St. John Lutheran Church

The Handbook of Texas says Thrall began in 1876 as a railroad station called Stiles Switch and took its name in 1901 from Homer S. Thrall, a Methodist minister and historian the Stiles family admired. In 1915 oil discovered on nearby farms set off a boom, with some 200 wells dug and a population that may have reached 3,000. By 1920 the boom had leveled off and the town counted 272 people. A second oil boom in the early 1930s mattered less. The Lutheran congregation formed in 1917, in the middle of that rush.

What the plaque says

St. John Lutheran Church St. John Lutheran Church dates to 1917, when area Lutherans joined with the Rev. Arthur E. Hartmann, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church (Taylor), to organize a new congregation. Members met in the public school and in homes until constructing a building here in 1921. The church has a long history of social service; one early project involved sending clothing to the needy in Europe following World War I. Membership grew steadily, especially in the 1930s and 1940s during the pastorate of the Rev. Willard Ander. The church built new facilities at this site in 1957 and today, St. John Lutheran Church continues to serve as a spiritual leader in the community of Thrall. (2007)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Williamson County Courthouse — 23 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 — 23 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 — 24 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.
• Milam County Courthouse and Jail — 26 mi
  Cameron's 1892 Renaissance Revival courthouse and the 1895 St. Louis-built jail beside it, now the county museum, are listed together on the National Register.

More markers nearby

• Town of Thrall — steps away
• Christ Lutheran Church — 2.4 mi
• Site of New Bern Church, School, and Cemetery — 3.4 mi
• Howard Bland, Sr. — 4.6 mi