S. S. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church
Cameron, Milam County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Through the efforts of fellow immigrant Joseph Russek, many Czech families came to this area of Milam County in the 1880s. The first Catholic Mass in the Maraksville settlement was conducted by a visiting priest in the Kaspar Kubecka home in 1883, and later services were held in other homes. In 1889 the Kubecka family donated land for a Catholic school and church, and the community began raising funds to erect a building. A wooden church structure was completed in 1904 and dedicated in 1905. Named for the patron saints of the Moravian immigrants, the congregation was served by the Rev. K. Kacer. Worship services were conducted in Latin, German, and Czech for many years. The congregation has been associated with parishes in Cyclone and Cameron over the years, and additional church facilities have been built and adapted for various purposes, including a school, rectory, and parish hall. Two burial grounds, known as the Old Marak Catholic Cemetery and the New Catholic Cemetery, were established on land donated by church members. The church has been the social center of the community since its founding, and the annual parish picnic has become a popular event in Milam County.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Drawn by fellow immigrant Joseph Russek, Czech families settled this corner of Milam County in the 1880s, first hearing Mass in the Kaspar Kubecka home in 1883. The Kubeckas donated land in 1889, and a wooden church—named for Saints Cyril and Methodius, patrons of the Moravian people—was dedicated in 1905, offering worship in Latin, German, and Czech and anchoring the community's social life for generations.
Why it matters
This parish preserves the language, faith, and folkways that Czech immigrants carried to central Texas, one of the largest such settlements in the American South.
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Related people
- · Joseph Russek
- · Kaspar Kubecka
- · Rev. K. Kacer
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Buckholts Brethren Church
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Bohemian and Moravian immigrants of the Unity of the Brethren — a faith tracing to the Czech reformer Jan Hus — began arriving in Texas as early as 1848. Buckholts residents held their first Brethren services in the Czech language in 1894 and formally organized in 1907, raising a wooden sanctuary in 1913. Only around 1951, with a new building, did the congregation begin worshiping in English, adopting its present name in 1959.
Hope Lutheran Church
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In 1879 Central Texas Czechs founded the SPJST, a fraternal society offering members both social life and insurance. Members from Cameron, Marak, and Buckholts chartered Lodge No. 15 in 1907 and dedicated their first hall here in 1911; after a storm and a later arson fire, the present octagonal frame dance hall rose in 1936. For generations it has hosted dances, barbecues, and fundraisers — and drew country, polka, and western-swing greats like Bob Wills and Johnny Horton, its shows broadcast on Taylor radio in the 1950s.
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