Frelsburg is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Colorado County,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, United States. It lies at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 109 and Farm to Market Road 1291. The community was founded around 1837 by immigrants from Germany. It is home to one of the oldest surviving general stores in Texas. Continuously operated since 1865 and owned by the Heinsohn family since 1920, the store is called Heinsohn's Country Store.

Geography

Frelsburg is located at the intersection of FM 109 and FM 1291 in the northern corner of Colorado County. It is between New Ulm on the east and Fayetteville on the west. Its elevation is .

History

Captain William Frels and his brother John founded Frelsburg around 1837. The brothers emigrated from Germany to Texas in 1834 on the ship ''Congress''. William Frels served in the

Texian Army The Texian Army, also known as the Revolutionary Army and Army of the People, was the land warfare branch of the Texian armed forces during the Texas Revolution. It spontaneously formed from the Texian Militia in October 1835 following the Bat ...

and donated the land for the town, school, and the Protestant church, cemetery, and parsonage. Germans from the regions of

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

and Oldenburg settled Frelsburg so that the community merited a post office in 1847. More Germans from the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

arrived and established Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church. By 1852, the community included general stores, a cotton gin, blacksmiths, harness-makers, and small farms. After the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, cotton farming became the predominant use of agricultural land, thanks to the efforts of Frank Walls, sr. who invented an automatic distributor and cleaner for cotton gins. In 1870, an attempt to open Hermann University failed and the building was sold to the local school district instead. During the 1870s, the

Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway (B.B.B.C. or B.B.B. & C.), also called the Harrisburg Road or Harrisburg Railroad, was the first operating railroad in Texas. It completed its first segment of track between Harrisburg, Texas (now ...

passed through

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, to the south of Frelsburg and the

Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad The Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railway was a Class I railroad company in the United States, with its last headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1865 under the name Union Pacific Railway, Southern Branch, it came to serve an extensive ra ...

passed to the north. Despite missing the railroads, Frelsburg had one sawmill, three churches, four gristmills, five cotton gins, and a population of 300 in 1884. The post office closed in 1908. By the 1950s, land use changed from small farms to cattle ranching. Discovery of the Frelsburg gas field took some land out of agricultural production. From 1933 to 2000, the population of Frelsburg was reported to be 75. File:Frelsburg TX Catholic Marker.jpg, Texas State Historical Marker at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church File:Frelsburg TX Trinity Lutheran Marker.jpg, Texas State Historical Marker at Trinity Lutheran Church File:Frelsburg TX Trinity Lutheran Cemetery.jpg, Texas State Historical Marker at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery

Businesses and churches

File:Frelsburg TX Heinsohns Store.jpg, Heinsohn's Country Store at FM 109 and FM 1291 File:Frelsburg TX Trinity Lutheran.jpg, Trinity Lutheran Church in Frelsburg File:Frelsburg TX Catholic Church.jpg, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Frelsburg

Notes

References

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Geography

History

Businesses and churches

Notes

References

Further reading