Sunday May 7, 2006, 10:30 a.m.
Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery Historical Marker Dedication
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Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery Historical Marker Dedication
Sunday May 7, 2006, 10:30 a.m.
ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH CEMETERY
Marker text
The Sandoval Community was settled by Carl Streich in 1882. The settlement consisted of German, some Austrian and Swiss, and a few French immigrants.
On March 25, 1893, twenty-six families formally organized Zion Lutheran Church. The first pastor was J. Rode, and the services were conducted in the German language.
On September 29, 1894, Paul and Emma Herbst donated one acre of land across the road from the original church to be used for a church and a cemetery.
This cemetery, located five miles north of Thrall, Texas, on County Road 425, is unfenced and contains eighty-seven known gravesites and ten unknown gravesites that are marked with white, iron crosses. The oldest documented gravesite is for Bertha Lehmann, a baby girl who died in 1893. The last person buried in the cemetery is Kurt Bohlen who died on July 29, 1998.
There are three veterans buried in our cemetery. Two of them served during World War I: Henry Fuessel died in France, and one is unknown. Erich A. Schlickeisen served in World War H.
The cemetery still serves as a burial site for the members of Zion Lutheran Church and their families.
Zion Lutheran Cemetery - Williamson County
Historical Narrative
The origin of Sandoval has not been proven, but it is thought to be named for Manuel de Sandoval, Spanish Governor of Texas from 1734 — 1736. It was a small community near Turkey Creek in East Williamson County and was settled in 1882 by Carl Streich. The settlement consisted of German, some Austrian and Swiss, and a few French immigrants.
Zion Lutheran Church of Sandoval was founded on March 5, 1893. The land for the church and school was donated on October 1, 1893, by L. Herbst and J. W. Obermueller, Jr. That same year, the first building for the church and school was erected.
The first pastor was J. Rode, and services were conducted in the German language. On September 29, 1894, Paul and Emma Herbst donated one acre of land across the road to eventually be used as a church and cemetery. [1] In 1902 an addition was made and dedicated by Max Heinrich. In January 1903, a bell was purchased and dedicated to the service of God. That same year the Sandoval church and St. Johns Church in New Bern joined into, pine parish.
In April 1904, an organ was purchased. By the time the congregation celebrated its 25th anniversary, the congregation had owned two acres of land, a church, a school, and a cemetery. Thirty-eight years later, in 1932, the congregation started their service in the old church and then walked across the road to dedicate their new church. It was dedicated by Pastors Gus Szillat and his son-in-law, Gus Sager.
Sandoval grew large enough that on May 1, 1894 it was assigned a post office.
By the turn of the century and later, the community had a saloon, general store, blacksmith shop, barbershop, small jail, butcher shop, cotton gin, and a dance hall. The Sons of Hermann [2] Lodge used the hall for parties and other community events.
There was a brass band that provided the entertainment.
The post office was discontinued in 1904. A new school was built around 1920, and in the mid-1940s, the school was closed and consolidated with the school district in Thrall, Texas. [3]
The cemetery is located five miles north of Thrall, Texas, off FM 1063 on CR 425. The oldest documented grave is for Ida Lehmann, a baby girl who died in 1897. Her grave is located at the northeast corner of the cemetery. The cemetery is unfenced and contains 98 known gravesites and 14 unidentified gravesites that are marked with white iron crosses. The church is still active, and the cemetery still serves as a burial site for the members of Zion Lutheran Church. [4]
Endnotes
- Cemetery deed, dated September, 1894 — recorded 5 October, 1894, Georgetown, Texas
- Handbook of Texas, Volume V
- Land of Good Waters: A Williamson County Texas History by Carla Scarbrough. Williamson County Sun Publishers, 1973, Rev. 4th edition 1990.
- Marked graves in Cemetery
Bibliography
"Sandoval, Texas," by Clara Scarbrough in New Handbook of Texas. Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1996.
Scarbrough, Clara. Land of Good Water: A Williamson County History. Georgetown: Williamson County Sun Publishers, 1973, Revised Fourth Edition 1990.
Williamson County Deed Records, County Clerk's office, Williamson County Courthouse, Georgetown, Texas.
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for more info click on Sandoval, Texas by The Handbook of Texas Online
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also view www.texasescapes.com
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also view Sandoval Old Photos