HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded Age

Saint Paul Lutheran Church

Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas

Marker Inscription

In 1892 the Rev. Johann Christian Schulenburg (1840-1922), a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod missionary, conducted services in German at the Knights of Honor Hall in downtown Fort Worth. In 1896 the Mission was chartered as the Evangelisch Lutherische St. Paulus Gemeinde, and a chapel was erected on Hemphill and Railroad (now Vickery) avenues. In 1919 the congregation erected a new church building on May Street. With continued growth of membership a larger facility became necessary, and the church relocated on the West Freeway in 1954.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

In 1892 the Rev. Johann Christian Schulenburg, a Missouri Synod missionary, began preaching in German at a downtown Fort Worth hall, gathering the German-speaking Lutherans of the growing city. Chartered in 1896 as the Evangelisch Lutherische St. Paulus Gemeinde, the congregation raised a chapel, then a larger church on May Street in 1919, and finally relocated to the West Freeway in 1954 as its membership swelled.

Why it matters

The congregation traces the immigrant German community that helped build Fort Worth, worshiping in its native tongue as it put down roots in Texas.

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Related people

  • · Johann Christian Schulenburg

Themes & tags

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