The Reverend Joseph Chromcik
Fayetteville, Fayette County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Czech Catholics, who settled in Fayette County in the mid-1850s, were initially served by area priests. Eventually they petitioned the Bishop of Texas for their own Czech priest, and in 1872 the Rev. Joseph Chromcik (1845-1910) arrived from Europe. He held his first service in Fayetteville that year and became Texas' first permanent Czech Catholic priest. He established Chromcik School and many churches, and was instrumental in establishing the KJT, or Czech Catholic Union of Texas. He was fondly referred to as "Taticek" (dear little father) by many of the people who knew him.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Czech Catholics settled in Fayette County in the 1850s, they had no priest who spoke their language, so they petitioned the Bishop of Texas for one of their own. In 1872 the Rev. Joseph Chromcik arrived from Europe and became the state's first permanent Czech Catholic priest, holding his first service in Fayetteville that year. Over his life he founded a school and numerous churches and helped establish the Czech Catholic Union of Texas, earning the affectionate title "Taticek" — dear little father.
Why it matters
His ministry anchored one of the largest Czech immigrant communities in America, showing how faith and language bound newcomers together on the Texas prairie.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Joseph Chromcik
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
The Rev. Jindrich Juren
Fayetteville, TX
Born in Bohemia in 1850, Jindřich (Henry) Juren studied theology and mastered five languages before immigrating to Texas in 1876 as a newly ordained pastor to Czech-Moravian settlers. Traveling by buggy and train, he ministered to Czech congregations across the state while also teaching public school for four decades. He became a revered leader of Texas's growing Czech community before his burial here in 1921.
Fayetteville Brethren Church Cemetery
Fayetteville, TX
Czech-Moravian Brethren settled at Ross Prairie in the early 1850s and, in 1855, held what is remembered as the first Czech worship service in Texas. Their society Osveta founded the state's first Czech-English school in 1871, and in 1874 the Jecmeneks gave land for a church, parish house, school, and this cemetery. Among the graves is that of Reverend Jindrich Juren, who served as pastor and schoolmaster here for some 45 years.
Oldenburg
Oldenburg, TX
On land first granted to Nathaniel Townsend in 1838, immigrants August Heintze and Gus Steenken founded this Fayette County community in 1885 and named it for their German hometown of Oldenburg. Settled largely by Germans and Bohemians, it grew to include stores, saloons, a cotton gin, churches, dance halls, and schools—among them the German and Bohemian Oldenburg School and, by about 1930, a separate school for Black students. Though the schools consolidated away in 1944, descendants of those early settlers still live nearby.
Rutersville
Rutersville, TX
Founded in 1838 on the recommendation of pioneer Methodist missionary Dr. Martin Ruter, this Fayette County town was named for him after he died, worn out by his Texas travels, that same year. In 1840 the Republic of Texas chartered Rutersville College here — the Republic's first Protestant college — open to families of all faiths. Students were known for interrupting classes to pursue Indian raiders, and after the Civil War German immigrants bought up the town, their descendants living here still.