Gethsemane Church
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The first Lutheran church in Travis County. Organized Dec. 12, 1868, by Swedish pioneers under leadership of Swante Palm. Site of first church building was 11 blocks SW; this structure was erected in 1883. It contains stone hauled in wheelbarrows from Texas Capitol that burned 1881. The present ornate, paneled doors came (1934) from Old Main building at University of Texas. Architecture is typical of many rural Swedish churches. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1962
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Gethsemane was the first Lutheran church in Travis County, organized in 1868 by Swedish immigrants under the leadership of Swante Palm. The congregation raised this 1883 building using stone hauled by wheelbarrow from the Texas Capitol that had burned in 1881, and later fitted it with ornate doors salvaged from the University of Texas's Old Main. Its form echoes the rural churches of the Swedish homeland its founders had left behind.
Why it matters
Gethsemane stands as a monument to the Scandinavian immigrants who helped settle central Texas, carrying their faith and building traditions into the American frontier.
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Related people
- · Swante Palm
Themes & tags
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