Moravian (Czech) Cemetery
Bryan, Brazos County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Land for this cemetery was sold in 1889 by Josef Stasta (1833-1894) to Joseph Mekeska, president of Moravian Brothers Burial Ground. The deed specified the land would be used exclusively for a Moravian cemetery. The cemetery contains eleven grave markers. All but one of the stones are inscribed in Czech. The one English-language stone marks four graves. The earliest known burial is that of Marie Siptak (Jan. 19-Feb. 16, 1885). The last interment took place in 1906. Though only fifteen graves are marked, the cemetery may contain as many as forty-one burials.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This small burial ground was set aside in 1889 by Josef Stasta for the Moravian Brothers, with a deed requiring it be used only as a Moravian cemetery. Most of its handful of headstones are inscribed in Czech, a quiet record of the Central European families who settled the Brazos County countryside. Though only fifteen graves are marked and the last burial came in 1906, as many as forty-one people may rest here.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the language, faith, and memory of Czech and Moravian immigrants whose migration helped shape the rural culture of Central Texas.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Josef Stasta
- · Joseph Mekeska
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Mount Calvary Cemetery
Bryan, TX
Bryan's St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1873, at first buried its members in existing area cemeteries until the Rev. Joseph Pelnar established a dedicated ground here, purchasing the land in 1897 and blessing it the following spring. One acre was originally set aside for those ineligible under Catholic canon law for a sanctioned burial, a distinction later dissolved as it was absorbed into the whole. The cemetery ties together the Catholic families — many of them immigrant farmers — who settled the Brazos Valley.
Charlie Eric Jenkins
Bryan, TX
Charlie E. Jenkins left England in 1873 and reached Bryan, Texas, by 1878, where he became one of the town's most inventive builders in the decades around 1900. Working in many architectural styles and prized for his skillful use of natural light, he left a legacy of distinctive buildings later recognized for their historic and architectural value. He also served his adopted city as fire chief and building inspector.
E. J. Jenkins House
Bryan, TX
In 1893, Bryan builder Charlie Jenkins raised this ornate Queen Anne home—all domed tower and wraparound veranda—for his brother Edwin James Jenkins. An English immigrant who reached Bryan in 1878 as a boy, E.J. Jenkins went on to run a downtown drugstore for more than half a century while serving as both mayor and city councilman. The house stayed in the family until 1971 and earned Recorded Texas Historic Landmark status in 1982.
St. Joseph School
Bryan, TX
In the early 1890s the Rev. Joseph Pelnar of Bryan's St. Joseph Catholic Church built a parish school, and for decades its desks were filled largely by the children of East European immigrant families. Teachers ranged from a lay instructor in the 1890s to the Ursuline nuns (1901–1930) and the Sisters of the Incarnate Word (1930–1981), and enrollment peaked in 1957 at 498 students. The school carried on offering both general and Catholic education to local children.