Buckholts Brethren Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just the one passing it along. Way back as early as 1848, Bohemian and Moravian immigrants of the Unity of the Brethren faith were making their way into Texas. That's a faith with deep roots, going all the way back to a Czech reformer named John, Jan, Hus.

So when you walk into Buckholts, Milam County, you are standing on ground layered with centuries of conviction. Now, the people of Buckholts held their first Brethren services in 1894, and when they did, they did it in the Czech language. The Reverend Adolph Chlumsky led those first services, and whatever he said, however he said it, it took hold.

By 1907, the group had grown serious enough to formally organize as the Czech Moravian Church. That's a church with a name, a purpose, and a community behind it. Then in 1913, the members built a wooden sanctuary right here at this very site.

They worshipped in that wooden building for decades, until 1951, when they dedicated a new structure. Around that same time, something else shifted. The services that had always been spoken in Czech began to be held in English.

And in 1959, the congregation changed its name to Buckholts Brethren Church. From Czech reformers in the fifteen hundreds, to immigrant settlers arriving in Texas in 1848, to a wooden church raised in 1913, to a congregation still standing today. Some stories don't need a dramatic ending.

They just need to keep going.

What the marker says

As early as 1848, Bohemian and Moravian immigrants of the Unity of the Brethren faith arrived in Texas. The Protestant denomination began with Czech reformer John (Jan) Hus, and when Buckholts residents held their first Brethren services in 1894, they used the Czech language. The Rev. Adolph Chlumsky led the first services for the group, which in 1907 formally organized the Czech Moravian Church. Members built a wooden sanctuary at this site in 1913 and used it until dedicating a new structure in 1951, around which time the church began holding services in English. In 1959, the congregation changed its name to Buckholts Brethren Church. It continues to serve as a community focal point. (2006)