New Fountain United Methodist Church
Hondo, Medina County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This region, known as Soldaten Kemp (soldiers' camp) for its history as a rendezvous point for frontier military patrols, freighters and others on the San Antonio Road, was home to many German immigrants by the mid-19th century. The Rev. John Schaper organized a Methodist congregation here in 1858 and a church building was erected by 1860. Church members John and Aalke Wiemers and Friedrich and Antje Muennink deeded land for a new church building in 1871. Using native stone, pastor and stonemason Jacob Bader built the new church with help from his parishioners. For many years it was the community's only meeting hall. It was enlarged in 1900-01 during the pastorate of the Rev. C. A. Lehmberg. (1975, 2000)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This spot on the old San Antonio Road was long known as Soldaten Kemp — "soldiers' camp" — a rendezvous for frontier patrols and freighters before German immigrants made it home. Rev. John Schaper organized a Methodist congregation here in 1858, and by 1860 a church stood on the site. In 1871 members deeded land for a new building, which pastor and stonemason Jacob Bader raised from native stone with his parishioners' help; for years it served as the community's only meeting hall.
Why it matters
Built by immigrant hands from the stone of the land itself, the church embodies how German settlers turned a rough frontier waypoint into a rooted Texas community.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
West of San Antonio, the country opening up in the mid-1800s was true frontier. The road heading west was a lifeline for soldiers, freight wagons and travelers moving through land where frontier patrols still rode. This spot was known in German as Soldaten Kemp, "soldiers' camp," because patrols, freighters and others traveling the San Antonio Road used it as a meeting place.
By the middle of the century the area was home to many German immigrants. Medina County was already known for European colonization, including the well-known settlement at Castroville in the 1840s. German-speaking families spread across the surrounding hills and valleys and started farms in country that still felt raw and exposed.
Religion moved with them, and sometimes in surprising directions. In the 1800s American Methodism ran a vigorous German-language mission, and many German immigrants who arrived as Lutherans or Catholics, or with little church connection at all, became German Methodists. The congregation founded here in 1858 was part of that remarkable movement.
People & events
The Rev. John Schaper organized the Methodist congregation here in 1858. By 1860, on the eve of the Civil War, the community had a church building. For immigrant families on a frontier road, that was a real accomplishment: a fixed place of worship where a camp for passing soldiers had once been.
The church grew from generosity. In 1871 church members John and Aalke Wiemers and Friedrich and Antje Muennink deeded land for a new building. The marker names the wives alongside their husbands, a small but meaningful acknowledgment of the women who shared in building this community.
The new church was built by its own pastor. Jacob Bader was both minister and stonemason. Using native stone, he raised the walls with help from his parishioners. It's a vivid picture: a preacher who led worship on Sunday and laid stone during the week beside the farmers in his flock.
The building became more than a church. For many years it was the community's only meeting hall, so it hosted the gatherings of civic and social life as well as worship. In 1900–01, during the pastorate of the Rev. C. A. Lehmberg, it was enlarged to serve a growing congregation.
Its place in the American story
New Fountain is a small window into one of the great themes of American history, immigrants changing and being changed by the frontier. German settlers came to Texas in large numbers in the mid-1800s, and their stone farmhouses, churches and towns left a lasting mark on the Hill Country and the lands to its west.
It also reflects a lesser-known chapter of American religion: German-language Methodism. American Methodists reached out to new arrivals in their own language, and German Methodist congregations sprang up from the Midwest to Texas. A church like this one shows how frontier faith blended an American denomination with an immigrant people.
The site's layers are what make it special. It began as a waypoint for frontier patrols and freight wagons on the road west, then became a settled community of immigrant farmers anchored by a stone church built by their own hands. That shift, from passage to permanence, is the story of the American frontier in miniature.
If you visit
The church is near Hondo in Medina County, west of San Antonio. It's a rewarding detour for travelers interested in Texas's German heritage. The surrounding countryside helps you imagine the old Soldaten Kemp, when patrols and freighters stopped here on the road west.
Look carefully at the stonework. The native stone was shaped and laid by a pastor-stonemason and his congregation, and that hands-on origin is part of the building's charm. See whether you can spot where the church may have grown during the 1900–01 enlargement. Older buildings often show their additions in subtle ways.
This is a working church, so be courteous, especially around services, and don't count on the interior being open. Pair the visit with other stops in Medina County's immigrant-settled communities for a day that traces how Europeans made homes on the Texas frontier.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Rev. John Schaper
- · Jacob Bader
Themes & tags
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