DUBINA, TEXAS

The First Czech Settlement in Texas

Part of the Painted Churches Tour

Texas Ghost Town
Fayette County, Central Texas South

29° 43' 44" N, 96° 50' 8" W (29.728889, -96.835556)
FM 1383, 2 miles N of Hwy 90
15 miles SE of La Grange the county seat
5 miles E of Schulenburg
18 miles W of Columbus
90 miles W of Houston,
104 miles E of San Antonio

Debina Area Hotels › Schulenburg Hotels | La Grange Hotels

Peter Dance Platform, Circa 1900
Fayette Co Hist Commission; submitted by Carolyn Heinsohn, FCHC member

History in a Pecan Shell

Dubina dates from 1856 when a group of recently arrived Czech immigrants found shelter under a group of large oak trees (Dubina is Czech for Oak Grove). Its first name, however, was Navidad and then Bohemian Navidad (after the nearby Navidad River).

The settlers planted cotton and harvested only one bale from their first crop. Just when they were adjusting to life in Fayette County along came the Civil War and many of the men were drafted. After the war, Dubina became a toehold for recently arrived Czech immigrants, much like the nearby town of Hackberry was for German settlers.

The railroad ran straight from Weimar to Schulenburg in 1873 and Dubina was ignored. Population was drawn off, yet by 1900, the church still served 600 families who lived within the sound of the Saints Cyril and Methodius' Church bell.

Dubina's first church was built in 1876, but was destroyed by a 1909 hurricane. Rebuilt in 1912, it survived a fire that all but destroyed the town.

Dubina Attractions

Today, Dubina and the Saints Cyril and Methodius Church is included on the well-known "Painted Churches" tour.

Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, Dubina,,Texas

Photo courtesy Garry Taylor. March, 2005

Saints Cyril and Methodius Church ›
Dubina's painted church

The Old Peter's Family Store in Dubina
"Endangered Historic Properties of Texas"
Photo by John Troesser, August 2006

Dubina Store in 2001
TE photo March 2001

The Dubina Cemetery ›

The "Piano Bridge" ›

Photo by Gordon Hesketh

Following the road ( County Road 480 ) past the church in Dubina, you will pass the Old Dubina Store and continuing west you will cross the "Piano Bridge"

It's one of the few remaining iron bridges in Fayette County. more

Although 480 is a dirt road, it will connect with FM 615, which is paved and will take you to Highway 77.

Simon Pytlovany House, S of Dubina
Courtesy John Janacek; submitted by Carolyn Heinsohn

Fayette County Texas 1907 Postal map showing Dubina
(NE of Schulenburg near Colorado County line)
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

See The Painted Churches Tour ›

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