Granger Brethren Church

Czech Protestants were worshiping together in Granger a dozen years before the date on the plaque. The Handbook of Texas says a Czech Protestant church was first organized here in 1880, and calls the Brethren congregation of 1892 the most important Czech Protestant church in Texas. In 1914 the Brethren opened Hus Memorial School in Granger, a summer school for training teachers, later moved to Temple. Czech culture, Catholic and Protestant, shaped the town: Našinec, a Czech-language weekly, began in 1914, and the bank that opened in 1937 advertised as "your Czech bank."

What the plaque says

Granger Brethren Church Czech Protestant immigrants began settling in this area in the early 1880s. Many of them established family farms in the rich farmland surrounding Granger. The Czechs' first organized worship service was held in a schoolhouse east of town in the early 1880s. Services were held sporadically whenever a traveling minister was available to preach. The Rev. Adolph Chlumsky, a Czech Brethren minister from Brenham, encouraged the people here to organize a church. On July 10, 1892, they officially founded a congregation and elected Chlumsky pastor. He commuted from Brenham to serve the congregation for the next 18 years. The congregation built its first church structure in 1901. On December 29, 1903, under the leadership of the Rev. Mr. Chlumsky, the Evangelical Unity of the Czech-Moravian Brethren in North America (Unity of the Brethren) denomination officially was organized at Granger Brethren Church. In 1910 Chlumsky was succeeded by the Rev. Josef Barton, Sr., who became the first resident pastor. The church continued to thrive over the years, serving the community with a variety of programs. It remains an important part of Williamson County history. (1992)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Williamson County Courthouse — 15 mi
  The fifth Williamson County courthouse, a Beaux Arts building by C. H. Page, rises over a Georgetown square of more than 50 Victorian-era buildings.
• Inner Space Cavern — 16 mi
  A Georgetown cave found in 1963 when highway engineers drilled test holes, holding Pleistocene fossils and 72-degree rooms that visitors reach by an artificial tunnel.
• The Round Rock — 20 mi
  A table-shaped stone in Brushy Creek gave Round Rock its name in 1854; the Chisholm Trail crossed the creek near it, and Old Town stayed behind when the railroad pulled the town east.

More markers nearby

• Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic School — steps away
• Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church — steps away
• Brick Streets in Granger — steps away
• Macedonia Cemetery — 2.9 mi