Immanuel Lutheran Church
Mercedes, Hidalgo County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Rev. E. J. Moebus was sent by officials of the Texas district of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod to establish Lutheran congregations in the Rio Grande Valley. Evangelical Lutheran Emanuel Church organized at Mercedes on October 30, 1910. The American Rio Grande Land and Irrigation Co. gave property located along the railroad tracks to the group, and the church's first building was dedicated on May 28, 1911. The congregation later sold the property and purchased land on Washington and West Third streets. Although the original church building was moved to the new location in 1920, another structure was built and dedicated on the site in 1929. In 1945, the church was renamed Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church. (2009)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Sent to plant Lutheran congregations in the Rio Grande Valley, the Rev. E. J. Moebus helped organize Evangelical Lutheran Emanuel Church at Mercedes in October 1910. The American Rio Grande Land and Irrigation Company donated a trackside lot, and the first building was dedicated in May 1911. The congregation later moved to Washington and West Third streets, built anew in 1929, and took the name Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran in 1945.
Why it matters
The church reflects the land-and-irrigation companies that drew farmers and their faiths into the newly opened Rio Grande Valley in the early 1900s.
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Related people
- · E. J. Moebus
Themes & tags
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