St. Paul's Evangelical and Reformed Church
Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Established on December 1, 1889, this congregation began with five charter members. Led by the Rev. H. Siegfried, the church was organized with the help of Fort Worth pastors Thomas L. Mueller and C.F. Bauman. The congregation was originally named St. Paul's German Evangelical Church and served a predominantly German-speaking membership. A German Presbyterian congregation already in existence in Dallas merged with St. Paul's, and the Presbyterian church building was moved to a site at the corner of Texas and Florence streets to serve the new congregation. The Rev. Mr. Siegfried was succeeded by the Rev. J. Jans in 1893. The Rev. Theophile Tanner led the congregation from 1895 to 1909, and he was succeeded by the Rev. Albert Romanowski, who served until 1935. A new sanctuary was built in 1912 to serve the growing congregation. Worship services were conducted solely in the German language until World War I. The name was changed to St. Paul's Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1934. This site was acquired in 1953, and a new sanctuary was completed in 1957. Instrumental in establishing new congregations in the area, St. Paul's continues to serve the community.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Five charter members founded this congregation in 1889, with help from Fort Worth pastors, to serve Dallas's growing German-speaking population as St. Paul's German Evangelical Church. A German Presbyterian congregation soon merged in, and the church built and rebuilt sanctuaries as it grew across the decades. Worship was conducted entirely in German until World War I, and in 1934 the congregation took the name St. Paul's Evangelical and Reformed Church.
Why it matters
The church's slow shift away from German-language worship, hastened by World War I, captures the pressures that reshaped immigrant communities into American ones.
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Related people
- · Rev. H. Siegfried
- · Rev. Theophile Tanner
Themes & tags
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