Zions Kirche
Garden Ridge, Comal County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized 1871, with 52 German members, by the Rev. William Felsing, itinerant minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Building was erected 1872 of native limestone; enlarged 1893; had brick façade and bell tower added, 1913. Still in congregation are heirs of founders of this church. (1972)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Zions Kirche was organized in 1871 by itinerant Methodist Episcopal minister Rev. William Felsing among 52 German settlers in Comal County. The congregation raised a native-limestone building the next year, enlarged it in 1893, and added a brick façade and bell tower in 1913. Descendants of the founding families still worship among its members.
Why it matters
German immigrant churches like this anchored the distinctive Old-World culture that German settlers carried into the Texas Hill Country and kept alive for generations.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Attractions
- Morgan's Wonderland9.4 mi away · 5223 David Edwards Drive, San Antonio, TX
- Morgan's Inspiration Island9.4 mi away · 5223 David Edwards Drive, San Antonio, TX
- Off-Road Adventure Ride9.5 mi away
- Amazing Air11.4 mi away · 7702 North Interstate Highway 35, San Antonio, TX
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
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Related people
- · William Felsing
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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In the mid-1800s, German families—Schwab, Friesenhahn, Wenzel, Fey, and others—left nearby New Braunfels to carve farms out of the countryside, forming the village that became Comal. Among the first Germans to reach Texas in the 1840s, they built a close-knit farming settlement anchored by a cooperative cotton gin, a grocery, a blacksmith shop, and early church and school institutions. Some of their farms remain in the hands of descendants today.
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