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HOSTYN, TEXAS
By Carolyn
Heinsohn
Hostyn in Fayette County,
Texas, located six miles south of La
Grange, sits high on a hill that is the extension of the escarpment
that includes the 200 foot bluff on the south side of La
Grange, hence its old name of Bluff - the most picturesque area
in Fayette County.
The Bluff area and the Colorado River Valley, which provided a perfect
locale to support the livelihoods of Native Americans, began attracting
Anglos in the early 1820s.
In 1831, Father Miguel
Muldoon, the priest for Stephen F. Austin's colonists, visited
Fayette County,
because 8,846 acres of the 48,610 acres of land granted to him by
Austin was in the county, including the Bluff area. During his visit,
he celebrated the first Mass in the area. Most of the first Anglo
settlers were either Protestants or "Muldoon Catholics", because the
Mexican government mandated that all colonists become Catholics, even
though that religion was not their preference.
Masses were celebrated at various times by several traveling priests
in the homes of early settlers. By the mid-1840s, the area was being
settled by German families, many of whom attended the Catholic services
for lack of any other denominational services. In 1856, Rev. J. Ansteadt
of Frelsburg was instrumental in
having the first log chapel built
on the farm of John Laux, located approximately three miles east of
the present-day church. It was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. That
same year, a group of Moravians, who were Roman Catholic, arrived
in the area. Rev. Victor Gury of Frelsburg
offered Mass in some of their homes.
During the Civil War, Joseph Lidiak and his son, John Lidiak, fought
in the War Between the States. The irony of this, however, was the
fact that they fought on opposite sides. The son happened to be hauling
cotton on a wagon to Brownsville,
TX. Two stories exist about how he ended up in the Union Arm -
one states that he was captured in Brownsville
and drafted; the other states that he was convinced by Union soldiers
to join their ranks. Meanwhile, his father was a Corporal in Martindale's
company of the Confederate Army. After the war, however, both came
home to Bluff and lived together on the farm. They are now honored
with two military guns placed in opposite directions at the rear of
the church.
In 1868 a Czech Catholic school and parish cemetery were established.
One year later, the Czech parishioners built the second Catholic Church
at the present-day church site and dedicated it to the Queen of the
Holy Rosary. A new parish school was built in 1874, and a small frame
rectory was erected in 1876. In 1884, the first time since the beginning
of the parish, the members were fortunate in procuring a priest, Father
Josef Fabian, who spoke their native Czech language. Sadly, he died
two years later.
A larger church was built in 1888, and several priests successfully
led the parish in the following years. After a new parish was organized
in Plum, TX around 1897, one priest supervised
both parishes. The 1888 church burned in 1906; the fourth church was
built and dedicated in 1908. After multiple priests served the parish,
Rev. Paul P. Kaspar arrived in 1923 and stayed for 20 years. During
his stay, he was responsible for building the grammar school, the
grottos, the Stations of the Cross around the church, the replica
of the first log church, outdoor chapels, a dining hall and the renovation
of the parish hall. Upon Rev. Kaspar's arrival, he suggested to the
Archdiocese that the community, which at that time was known as Moravan,
also the name of the local KJT lodge hall, be renamed Hostyn after
a special place of pilgrimage in Moravia, Czechoslovakia. With the
recommendation of the Archdiocese, the State officially renamed the
community.
In 1950, Franklin and Julia Kreische, two children of Heinrich Kreische,
the German stonemason who built a brewery on the Bluff, donated 344
acres of land to the Hostyn parish and Archdiocese of San
Antonio. The transfer was to take effect upon the death of both
of the donors. Julia Kreische was the last to pass away in 1952.
Due to the financial needs of the parish, it was decided to sell the
Kreische property to the Frisch Auf Corporation in 1965. With slightly
more than half of the proceeds, a new parish church was built, a school
bus was purchased and a well was dug. The remaining money was given
to the Archdiocese.
The grammar school was razed in the early 1990s, as well as the old
parish lodge hall in 1992. A new parish hall and covered pavilion
were then constructed.
As more Czechs arrived, many organizations were formed to meet the
needs of the community. In October, 1888, the first Lodge of the KJT
of Texas was organized at Hostyn (a fraternal insurance company now
called the Catholic Union of Texas). Reading and theatrical clubs
were also organized. A Sokol society, which is a Czech organization
that promotes healthy bodies and minds through competitive gymnastics
and dancing, was established in the 1920s-30s.
Although there was never a town at this site, Hostyn is a thriving
community where social and religious life still revolves around the
church.
Hostyn Church & Cemetery
›
Hostyn Vintage Photos › |
Update on
Hostyn Church
The Hostyn Catholic Church was lost to a gas explosion on Thursday
(June 9, 2022) morning.... The church is entirely gone except for
the front wall and the baptismal font that lost its bronze cover.
- Carolyn Heinsohn, June 13, 2022 |
Replica of the
1856 log church built on the John Laux farm three miles east of present-day
Hostyn. The entire area was known as Bluff until 1923 when a smaller
area around the church, cemetery, KJT hall, school and store was renamed
Hostyn in honor of a place of pilgrimage in Moravia, where the first
settlers emigrated from. A smaller area closer to present-day Monument
Hill State Park retained the name of Bluff.
Photo courtesy Carolyn
Heinsohn, May 2014 |
There are outdoor
Stations of the Cross at Hostyn, Moravia, a pilgrimage site with a
Catholic Basilica, so the Hostyn, Texas parishioners built outdoor
Stations of the Cross around their church in the late 1920s, using
locally quarried stone, petrified wood and other unique rocks gathered
in the vicinity.
Photo courtesy Carolyn
Heinsohn, May 2014 |
The grotto is
a replica of the grotto at Lourdes, France
Photo courtesy Carolyn
Heinsohn, May 2014 |
Hostyn, Texas
Vintage Photos
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Queen of the
Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Hostyn, TX
This church, which was built in 1908, was razed in 1965 and replaced
with a modern church that was dedicated on October 9, 1966.
Photo copied from an old book - Submitted by Carolyn
Heinsohn |
Rev. Charles
Kolek's ordination on May 18, 1937 in Holy Rosary Church. (Father
Kolek was a native of the parish.)
Submitted by Carolyn
Heinsohn |
"Members
of the Catholic Sokol of Hostyn doing a calisthenics routine in the
1920s".
Photo Submitted by Carolyn
Heinsohn |
The Crucifixion
Group was built in 1929 at the front of the 1908 church. Photo circa
1929-1931.
Submitted by Carolyn
Heinsohn |
| Texas
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