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RICHLAND, TEXASTravis County,
Texas Hill Country
Somewhere North of Manor
East of Pflugerville and West
of Elgin
Not shown on TxDoT's Travis County Map
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The St. John
German Evangelical Lutheran Church
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, January 2006 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Henry Pfluger, namesake of nearby Pflugerville arrived with his family
around 1849. The name was not hyperbole or wishful thinking, since
the soil was indeed rich.
Cattle raising produced an income - the animals being sold and then
set up the Chisolm trail. Corn, wheat, and rye were grown as crops
and each homestead had their vegetable gardens and fruit orchards.
In addition - sugarcane was grown before cotton became the principal
commercial crop.
Religious persecution and military inscription were two factors for
the majority of immigrants to make the long arduous journey to Texas.
A school was established in 1877 on a local farm and on Sundays it
served as the community's first church. In 1882 a public school was
established.
School had been taught by German preachers, but this was challenged
in 1888 by the state. The state's argument was that German pastors
were not qualified to teach in English and so a compromise was reached
- the state furnished the salary for a full-time teacher. The school
term was extended from only four months to a full six. |
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The St. John
German Evangelical Lutheran Church Sanctuary
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, January 2006 |
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The
church's German cornerstone.
Photo by John Troesser, 2005 |
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The
St. John German Evangelical Lutheran Church was formed by its tiny
congregation of nineteen in 1878. The Sons of Hermann gave a charter
for a hall in Richland in 1894. In time, a store, cotton gin and blacksmith
opened - but Richland was far from the railroad and never quite developed
into a community with a defined center. The school was consolidated
with Pflugerville schools in 1945.
Richland had a scare in the late 1980s when the city of Austin was
eyeing it as a site for a new airport. When Bergstrom AFB was decommissioned
and given to Austin - Richland was left in peace - just the way the
residents prefer it. Although Richland has no discernible center -
over one hundred families still live in the area. |
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Richland
residents and church members Waylon
and Hildegarde Gebert on
their way to a church social.
The editor
expresses his thanks for their kind invitation and efforts to show
the church interior.
Photo by John Troesser, 2005
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