Web Extra: Mark Holly, Bandera EC: St. John Lutheran Church in Crabapple was established in the 1880s before the sanctuary was erected in 1897. Worship services were discontinued in 1962.
Web Extra: Kelsey Hellmann, Bryan Texas Utilities: Originally, this structure served as a schoolhouse and church. It was remodeled in 1919, and the towers were added. In 1975, a new church was erected, and the old building was relocated 200 feet east and restored as a museum by the Violet Historical Society.
Web Extra: Margaret Avard, Grayson-Collin EC: “We came across this church on the big island of Hawaii. In the early 1900s, the local priest painted the inside of the sanctuary with house paint donated by locals.”
Web Extra: Charles Aschenbeck, Jackson EC: United Evangelical Lutheran Church, Swiss Alp, was founded March 24, 1867. “We will celebrate our 150-year anniversary this year,” Aschenbeck says. “The first pastor, C.C. Rudi, was my wife Irma’s great-great-grandfather.”
As places of worship, ceremony and reflection, churches hold a special place in the hearts and lives of Texans. Whether modest or majestic, they give us a glimpse into the spirit of a community.