Zion Lutheran Church

Texas Lutherans in the congregation's first century belonged to several bodies. One grew from 558 Wends from Lusatia who settled in present Lee County in 1855 and joined the conservative Missouri Synod; recognized as its Texas District in 1903, it founded Lutheran Concordia College in the 1920s, urged a parochial school in every parish and had 102,322 baptized members in 285 congregations by 1970. Others came through mergers: on January 1, 1961, the Texas Conference of the Augustana Lutheran Church united with Texas Synod II of the United Lutheran Church, with 19,258 baptized members.

What the plaque says

Zion Lutheran Church This congregation has roots in worship services conducted in family homes as early as 1898 and was organized in 1901 with seven charter families. The Rev. Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Hans Ernst Ermisch, who also assisted Lutheran parishes in neighboring communities, was pastor for the first two years. The congregation worshiped in Kerrville's Union Church until a sanctuary was built in 1916 on this site. Through its programs of outreach and community assistance, Zion Lutheran Church remains a significant part of Kerrville's social and religious heritage. (2001)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Schreiner Mansion — 0.4 mi
  The 1879 downtown home of Charles Schreiner, the Alsatian-born merchant, banker and rancher whose store and mohair trade built Kerrville.
• Treue der Union Monument — 14 mi
  An 1866 German-language monument in Comfort over the graves of Hill Country Unionists killed at the Nueces in 1862, its flag of thirty-six stars kept at half-staff.
• Old Tunnel State Park — 19 mi
  A railroad tunnel abandoned in 1942 that now shelters up to three million Mexican free-tailed bats, who fly out each evening from May through October.
• Fort Martin Scott — 22 mi
  An army post of 1848 on Barons Creek beside the German town, where soldiers kept the peace of a Comanche trade and paid the merchants in hard cash.

More markers nearby

• Beitel Lumberyard — steps away
• First Baptist Church of Kerrville — 0.2 mi
• Kerr County — 0.3 mi
• Early Settlers of Kerr County — 0.3 mi