Old Saint Anthony's Catholic Church

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Old Saint Anthony's Catholic Church in Nueces County. Pull up a chair, because this little building has been moved, remodeled, enlarged, rededicated, and moved again, and it is still standing to tell the tale. That is a Texas story if I ever heard one.

It starts in November of 1909, when the Reverend J. Goebels called a meeting. The purpose was to organize Saint Anthony's parish, and the people he was organizing for were the recently settled German Catholic farm families out in the community of Land Siding, a place that would later be known as Violet.

Right away, a man named Louis Petrus donated five acres for a church site, and the congregation turned around and purchased five more acres on top of that. Ten acres to build something lasting. They meant business.

Construction on the building itself began in 1910, with John W. Hoelscher serving as foreman of the project. The marker notes that Hoelscher, born in 1866 and gone in 1941, was one of the earliest settlers in that community.

So the man who helped build the church had deep roots in the very ground it stood on. When they finished, what they had was a frame structure measuring twenty-six feet by forty feet, and it pulled double duty from the start, serving the community as both a schoolhouse and a church. Then 1919 arrived, and the congregation decided it was time to grow.

They enlarged the building, remodeled it extensively, and added three towers. Three. And one of those towers got something special.

A bell, purchased earlier from Spohn Sanitarium in Corpus Christi, was installed up in one of them. That bell had a whole life before it rang for Sunday mass out in Violet. The work kept right on going into 1920, when a rectory was attached to the church building.

It served as a schoolhouse and also as living quarters for visiting priests. Once that was done, the members fenced and landscaped the whole area. By 1952, the parish had grown enough to build a larger church entirely, and the old frame building, rather than being abandoned, was moved to serve the parish mission of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the nearby Clarkwood community.

That congregation eventually erected a new church facility of their own, and when they did, in 1975, the old Saint Anthony's building was relocated two hundred feet east of its original site and restored as a museum by the Violet Historical Society. That building started as a twenty-six by forty frame structure in a farming community, served two different congregations, traveled more than most structures ever do, and ended up a museum. Not bad for a little church that was also a schoolhouse.

Not bad at all.

What the marker says

In November 1909, the Rev. J. Goebels called a meeting to organize St. Anthony's parish for the recently settled German Catholic farm families in the community of Land Siding, later known as Violet. Louis Petrus donated five acres for a church site, and five additional acres were purchased. The parishioners began construction of this building in 1910, with John W. Hoelscher (1866-1941), one of the earliest settlers here, as foreman of the project. Originally measuring 26 feet by 40 feet, the frame structure served as a schoolhouse and church. The congregation enlarged and extensively remodeled the building in 1919. Three towers were added at that time. A bell, purchased earlier from Spohn Sanitarium in Corpus Christi, was installed in one. The rectory, which served as a schoolhouse and living quarters for visiting priests, was attached to the church building in 1920. Members then fenced and landscaped the area. In 1952 the parish built a larger church, and this structure was moved to serve the parish mission of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in nearby Clarkwood community. In 1975, after that congregation erected a new church facility, the old St. Anthony's building was relocated 200 feet east of its original site and restored as a museum by the Violet Historical Society. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1978