Danevang Lutheran Church, Danevang, TX - Relocated Structures on Waymarking.com

The sign next to the door of this historic church gives the history of this building:

The church building before you was erected at Camp Hulen at Palacios, Texas at the beginning of the 1940s when the nation was preparing for war. As part of a huge construction effort, which transformed a tent camp into an anti-aircraft artillery training base, this church was one of four - in fact the main Chapel - which served all Creeds and religions and this was ecumenical in every sense.

The end of World War II heralded the termination of Camp Hulen as a training base since Fort Bliss, Texas took over as the anti-aircraft artillery center. Along with many other buildings, the church became surplus to the needs of the army and was offered for sale. This same situation developed in many other bases across the United States.

Coincidentally, the Ansgar Evangelical Lutheran Church, which was consecrated adjacent to this site in 1909, was totally destroyed by a hurricane on August 17, 1945 -- interestingly the same year that saw the termination of World War II.

One can only conjecture the timing of these two separate but allied incidents. This Chapel needed a home and the Danevang Community needed a church. The upshot of it all was a decision to purchase this church and move it to its present site before you. It was dedicated on December 14th, 1947. The movement of the church to this site was not accomplished overnight. It was disassembled in part and moved the 25 miles north to get to Divine where it was reassembled on its present site. The bell, which hung in the original church and which rang at Sunrise and Sundown daily, survived the hurricane and lives on in the steeple above you. Other artifacts, such as the painting of Saint Ansgar baptizing a child and the alter table which were salvaged from the wreckage, reside inside the church today.

The church has become a full-fledged member of the Danevang community and continues to provide the glue which has held the community together since 1894.

Welcome to this House of Prayer

A Texas Historic Marker in the adjoining cemetery adds the following:

The Danish Folk Society obtained a land option from the Texas Land and Cattle Company and helped 93 Danish families from the Midwest establish the Danevang Cooperative Settlement here in the early 1890s. The settlers, strong adherents of the Lutheran religion, organized an evangelical Lutheran congregation in 1895 with the help of the Rev. F. L. Grundtvig. Worship services were first held in the home of Mads and Maren Andersen. Early pastors came from Denmark and held services in the Danish language.

The congregation erected a meeting hall at this site in 1895. A sanctuary made of native pine and cypress was erected here in 1909. A painting of St. Ansgar baptizing a child was placed inside the new church building and a 1700-pound bell, which could be heard four to five miles away, was placed in the church steeple. The sanctuary was destroyed in a 1945 storm and replaced with an army chapel which the congregation reassembled at this site.

The first recorded interment was that of Maren Andersen in 1895. The cemetery, maintained by a board established in 1965, contains three former pastors and veterans of wars ranging from the Civil War to World War II among its more than 500 burials.

Original Location: N 26° 42.240 W 096° 46.242 How it was moved: Disassembled Type of move: City to City Building Status: Public Related Website: Not listed

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