DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the story as the official marker tells it — and friend, this one's worth every mile to hear. Peter Bluntzer. Early German colonizer in DeWitt County, and the man who gave the very land this church stands on.
He migrated with his wife and children from Oderen, Alsace — that's in Europe — to Texas, around 1843. Now, he was bound for Castroville, traveling with other pioneers, same as anyone. But then his wagon overturned.
His wife was injured. And just like that, the road ended right here. That accident — that one bad turn on a Texas trail — is what planted the Bluntzer family in the place that would become Meyersville, then called Coleto.
They were the first Catholic family to settle there. First one. And Peter Bluntzer did not treat that like a consolation prize.
He treated it like a calling. His enthusiasm for this new home — and that word, enthusiasm, is the one the marker reaches for, and it fits — ran so deep that several years later, he made not one but two return trips all the way back to Alsace. Two ocean crossings.
And each time, he came back with numerous families in tow, folks he'd convinced to come stake their lives in this same stretch of Texas. The man was practically a one-person immigration bureau. Now, the Bluntzer story has a chapter that'll stop you cold.
His young daughter Theresa was stolen by Indians. Months passed. And then — some months later — she was found, in the woods, unharmed, dressed like an Indian princess.
The marker notes something worth sitting with: Bluntzer had always been kind to the local tribes. It draws that connection plainly, and lets you draw your own conclusions. In 1852, the first mass in the community was said right inside the Bluntzer home.
Peter was a devout Catholic, and his house became the first sanctuary. Then, in 1859, area settlers united to build the first Catholic church in all of DeWitt County — Sts. Peter and Paul Church — on a fifteen-acre tract that Bluntzer gave them.
Dedicated in 1860, that first small log building was the predecessor to others built in 1876, then 1892, and finally the present church, which went up in 1939. The first priest was the Reverend J. A.
Koenig. The first resident priest was the Reverend A. Hainke.
Many of those early settlers are buried in the church cemetery, close to the land they built something on. Peter Bluntzer himself is buried in San Patricio. He didn't end up where the wagon was taking him.
He ended up somewhere that needed him more — and he made sure a whole lot of other people found their way there too.
What the marker says
Early German colonizer in this are and donor of land on which this church stands. Migrated with his wife and children from Oderen, Alsace (in Europe), to Texas about 1843. Bound for Castroville with other pioneers, he stayed here after his wagon overturned, injuring his wife. This was the first Catholic family to settle in Coleto (present Meyersville). His enthusiasm for the new home led him to make two return trips to Alsace several years later to bring numerous families to settle here. After his young daughter Theresa was stolen by Indians, she was found some months later, in the woods, unharmed and dressed like an Indian princess; Bluntzer had always been kind to the local tribes. First mass in the community was said in the home of Bluntzer, a devout Catholic, in 1852. Area settlers united to build the first Catholic church in De Witt County -- Sts. Peter and Paul Church -- in 1859 on a 15-acre tract given by Bluntzer. Dedicated in 1860, the small log building was a predecessor to others built 1876, 1892, and the present one of 1939. First priest was the Rev. J. A. Koenig; first resident priest was the Rev. A. Hainke. Many early settlers are buried in the church cemetery. Bluntzer is buried in San Patricio.