Salem Lutheran Church

Duane's take

The way this marker tells it, here's how the story of Salem Lutheran Church has been recorded for the road. Early on, the membership of Salem Lutheran Church reflected something bigger than any one family. It reflected a whole wave of German Lutheran immigrants who came pouring into Texas through two ports: Indianola, right there on the nearby coast, and Galveston, further up the gulf.

This was the nineteenth century, and those families were putting down roots in Calhoun County soil. Now, by 1902, some of those roots had grown long enough to reach each other. Members of the Kemper, Knipling, Rosenbaum, and Wehmeyer families gathered together to organize a congregation.

Four family names. One purpose. And a man named Reverend R.

F. Grueber stepped forward as the first pastor. For years after that founding, if you walked through those church doors on a Sunday morning, every word of worship you heard came to you in the German language.

That tradition held all the way through 1920. Then, four years after that, in 1924, the congregation dedicated its very own house of worship. Their own building.

And the growth did not stop there. The congregation grew large enough, and strong enough, to support a full-time pastor of its own. Time kept moving, as it does.

A new building was completed in 1951, and that structure served the congregation faithfully until 1967, when Salem Lutheran Church moved to this site on Six Mile Road. From immigrant families stepping off boats at Indianola and Galveston, to a congregation organized by four founding families, to a church that has stood on Six Mile Road since 1967. That is a long road, and Salem Lutheran walked every mile of it.

What the marker says

Early membership in Salem Lutheran church reflected the German Lutheran population that immigrated to Texas through the nearby port of Indianola and the port of Galveston in the 19th century. Members of the Kemper, Knipling, Rosenbaum and Wehmeyer families gathered to organize the congregation in 1902, and the Rev. R. F. Grueber served as first pastor. Worship services were held in the German language through 1920. The congregation dedicated its own house of worship in 1924 and soon had grown in size to have its own full-time pastor. A new building, completed in 1951, served until the congregation moved to this site on Six Mile Road in 1967. (2001) Incise on back: Erected by Calhoun County Historical Commission, George Fred Rhodes, Chairman