First United Methodist Church
New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In the 1850s, Methodism spread across south Texas and into New Braunfels. Many German-speaking immigrants in communities like New Braunfels would be converted to Methodism. In 1853 a circuit rider, Rev. Henry P. Young, established the New Braunfels congregation as part of a circuit which included other German-speaking congregations in the area. This action was followed by the appointment of rev. J.W. Devilbiss as the presiding elder of the German district which covered all of Texas. Living in New Braunfels, Devilbiss trained ministers and gathered German-speaking converts to Methodism. In 1858, a church building was constructed in the Comaltown area of New Braunfels on Union Street. Among the converts was the Karbach family who strongly supported the growing church community by hosting Sunday school, preaching and hosting camp meetings on their ranch. By 1913, the Methodist community had grown and a new church building named Karbach Memorial Methodist church was constructed on west San Antonio Street. In 1916 the church was no longer on a circuit. Over the next decades, the church moved from German-speaking to bilingual to English-speaking. by 1952 membership passed 500. That year a new sanctuary was built on the San Antonio street site and renamed First Methodist Church. By 1980 membership surpassed 1000. In 2005, to continue its mission of outreach, the congregation sponsored a daughter church, Gruene United Methodist Church. Today both congregations are thriving and continuing to serve god and the people of the area.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
As Methodism spread across south Texas in the 1850s, circuit rider Rev. Henry P. Young organized a New Braunfels congregation in 1853 within a circuit of German-speaking churches. Rev. J.W. Devilbiss, based in the town, trained ministers and gathered German-speaking converts, and a church building went up in the Comaltown area in 1858. Over the following century the congregation shifted from German to bilingual to English, grew past a thousand members, and in 2005 sponsored a daughter church in nearby Gruene.
Why it matters
Its story shows how American Protestantism took root among German-speaking immigrants, gradually blending them into the wider religious life of Texas.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
New Braunfels Academy
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Promised schools by the society that sponsored their emigration, the German settlers of New Braunfels hired their first teacher in 1845, the year classes began. When the state retracted support for local school districts in 1856, the city persuaded the legislature to create the New Braunfels Academy in 1858, funding it through a local property tax and tuition—making it one of Texas's first tax-supported schools. It taught in both German and English until the state built a public system in 1871.
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Eiband and Fischer General Mercantile
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First Protestant Church
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