1883 - Gethsemane Church - Austin, TX - Dated Buildings and Cornerstones on Waymarking.com

A brief history on how the building came to being, per the website of the Gethsemane Lutheran Church (which is now located elsewhere): (visit link)

"[On] December 12, 1868, a group of 25 Swedish immigrants gathered for the first Swedish Lutheran worship led by Reverend K. Karlen of Halland, Sweden; they determined to establish a Swedish Lutheran congregation in Austin for the many immigrants who had recently settled in this area. The first house of worship, dedicated March 10, 1874, was on 9th street across the square from the current Travis County courthouse. [On] February 14, 1875, the congregation was officially established and joined the Augustana Synod as Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Gethsemane Church with 84 Swedes, 3 Norwegians, 1 German and 46 children. The Texas state capitol burned to the ground in 1881. The Swedes gathered the remaining building materials and brick and built the still standing church on the corner of Congress and 16th Street; it was dedicated November 11, 1883."

Also, per the NRHP records:

"[the building is a] simple brick Gothic revival church with graceful proportions now on the extended Capitol grounds. The church is raise[d] on a limestone basement and is built of tan used handmade Austin brick from the Capitol building. The church is rectangular in plan and has a tall front central bell tower. The paneled double doors are from the old Main building at the University of Texas and are set in a lancet arched opening with a stained glass fan light. [...]

In the interests of economizing on building and material fees, the [Gethsemane Lutheran] congregation did much of the construction work themselves. [...] they salvaged bricks and stones from the old state Capitol which had burned down in 1881. They retrieved the doors of the old Main Building at the University of Texas when it was dismantled in 1934 and used them as the front door for the church.

Gethsemane was completed in 1883. The architecture is typical of early rural churches in Sweden. In addition, it is such an outstanding example of early Texas architecture that it was featured on the cover of Texas Architect, April 1963. Measurements for Gethsemane Church are preserved in the library of Congress.

In 1962, the church was recorded as a Texas Historical Landmark, and three years later the Texas Legislature voted to acquire Gethsemane [which ultimately became the Texas Historical Commission's library]."

Year of construction: 1883 Cross-listed waymark: [Web Link] Full inscription: Sw. Ev. LUTHERAN CHURCH Erect. 1883. Organized 1875.

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