schulenburg, the arch-rival Weimar has played more than any other…

  • Ninety-Four Points in One Game, and No Playoffs · 7.1 mi

    The 1963 Weimar Wildcats, under coach Edsel Nix, went 8-1-1 and put up scores that still look like typos: 94-6 over Shiner (confirmed in both the Nesbitt Memorial Library's compiled history and the Lone Star Football…

  • From 0-10 to 55-0: The Long Climbs Back · 7.1 mi

    Weimar football has climbed out of the cellar more than once. In 1990 the Wildcats went 0-10 under Mike Gollahon and were outscored 474-75; two years later Kyle Taylor's 1992 team was back in the playoffs at 7-4,…

  • Oakland Normal School · 7.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Oakland, Texas, where for over thirty years, a beacon of education shone brightly for African Americans. This was the site of the Oakland Normal School, founded way back in 1882. For three…

  • Oakland · 7.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through what used to be Prairie Point, a Texas town platted in 1856 by Mexican War veteran A.C. Hereford. It sits on land once surveyed by the famous James Bowie. Prairie Point was the second oldest…

  • Strunk-Woolsey House · 7.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Strunk-Woolsey House, built around 1875. This home showcases the early Texas open-hall, or breezeway, style of construction. It was the residence of John Monroe Woolsey during his time as a…

  • Holman-Seifert Homestead · 7.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Holman-Seifert Homestead near Weimar. John T. Holman, who arrived in Texas way back in 1837, built this house around 1875. He was quite the character – married three times and fathered eighteen…

  • The Railroad Killer — Weimar, Texas, 1999 · 7.2 mi

    Weimar is a railroad town. That is why it is here at all — the line came through and the town arranged itself around it. That same geography is why a killer found it. In the spring of nineteen ninety-nine, Norman…

  • Strickland Field: The First Lights Between San Antonio and Houston · 7.3 mi

    Weimar built its ballpark the way small towns used to build things: the veterans did it themselves. Strickland Field went up at Veterans Memorial Park in nineteen forty-eight, and when the lights came on it was the…

  • Salem Memorial Cemetery · 7.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Salem Memorial Cemetery, established in 1870. It was recognized as a Historic Texas Cemetery in 2006.

  • Hackberry · 7.4 mi · Historical Marker

    THE HACKBERRY COMMUNITY WAS ESTABLISHED BY GERMAN IMMIGRANT LUDWIG EDUARD NEUHAUS, WHO CAME TO TEXAS IN 1846, SETTLING IN NORTHERN LAVACA COUNTY. HE ENCOURAGED AND SPONSORED OTHER GERMAN IMMIGRANTS TO SETTLE IN…

  • Hackberry · 7.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through what used to be Hackberry, a community founded by German immigrant Ludwig Eduard Neuhaus. He arrived in Texas in 1846 and, seeing opportunity, sponsored his own brothers and other countrymen to…

  • Pecans, Poultry, and a Town That Shipped the Harvest · 7.5 mi

    Once the railroad arrived, Weimar did what good rail towns did: it became a place to gather up the countryside's harvest and ship it out. The farms around town were worked largely by German and Czech immigrant families…

  • Weimar Masonic Lodge No. 423 · 7.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Weimar, where the Masonic Lodge No. 423 was established in 1874. The lodge aimed to make men better through brotherhood and taught basic moral truths. Many early community leaders were dedicated…

  • How Weimar Got Its Name, and What It Means · 7.6 mi

    Weimar started life under a different name. When the town was laid out in 1873, betting that the railroad would run through it, locals called it Jackson, after D. W. Jackson, a Georgia-born landowner who donated the…

  • The Weimar Sailor Who Died Holding the Wheel · 7.6 mi

    The most heart-stopping story to come out of Weimar belongs to a young sailor named Johnnie David Hutchins, born here in 1922. He enlisted in the Navy from Houston in 1942 and became the helmsman of a tank landing ship,…

  • The Town a Railroad Deal Built · 7.6 mi

    Weimar exists because of a handshake over railroad tracks. In the early 1870s the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway was pushing west across open Colorado County prairie, and a depot meant the difference…

  • Learn a Little German in a German Town · 7.6 mi

    Since you are passing through a town with a German name, settled by German and Czech farm families, here is a little of the language to carry with you. A friendly hello in the daytime is guten tag, which literally means…

  • The Quiet Science Inside a Sour Pickle · 7.6 mi

    Weimar is deep German and Czech farm country, settled by families who brought their pickling and their sauerkraut with them, and that heritage is exactly why a sour pickle is worth talking about here, because there is…

  • Saint Michael's Catholic Church · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Saint Michael's Catholic Church in Weimar, a testament to faith and craftsmanship. Established as a mission way back in 1888, it got its first resident priest, Father Edward Brucklin, just four years…

  • Weimar Railroad Depot · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Weimar, a town that owes its existence to the railroad. Back in 1873, T. W. Peirce, president of the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railroad, chose this spot. He partnered with D. W. Jackson,…

  • Weimar · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Weimar, Texas, a town that sprang to life in 1873 thanks to the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio rail line. This land itself has a deeper history, once part of the very first Anglo-American…

  • Philadelphia Evangelical Lutheran Church · 7.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Philadelphia Evangelical Lutheran Church in La Grange. This congregation has a long history, dating back to March 24, 1867, making it the second oldest in its synod. Imagine the early…

  • The Weimar Man Who Threw Second Base Into the Outfield · 7.7 mi

    Weimar's most famous ballplayer never played a single major league game, and he is still one of the best shows in the sport. Joe Mikulik was born here in nineteen sixty-three. The Houston Astros took him in the ninth…

  • Engineering a Town on the Prairie · 7.7 mi

    Weimar exists because a landowner bet on a railroad before the railroad got here. In 1873 the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway was pushing across the coastal prairie toward San Antonio, hunting the…

  • Barnett, Etta Moten · 7.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Weimar, Texas, the birthplace of Etta Moten Barnett, a true Texas original. Born in 1901, Etta's voice took her from the church choir right here in Weimar to the grand stages of Broadway and…

  • The Voice of Weimar Since 1888 · 7.7 mi

    In a world of fleeting digital news, imagine a newspaper that has been the steady heartbeat of its community for over 135 years. That's The Weimar Mercury. Its first issue came off the press on December 20, 1888, taking…

  • Weimar, TX · 7.7 mi

    Weimar, Texas, has a rich history that began in 1873 when the town was founded in anticipation of the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad. Originally named 'Jackson' after D.W. Jackson, a landowner who…

  • The Bank Bomb Bandit · 7.7 mi

    On the afternoon of March thirtieth, 2021, a little after one twenty, a man walked into the Hill Bank and Trust on East Main Street in Weimar, went to the teller window, and demanded money. What made it different from…

  • Three Rough Years in Weimar · 7.7 mi

    For a stretch in the late 1870s the merchants in Weimar could not keep people out of their stores. Break ins came one after another. Then on the second of June, 1879, somebody got into Henry Carey's store and, robbery…

  • McLeary, Kindred · 7.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Weimar, Texas, the hometown of artist Kindred McLeary. Back in 1928, right here, McLeary painted "Cotton," a striking image of a Black woman in a cotton field with men around her. When it was…

  • Weimar Mercury · 7.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Weimar, Texas, the home of the Weimar Mercury newspaper. Its story starts back in 1885 as the Weimar Gimlet. Over the years, it changed hands and names, becoming the Mercury in 1888. A big moment…

  • Hoyo, John Charles, Sr. · 7.7 mi · Tsha Handbook

    John Charles Hoyo, Sr., lawyer, judge, and legislator, was born in Weimar, Texas, on July 20, 1891, to George Peter Hoyo and Emma (Schmidt) Hoyo. He attended Princeton University and the University of Texas at Austin.…

  • Moravia General Store · 8.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Moravia, a community founded by Czech immigrants who named it after their homeland. Look to your right – this spot on the marker once held a unique building. In 1889, Ignac Jalufka built a…

  • The Boy Who Saw Them Take the Cattle · 8.1 mi

    On a June morning in 1880 three men rode out to gather up stray cattle, butcher them and sell the meat to the shops at Flatonia and Schulenburg. Passing the Ragsdale place, about a mile west of Moravia, they helped…

  • Moravia School · 8.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Lavaca County, where Czech and German immigrants carved out new lives in the 1870s. Right around here was the heart of Moravia, a Czech farming community. The very first school? It was a simple…

  • SPJST Moravia Cemetery · 8.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past SPJST Moravia Cemetery. IMMIGRANTS FROM NORTHEASTERN MORAVIA (CURRENT CZECH REPUBLIC) SETTLED IN THE AREA PRESENTLY KNOWN AS MORAVIA, TEXAS. MORAVIA WAS FOUNDED BY JAKUB HOLLUB AND HIS SON-IN-LAW…

  • Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church · 8.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, founded in 1886 by Reverend G. Geiger with just six families. They served two nearby communities, Content and New Bielau. In 1888, the congregation…

  • Pin Oak Cemetery · 9.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Pin Oak Cemetery, a final resting place with roots stretching back to the Republic of Texas. The very first burials here, though unmarked, were for two soldiers who died in 1842 after the Battle of…

  • William Gorham · 9.2 mi · Historical Marker

    Keep your eyes peeled as you drive through La Grange. You're passing the site of a veteran of the Texas Revolution, William Gorham. Gorham served in the Texas Army from 1835 to 1836, and he fought in the decisive Battle…

  • Shiloh Community · 9.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Shiloh, a community born from a journey. In the 1850s, about thirty families packed up and moved here from Mississippi, naming their new home Shiloh after their old church. They were mostly…

  • Shiloh Cemetery · 9.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Shiloh Cemetery, a final resting place for the early settlers of this community. The first marked burial here was Frederick Schmidt Muller in 1897, though unmarked graves predate that. Many…

  • St. Mary's Church of the Assumption (Praha, Texas) · 9.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    Admire the artistry of Gottfried Flury in this stunning church, a landmark of Praha, Texas.St. Mary's Church of the Assumption was built in 1895 here in Praha. It's a beautiful example of the area's Czech heritage.The…

  • Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church · 9.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, a testament to Czech immigrant faith and culture in Texas. Settlers arrived in 1854, and by 1864, priests were serving the…

  • Burnam's Ferry · 10.5 mi

    You're driving past the site of Burnam's Ferry, the very first ferry in what is now Fayette County. About 1824, Jesse Burnam set up this crossing on the vital La Bahia Road, in a time when a river few men could swim…

  • Black Jack Springs Cemetery · 10.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Black Jack Springs Cemetery, a quiet resting place with a story stretching back to the 1860s. It began with a burial for Thomas Oeding, who died in 1867, on land donated by pioneer Charles Luck. The…

  • Czech Settlement, The Oldest · 10.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Fayette County, heading past the site of the oldest Czech settlement in Texas. In November of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1856</say-as>, three families arrived here from Czechoslovakia.…

  • Novohrad School · 11.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Lavaca County, heading past the site of the Novohrad School. For decades, this place offered education to children in the rural Bohemian community of Novohrad. Established in 1882, the first…

  • Komensky School · 11.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Komensky School, a testament to the dedication of Czech and German immigrants in the Woods Prairie settlement. In 1895, they pooled their resources to build this community school, naming…

  • Brookfield-Evans-Cremer House · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Brookfield-Evans-Cremer House, a place that saw some serious Texas history unfold. It all started back in 1835 when Samuel Brookfield bought this land. He died at the Alamo the very…

  • Czech Catholic Union of Texas · 11.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past La Grange, where a significant piece of Czech-Texan history unfolded. On March 24, 1889, a group of Czech immigrants gathered right here to form the Katolicka Jednota Texaska, or the Czech Catholic…

  • The Flatonia Crossing · 11.9 mi

    Look at a map of Flatonia, and you'll see a perfect cross right in its center. That's not a coincidence; it's the town's reason for being. This is one of the few places in Texas where two major, historically significant…

  • They Planned It in the Flatonia Graveyard · 11.9 mi

    On the fifteenth of June, 1887, a gang of train robbers met at night in the graveyard at Flatonia and worked the whole thing out around a campfire. Three days later they did it. Brack Cornett and a man named Whitley…

  • Osage, Old · 11.9 mi

    You're driving past the site of Old Osage, a place that played a role in Texas independence and the Civil War. It started in 1820 as a trading post and ferry, operated by Jesse Burnam. That ferry was crucial for General…

  • Czhilispiel: A Texas-Czech Tradition · 11.9 mi

    How do you celebrate being a Texas town with deep Czech roots? In Flatonia, you invent a festival with a name that honors both. Welcome to Czhilispiel. That's C-Z-H-I-L-I-S-P-I-E-L. The name is a clever pun, combining…

  • Engineering a Crossroads · 11.9 mi

    The heart of Flatonia is a precise piece of 19th-century civil engineering known as a 'diamond crossing.' When the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway arrived in 1887, it had to cross the existing east-west Southern…

  • Flatonia and Oso both emptied out · 11.9 mi

    The first Flatonia wasn't here. It sat about a mile southeast, a small settlement with a post office since 1870. Then, in the early 1870s, surveyors for the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway ran their line…

  • Flatonia, TX · 11.9 mi

    Flatonia was established on April 8, 1874, on land acquired from William Alexander Faries by the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway. The town was named after F. W. Flato, a local merchant and one of the first…

  • Osage Community Cemetery · 11.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Osage Community Cemetery, a resting place for some of the Republic of Texas's earliest settlers. Look for monuments as old as 1860, ranging from sandstone to granite. Most notably, this cemetery…

  • Brandt Cemetery · 11.9 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Fayette County, near the community of Pecan, where a piece of German immigrant history lies. Eilert Brandt and his wife Sophie arrived from Germany in April of 1888, purchasing nearly 400 acres.…

  • Twelve People Inside the Hay Bales · 12.1 mi

    Interstate 10 runs along the edge of Flatonia, and around mile marker 658 on the nineteenth of May, 2025, a Fayette County deputy pulled over a white Ford pickup towing a gooseneck trailer stacked with big round hay…

  • Williamson, Maro Woodley · 12.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, and right here, in what was once Flatonia, you're passing through the stomping grounds of Maro Woodley Williamson. Born in 1903 in Lavaca County, Williamson started his career in…

  • Flatonia, TX · 12.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Flatonia, a town born from a railway boom. Back in 1874, the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway needed a stop, and they found it right here. Residents of the old Flatonia settlement and…

  • Flatonia Methodist Church · 12.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Flatonia Methodist Church. This congregation started way back in 1855, known then as Lane's Chapel. The first meetings were held in a log cabin about six miles northeast, and by 1859,…

  • Cedar Creek Cemetery · 12.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Cedar Creek Cemetery, established around 1875 by the African-American community. The African Methodist Episcopalian Church, organized nearby, received this land and built a church and cemetery. Look…

  • Flatonia Baptist Church · 12.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Flatonia, and right here is the site of the Flatonia Baptist Church. Organized by pioneers way back in 1874, even before the town was officially incorporated, this church was the very first house…

  • Site of Breslau School · 12.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Lavaca County, near the site of the former community of Breslau. German and Czech immigrants settled here in the 1860s and 70s, naming their farms after the Prussian city. Fritz Ladewig donated…

  • Tower 3: The Last of Its Kind Left Standing in Texas · 12.3 mi

    That trim two-story railroad tower in the heart of town is one of the rarest survivors in Texas. This was one of the earliest and busiest rail crossings in the state, where the east-west Galveston, Harrisburg and San…

  • How 24 Levers Made It Physically Impossible to Crash · 12.3 mi

    The genius hidden inside Tower 3 is a piece of pure mechanical logic. The operator stood at a row of 24 heavy levers, each connected by long steel pipes and rods to a switch or a semaphore signal out on the diamond…

  • The Town They Loaded on Wagons and Rolled to the Tracks · 12.3 mi

    The town you're rolling into didn't grow where it started. When the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway laid its line west toward San Antonio in the early 1870s, the railroad established a new townsite here on…

  • Czhilispiel: A Chili Cook-Off Born to Buy a Town Its Doctor · 12.3 mi

    Every fourth full weekend of October, Flatonia throws Czhilispiel, and the name alone tells you the town's whole heritage. Take "chili," swap in a "z" for the Czech spelling, and tack on "spiel," the German word for…

  • The Couple at the Top of the Stairs · 12.3 mi

    If you're staying the night in Flatonia, the Olle Hotel at 218 South Market Avenue has a reputation that comes with the room. Built as a railroad-town hotel and now a bed-and-breakfast in the historic district, the Olle…

  • The Two-Cell Jail They Kept Moving Out of Town · 12.3 mi

    That small wooden box sitting in the Rail Park beside the Southern Pacific tracks is a calaboose, which is what a Texas town called its jail before it could afford a real one. The Flatonia Argus's neighbor up the road,…

  • From a Frontier General Store to the Town's Memory Bank · 12.3 mi

    In 1886, when Flatonia was barely a decade old, merchant E. A. Arnim, Sr. and partner Jonathan Lane opened the Arnim & Lane Mercantile on North Main Street, a frontier general store stocking everything a railroad town…

  • The Town the Tracks Cut Clean in Half · 12.3 mi

    Stand on Main Street in Flatonia and notice something most Texas towns hid long ago: the railroad runs straight through the middle of everything. The Flatonia Commercial Historic District, listed on the National…

  • The Czech Backbone of a German-Named Town · 12.3 mi

    Flatonia carries a German merchant's name, but the surrounding countryside is deeply Czech, and you can hear it in the place names and taste it in the kolaches. Beginning in the 1870s, Bohemian and Moravian immigrants…

  • Beach Blanket Bingo and the Long Sleep of the Lyric · 12.3 mi

    The brick building at 120 East South Main has been entertaining Flatonia, on and off, for well over a century. It went up in 1879 as the Foster Building, one of the oldest brick structures in town, and in 1913 became a…

  • Flatonia, TX · 12.3 mi

    Flatonia's history is marked by economic shifts and population changes. Established in 1874, the town initially thrived on cattle and cotton, with 800 residents by 1878. However, competition from nearby settlements and…

  • Flatonia · 12.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Flatonia, a town born from the rails and the rich Texas soil. This area was first granted to rancher William A. Faires in the 1840s. Then, in the 1860s, German immigrants arrived, needing a way to…

  • Cedar Cemetery · 12.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Cedar Cemetery, a final resting place with roots stretching back to the 1830s. The earliest marked grave here is Carl Huebner, laid to rest in 1857. Imagine, all the records were kept in German until…

  • Hunter, Robert Hancock · 12.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Fayette County, and right here is where Robert Hancock Hunter fought for Texas independence. He was part of the Star and Wreath, a military unit that saw action in some of the most crucial battles…

  • F.W. Flato · 12.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Flatonia, a town named for a German immigrant who helped build it. F.W. Flato arrived in Texas in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1846</say-as>, and by the 1860s, he was running a successful…

  • Flatonia City Hospital and Opera House · 12.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising through Flatonia, and right here is a building that served a dual purpose you don't see every day. Back in 1896, Dr. George Washington Allen founded this town's hospital. Just a year later, this very…

  • Wheeler Building · 12.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Wheeler Building in Flatonia, a sturdy brick structure built in 1907. Notice the Romanesque Revival influences in its design, like the arched windows and that cool recessed corner entrance. This…

  • One Point From a State Title, Against a Future Hall of Famer · 12.6 mi

    Flatonia went 10-0 in the 1988 regular season and rolled through the Class 1A playoffs — Agua Dulce 57-0, D'Hanis 33-7, Thrall 35-8 — before surviving Bartlett 25-24 in the quarterfinals and shutting out Ladonia's…

  • Back-to-Back State Titles on a Flatonia Diamond · 12.6 mi

    Flatonia's football team has been to a state final and never won it. The baseball team just went out and won two in a row. The Bulldogs took the UIL state baseball championship in 2015, and then did the much harder…

  • Start 0-5, Finish Four Rounds Deep · 12.6 mi

    Flatonia's 2016 season is a lesson in ignoring the scoreboard until it counts. The Bulldogs lost their first five games, all non-district, then won District 15-2A Division II at 5-0 — beating Louise 14-6, Runge 43-0,…

  • The Best Flatonia Team Since 1988 · 12.6 mi

    After an opening loss to Hallettsville, Flatonia won eight straight games in 2022, clinching the district championship — its first since 2016 — with a 49-17 win at Holland on November 4. Quarterback Fidel Venegas threw…

  • Radhost School · 12.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of the Radhost School, a testament to the dedication of Czech immigrants in Lavaca County. Opened in 1873, this school began as a single classroom teaching in the Bohemian language. Imagine…

  • Borden, Gail · 13.0 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a groundbreaking Texas industry, right here in Borden. This was the beef canning plant and home built in 1872 by Gail Borden. Yes, *that* Gail Borden, the pioneer surveyor, newspaper…

  • Geiger Cemetery · 13.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Geiger Cemetery. Near this site was a town once known as Strunksville. It consisted of a store, post office, saloon and a horse and mule gin owned and operated by one of the first settlers of the…

  • Vsetin Cemetery · 13.2 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Vsetin Cemetery, a quiet reminder of a community built by Czechoslovakian immigrants. Around 1865, these newcomers, fresh from Austria, settled in an area already named Sublime by earlier Irish…

  • The Chicken Ranch · 13.4 mi · Historical Marker

    One of the oldest and most famous brothels in the United States, operating from the 1840s to 1973. Shut down by a Houston TV reporter. Inspired the musical 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.'

  • St. Thomas Episcopal Church · 13.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Rockdale. Services for Episcopalians here started way back in 1875, meeting in a local store that also hosted other faiths. Bishop Alexander Gregg…

  • Adelsverein · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the heart of Texas, but imagine this: a whole society of German noblemen, back in the 1840s, decided to create a 'new Germany' right here on Texas soil. They called themselves the Adelsverein, and…

  • Alley, John C. · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Fayette County, heading into a Texas that was still wild and untamed. Back in the fall of 1822, John C. Alley, one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred, was canoeing up the…

  • Baylor, John Robert · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the Confederate Territory of Arizona, right here in the Mesilla Valley. In 1861, John Robert Baylor, a fiery frontiersman and politician, seized this area for the Confederacy. He…

  • Bluff, TX (Fayette County) · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving near La Grange, and right here, overlooking the Colorado River, is the site of Bluff. This community owes its existence to a high bluff and a German immigrant named H. L. Kreische. In the late 1840s, he…

  • Buckner, Aylett C. · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the wild frontier of Texas, and right here, in the area that became Fayette County, lived a legend named Aylett C. Buckner. Nicknamed 'Strap' for his incredible size and strength,…

  • Burnam, Jesse · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, and right here, you're passing through land once defended by Jesse Burnam. Burnam arrived in Texas in 1821, part of Stephen F. Austin's original settlers. He established a crucial…

  • Dawson Massacre · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving near San Antonio, and right here, in what is now the heart of the city, a brutal chapter of Texas history unfolded. It's September 18, 1842. While Texan forces were engaged in the Battle of Salado Creek,…

  • Harrell, Milvern · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, not far from where West Point stands today. It was here, back in 1842, that Milvern Harrell joined Captain Dawson's company, hoping to aid San Antonio. Instead, they were routed by…

  • Rabb, Mary Crownover · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, and right here, Mary Crownover Rabb was a pioneer who faced down dangers unimaginable. Born in North Carolina, she arrived in Stephen F. Austin's colony in 1823 with her husband,…

  • Robison, Joel Walter · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, near Warrenton, where Joel Walter Robison lived out his days. He was a young man when he arrived in Texas from Georgia in 1831. Robison fought in the early Texas Revolution…

  • Rutersville College · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, not far from La Grange. Right here, in Rutersville, was once the site of the very first chartered Protestant college in Texas. Founded in 1840, Rutersville College was the dream of…

  • Smith, Clinton Lafayette and Jefferson Davis · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the Texas Hill Country, a land that was once wild and dangerous. Back on February 26, 1871, just west of San Antonio, two brothers, Clint and Jeff Smith, were herding sheep when they were captured…

  • Dubina, TX · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Dubina, the first Czech settlement in Texas, is five miles east of Schulenburg in southern Fayette County. In November 1856 a group of Czech settlers found shelter from a strong north wind and hail under a grove of…

  • Hostyn, TX · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Hostyn overlooks the Colorado River near La Grange in central Fayette County. In the 1830s the community, then called Bluff, was settled by German settlers. Father Michael Muldoon celebrated Mass in a dwelling at Bluff…

  • Williams, Clara Belle Drisdale · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Clara Belle Drisdale Williams, the first African American to graduate from New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts (later New Mexico State University), was born on October 29, 1885, to sharecroppers Isaac…

  • Crawford, Robert · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Right here, you're driving through a landscape shaped by faith and the fight for Texas independence. Robert Crawford, a Methodist minister and a soldier, fought at the Battle of San Jacinto in <say-as…

  • Hawkins, Joseph H. · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, and right here, in what was then Mexican Texas, you're passing through a story of incredible financial risk. Joseph H. Hawkins, a friend of Stephen F. Austin, poured his personal…

  • Hill, Asa · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, maybe near Rutersville, and you're passing through a place that saw a bit of history during the Texas Revolution. Asa Hill arrived in Texas around 1834, joining the army by 1836.…

  • Manton, Edward T. · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, right where Edward T. Manton found himself in September of 1842. He was part of Captain Nicholas Dawson's volunteers, chasing Mexican forces away from San Antonio. But on the…

  • Nassau Farm · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, not far from Round Top. Right here, in 1843, was the site of Nassau Farm. It was established by German noblemen aiming to promote immigration to Texas, but it didn't quite work out…

  • Smalley, Freeman · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Pecan Point, Texas, a place that holds a significant spiritual first for the Lone Star State. In 1822, Freeman Smalley, a Baptist minister from Ohio, traveled here. He visited…

  • St. Martin's Church · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Warrenton, in Fayette County, and right here stands a tiny piece of Texas history: St. Martin's Church. This little building, just 18 by 14 feet, is a survivor. It was built in 1915 using…

  • Swiss Alp Hall · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, not far from La Grange, and you might just pass right by Swiss Alp Hall. Built around 1901 by Charles Bruns, this place wasn't just a gathering spot – it was built specifically for…

  • Wilkins, Jane Mason · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, perhaps near Fayette County, and you're passing through the story of Jane Wilkins. She was one of the original Old Three Hundred colonists, arriving in Texas in 1822 by keelboat. Imagine…

  • Woods, Norman B. · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, near the site of present-day Flatonia, where Norman B. Woods settled with his family in 1828. He was a pioneer, a soldier, and a man who saw the harsh realities of early Texas. In…

  • Marshall and Malinda Mitchell · 13.6 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the land where Marshall and Malinda Mitchell built their homestead. Marshall, a carpenter and winemaker, and Malinda, a teacher, were descendants of Bankston Mitchell, who was born enslaved in…

  • Darden, Stephen Heard · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Stephen Heard Darden, public official and soldier, son of Washington Lee and Ann (Sharkey) Darden, was born in Fayette County, Mississippi, on November 19, 1816. He traveled to Texas in 1836 as a volunteer under Capt.…

  • High Hill, TX · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    High Hill is on Farm Road 2672 fourteen miles southwest of La Grange in southwestern Fayette County. The area was originally part of the E. Anderson league and was settled in the 1830s. Around the late 1840s German…

  • Holman, TX · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Holman is at the intersection of Farm roads 155 and 1965, fifteen miles southeast of La Grange in southeastern Fayette County. It was originally called Pecan because its site was on Pecan Creek. The community developed…

  • Nechanitz, TX · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Nechanitz is at the junction of Farm roads 3011 and 2145, eleven miles north of La Grange in north central Fayette County. The area was settled in 1853 by Wenzel Matejowsky, the first settler from Bohemia to enter…

  • Praha, TX · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Praha, on Farm Road 1295 three miles east of Flatonia in southern Fayette County, was originally known as Mulberry and Hottentot, the latter apparently referring to a band of outlaws. James C. Duff, William Criswell,…

  • Rutersville, TX · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Rutersville is on State Highway 159 five miles east of La Grange in central Fayette County. It was founded by John Rabb and other members of the Methodist Episcopal Church for the purpose of establishing a college. The…

  • Warda, TX · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Warda is on U.S. Highway 77 on Rabb's Creek and its tributaries ten miles north of La Grange in northern Fayette County. This area is on the eastern boundary of the Lost Pines and was a source of lumber in the early…

  • Confederate Heavy Artillery · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving along the Texas coast, maybe near Galveston or Sabine Pass. Right here, during the Civil War, these waters were defended by some serious firepower: the Confederate Heavy Artillery. These weren't your…

  • Creuzbauer, Edmund · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, and right here is the area where Edmund Creuzbauer, a Prussian immigrant and former artillery officer, made his mark during the Civil War. In <say-as interpret-as="date"…

  • Harveys Creek · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through southern Fayette County, near the town of Weimar. Right here, Harveys Creek flows east towards the Colorado River. This land, originally granted to Henry Austin way back in 1831, used to be prime…

  • Haynie, John · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Central Texas, perhaps near Rutersville, and you might be passing the very ground where John Haynie helped shape early Methodism in the Republic of Texas. He arrived in 1839, a preacher and…

  • Jones, John Rice, Jr. · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Fayette County, and right here is where John Rice Jones, Jr., established his plantation, Fairland Farm, after moving to Texas in 1831. He was no stranger to leadership, having served…

  • Rabb, John · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what's now Fayette County, and right here is where John Rabb settled his prairie. Rabb was one of Stephen F. Austin's original Old Three Hundred colonists, arriving in Texas way back in 1822. He…

  • Rabbs Creek · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Rabbs Creek country, a place named for William Rabb. He settled here before Texas independence, and right here on this creek, he built the first gristmill in what is now Fayette County. Imagine…

  • Richardson, Chauncey · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, Texas, and right here is the site of Rutersville College, founded in 1839. Its first president was Chauncey Richardson, a Methodist minister who came to Texas after serving…

  • Timmons, Barnard · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, Texas, near LaGrange, where Barnard Timmons made his mark. He came here in 1856, a lawyer with a military education, even teaching math at the Texas Military Institute. But when…

  • Zapp, Robert · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Fayette County, and right here is the area that became Waldeck. It all started back in 1859 when Robert Zapp, a German immigrant who'd fled political persecution, decided to start fresh. He bought…

  • Biegel, TX · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Biegel was on Baylor and Cedar creeks in the Joseph Biegel league, eight miles east of La Grange in central Fayette County. Biegel, a German immigrant from Alsace-Lorraine, received his league, originally granted to F.…

  • Breeding, John V. · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    John V. Breeding, early settler, soldier, and sheriff, was born on October 16, 1807, in Virginia and came to Texas with his parents David W. and Sarah (Davis) Breeding in February 1833. He was in the Ranging Corps from…

  • Ledbetter, TX · 13.6 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Ledbetter is on the Southern Pacific Railroad and U.S. Highway 290 between the Brazos and Colorado rivers eight miles east of Giddings and a mile north of Cummings Creek in extreme north Fayette County. It was named for…

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