DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Gillespie County, in the hill country town of Fredericksburg, there's a congregation with roots that go back to the very beginning of Protestant worship in that place. We're talking 1846.
That's not long after Fredericksburg itself was scratched out of the Texas frontier, and already the Reverend Henry Basse was holding the first Protestant services the town had ever seen. Now, a congregation needs a place to gather, and for decades these folks worshiped at the old Vereins Kirche, that storied community church that stood at the heart of Fredericksburg life. They worshiped there, year after year, until 1888.
That's when a man named Carl Priess stepped forward and gave the lot, right here, for a new building of their own. A gift of land. Sometimes that's all a community needs to get moving.
The first portion of that new structure was dedicated in 1893, built on the lot Carl Priess had given. But here's the detail that'll stay with you. When they built that tower, they put inside it an original bell from the old Vereins Kirche itself.
A little piece of where they came from, ringing out from where they'd arrived. The building didn't stay frozen in time either. In 1948 and 1949 it was remodeled and enlarged, and the congregation took on the name Holy Ghost Lutheran Church.
From Reverend Basse's first services in 1846, to a gifted lot, to a dedicated building, to a bell carrying the memory of the Vereins Kirche, some things in this hill country just keep ringin' on.
What the marker says
This congregation traces its origins to the first Protestant services held in Fredericksburg by the Rev. Henry Basse in 1846. Members worshiped at the old Vereins Kirche until 1888 when Carl Priess gave this lot for a new building. The first portion of the structure was dedicated in 1893. The tower houses an original bell from the Vereins Kirche. In 1948-49 the building was remodeled and enlarged, and the congregation became Holy Ghost Lutheran Church. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1981