Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church
Hondo, Medina County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Constructed of Seco brick in 1912, this is the second church structure to serve the Catholic community in Hondo. Designed by San Antonio architect Fred Bowen Gaenslen, it was built by Alfred R. Wottlin during the pastorate of the Rev. J.J. Meyers. Used for all worship services until 1969, it was rededicated as a parish hall in 1972. The brick detailing, round arches and tripartite window are typical features of the Romanesque Revival style. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark -- 1992
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Raised in 1912 from locally made Seco brick, this was the second church to serve Hondo's Catholic community, designed by San Antonio architect Fred Bowen Gaenslen and built during the pastorate of the Rev. J. J. Meyers. Its round arches, brick detailing, and tripartite window mark it as Romanesque Revival. It hosted worship until 1969 and was rededicated as a parish hall in 1972.
Why it matters
It reflects the enduring Catholic faith and craftsmanship of the Medina County communities settled in early Texas.
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Related people
- · Fred Bowen Gaenslen
- · J. J. Meyers
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Hondo
Hondo, TX
Spanish explorers named the deep gully 'El Arroyo Hondo' long before Henri Castro's colonists began settling the area in the 1840s. The town took shape after the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad platted a townsite in 1881; a post office followed in 1882, and the county seat moved here from Castroville in 1892. Hondo grew as a cotton and trade center, struck oil in the 1920s, and exploded during World War II when an Army Air Corps base pushed its population toward 12,000 before the base closed in 1946.
Medina County
Hondo, TX
Carved from sprawling Bexar County in early 1848, Medina County took its name from the river winding through it and was organized that same summer, just as Texas settled into its first years of American statehood. Castroville served as the original county seat before Hondo claimed the honor in 1892. The land was, and remains, a country of farms and ranches.
Hondo Methodist Church
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The first Methodists in this area worshiped under a live oak on the banks of Hondo Creek before organizing as a church in 1857 and meeting in a log hut. In 1859 they raised a shared church-and-Masonic-lodge building on donated land, served monthly by circuit-riding ministers. The congregation moved to its present Hondo site in 1890, replacing outgrown buildings as the community grew.