DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, if you ever find yourself rolling through Sealy, Texas, and you start wondering what kind of people put down roots in Austin County, let me point you toward a story that begins with song and ends with something that's still standing. Sealy's German immigrants were famous for their love of music.
Famous for it. And a group of men — some of them the very pioneer settlers who'd broken ground on that town — had already formed themselves a singing society by 1899. They called it the Liedertafel.
Now that's a German word, and it rolls off the tongue like something that ought to be sung, which is fitting. These men met primarily in the home of a fellow named Ferdinand Lux, and for years that's how it went — neighbors gathering, voices rising, music filling up whatever room would have them. But a singing society with a borrowed parlor can only go so far.
So Lux and a man named Fritz Kinkler, Jr., did something permanent. They gave land. Gave it outright, for the establishment of a real building.
That was 1912 to 1914. And what they built — now here's where it gets interesting — was one of a number of round frame dance halls built in German communities across Texas. Except it wasn't quite round.
It had eight sides. Eight. An octagonal hall, built beginning in 1914, from materials purchased from the F.
W. Hackbarth Lumber Company. You can picture it standing there among the flat Texas fields, this eight-sided thing that shouldn't quite work but somehow does.
By the time it opened, the singing society had about nineteen members. Nineteen voices, one eight-sided hall, and suddenly Sealy had itself a landmark. They hosted concerts and festivals and dances, and other organizations, lodges, and churches used the grounds for their own celebrations too.
The Liedertafel Hall became a popular gathering place for special events for many years. But time has a way of showing up uninvited. By 1944, the building was in need of repair, and the singing society members were aging.
The stockholders voted to sell the hall and the land — and who bought it? The Sealy Volunteer Fire Department, who had already been holding their annual Firemen's Frolic fundraiser at that very hall since 1934. They raised the funds, purchased the structure, and renovated it.
It became known as the Firemen's Hall. Then in June of 1945, a new Fireman's Park opened with a celebration. The following year, The Houston Post reported five thousand attendees at the Firemen's Frolic.
Five thousand people at a party thrown by volunteer firemen in a town built on the back of nineteen German singers. In 1995, the firemen donated the hall to a local historical society, and renovations began that same year. From a pioneer settler's parlor to an eight-sided hall to a firehouse gathering place — that building has held a whole lot of Texas inside its walls.
What the marker says
Sealy's German immigrants were famous for their love of music. A group of men, some of them Sealy's pioneer settlers, had formed a singing society, called Liedertafel, by 1899. They met primarily in the home of Ferdinand Lux. Lux and Fritz Kinkler, Jr., gave land for the establishment of a permanent building in 1912-1914. One of a number of round frame dance halls built in German communities in Texas, this structure was erected beginning in 1914. The eight-sided hall was built from materials purchased from the F. W. Hackbarth Lumber Company. There were about 19 singing society members in 1914, and they hosted many concerts, festivals and dances for the community. The Liedertafel Hall was a popular gathering place for special events for many years. Other organizations, lodges and churches used the grounds and hall for their own celebrations, as well. In 1934 the Sealy Volunteer Fire Department began holding its annual "Firemen's Frolic" fundraiser at the hall. By 1944 the building was in need of repair and the singing society members were aging. Stockholders voted to sell the hall and land to the fire department, which raised funds to purchase and renovate the structure. It became known as the Firemen's Hall. In June 1945 the new "Fireman's Park" opened with a celebration. The following year, The Houston Post reported 5,000 attendees at the "Firemen's Frolic." The firemen donated the hall to a local historical society in 1995. Renovations began that year. (2000)