Wall Brethren Church

The town the Brethren families moved to was first called Lipan School, then Little School, then Murray's Store, the Handbook of Texas says. It took its name from J. M. Wall, a storekeeper who became first postmaster when the post office opened in 1906; J. C. and Lou Bell Bunnell, the first settlers, had arrived in 1886. Its school district covered 326 square miles until it was cut to 237 in 1889. Wall served as the trading center for the fertile Lipan Flat, where cotton and grain are grown. It had 200 people from 1980 through 2000.

What the plaque says

This congregation dates from summer 1929, when Czech-speaking Brethren families from Granger, Taylor and Rowena moved here. Early services were held in worshipers' homes. In fall 1929, an unused Methodist church in Wall became the place of worship. Records show 28 active members in the first Sunday School and worship services, with 19 communicants gathered to worship the sacrament of Holy Communion in October 1929. The Czech language was spoken in Sunday School and church services. The congregation prevailed upon the Rev. Josef Hegar, then living in Temple, to be the first pastor. In 1933 members formally organized and were received into the Evangelical Unity of the Czech Moravian Brethren (later Unity of the Brethren) at the state convention held in West. In 1936, members bought a half-acre in Wall for a future church site and met for a time in Fairview. The first permanent church was dedicated in June 1937. At the state convention held in Wall in 1947, the Unity of the Brethren adopted English to replace Czech as the official church language. The growing Wall congregation dedicated a new church in Aug. 1955, with the first church remodeled as a fellowship building. New parsonages (1966, 1977), fellowship buildings (1982, 2010) and a new sanctuary (1994) followed as the church continued to grow. Wall Brethren Church supports many community programs, including Boy Scout Troop 321 and a shared community Thanksgiving service with St. Ambrose Catholic Church. Ministries include the Brethren Youth Fellowship (organized 1956) and the Christian Sisters (organized 1937), who support the church financially by baking and selling kolaches. Wall Brethren Church recognizes its rich ethnic history and the diverse backgrounds and traditions of its current members. 175 Years of Texas Independence * 1836 - 2011

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Concho National Historic Landmark — 8.1 mi
  The stone post at the forks of the Concho, headquarters of the Tenth Cavalry from 1875 to 1882, saved by a woman with a museum and now a city-run landmark of 23 original buildings.
• San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts — 8.2 mi
  A free art museum on the Concho beside Fort Concho, founded in the fort's 1868 quartermaster building and known nationally for its biennial ceramics competition.
• Miss Hattie's Bordello Museum — 8.5 mi
  The upstairs rooms on Concho Avenue where a brothel ran from 1902 until the Texas Rangers closed it in 1952, shown on short guided tours with most of the furnishings original.
• Concho River Walk — 8.6 mi
  Four miles of lit trails along the North Concho through downtown San Angelo, rebuilt after voters taxed themselves in 2004, with gardens, sculpture, a river stage and stocked trout.

More markers nearby

• Site of Ben Ficklin — 6.7 mi
• Tom Green County — 6.7 mi
• Major Ben Ficklin, C.S.A. — 6.7 mi
• St. John's Hospital — 7.9 mi