FIRST - Congregation in Texas of the Czech-Moravian Brethren - Wesley, TX - First of its Kind on Waymarking.com

Wesley Brethren Church is located at FM-2502 and FM-332 at the northern edge of rural Austin County, 8 miles southwest of Brenham, Texas (Washington County). It was the very first congregation of the Czech-Moravian 1457 "Unity of the Brethren" religious order in the state of Texas.

Per a Texas Historical Marker placed at the entrance:

"First congregation in Texas of the Czech-Moravian Brethren.

Organized 1864 by Rev. Joseph Opocensky. Ministry had begun in homes, with settlers coming as far as 20 miles to worship.

This first church built 1866, principally of hand-hewn logs. Necessary lumber was hauled by ox-carts from Galveston. Native rock and oak logs in foundation. Until about 1900, served also as school, usually with pastor as the teacher."

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The old church building was erected in 1866 and is locally best known as one of the famous "Painted Churches of Texas": old religious houses whose interiors were uniquely adorned in bright colors and murals (sample photos of this particular church's walls and ceiling can be found here: (visit link) ). Many of these "Painted Churches" were listed by the US National Register of Historic Places in 1984, titling them "Churches with Decorative Interior Painting Thematic Resources".

Per excerpts from its original National Register of Historic Places nomination form (available as a PDF download on the Texas Historical Commission's Atlas website):

[...] The property is part of 8 league originally granted in 1825 to Samuel May Williams, a land speculator who resided in Galveston. Built in 1866 and enlarged by 1/3 its size in 1883, the single-room wood frame structure is rectangular in plan with a squared bell tower intersecting the gable of the pitched roof above the entrance. The foundation is constructed of hand hewn native logs and features a 42' central log running lengthwise. Smaller logs intersect the central member at regular intervals and support the floor. The foundation rests on piers of native stone.

The facades of the building are composed of clapboard siding painted white and are basically unadorned. The single entrance to the Sanctuary consists of double wooden doors with insets of beveled wooden panels and textured translucent glass. [...] Directly above the doors is a hand painted sign bearing the message: "JA JSEM TA CESTA I PRAVDA I ZIVOT SLOVA JEZISEKRISTA", meaning " I am the way, the truth, and the light, the words of Jesus Christ" in Czech. Above the sign is a semi-circular fan light, and above it a small circular window. The squared bell tower, with 4 louvered openings, and a conical, high-pitched roof, intersect the gable. Currently the roof is covered with tin while the roof of the tower is shingled in asphalt. An early photograph shows both roofs covered with wooden shingles. The windows flanking the entrance reflect a Gothic Revival influence, with pointed arches, 5/4 double hung sashes, and stained and etched glass. [...]

Inside the church, much of the wall and ceiling surface is enriched with elaborate and detailed hand painting, added between 1889 and 1891. While a central aisle with pens on either side creates an axis between the entrance and pulpit, ceiling beams and pilasters painted in perspective give the illusion of side aisles. The walls are painted to represent brick from the floor up to about 12 ft. Above the brickwork are two horizontal bands, gray and white, respectively, featuring geometric designs and religious symbols. The windows are topped with simulated flat arches of cut stone. Behind the pulpit is a large black area surrounding a single gold chalice. Above this area is an elaborate linear composition incorporating the word BUHSNAMI, meaning "God with us". The ceiling is bordered with an interlocking geometrical chain and features two centrally located geometric medallions from which hang two chandeliers. [...]

The origins of the Brethren can be traced back to the province of Bohemia, present day Czechoslovakia, during the mid-fifteenth century. In the first two decades of that century, Jan Hus had openly questioned practices of the Roman Catholic Church, and thereby became a catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. From the Reformation grew the first of the international Protestant churches, the Brethren of Bohemia, now called Moravians. The beliefs of the Brethren held that the individual had the ability to read the Bible and interpret its message without clerical intercession, as well as the right to receive communion from a chalice along with church officials. For this reason, the chalice has been an important image in the religious symbolism of the Brethren. The Catholic church persecuted the flourishing Protestants, forcing them to eliminate any public activities and pass on their beliefs by word of mouth.

In 1722, Count Zinzendorf of Austria, an aristocrat deeply concerned with both religious and state matters, invited a group of Moravians to move to his estate and establish a settlement based on the protestant beliefs of the Unity of the Brethren. The settlement, Herrnhut, grew and prospered. Count Zinzendorf, a religious and economic expansionist, began to send out missionaries to other parts of the world. During this time, missions in the U. S. were first established near present Savannah, Georgia, and llater moved to Bethlehem and Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Settlers began to fan out from these early colonies as well as continue to emigrate from Austria and Czechoslovakia.

During the 1840's, Czech families began immigrating to Texas. The flow increased dramatically in the next decade, following the unsuccessful revolution in 1848 against the Hapsburg monarchy. The influx of Czechs grew steadily until the Civil War, and immigration was resumed again following the war. By the late 1800's, south central Texas was dotted with many towns and communities largely populated by these European immigrants: Dubina, Fayetteville, Hostyn, and Praha.

One of the Brethren groups from still predominantly Catholic Czechoslovakia settled in 1841 in an area they called Veseli, now known as Wesley, in southwestern Washington County, Under the direction of the Reverend Joseph Opocensky, a veteran of the Civil War and former resident of Mexico, the Wesley Brethren Church was officially organized on September 25, 1864. In 1866, the congregation erected the simple frame structure, at a total cost of $938.00, by some accounts the first building of the Czech Brethren to be built in North America, and certainly the first in Texas. The building, across the county line in Austin County, also served as a schoolhouse until about 1900, and the resident minister usually as the teacher. Many of the sixteen charter member families are still represented on the church rolls.

During the years 1889-1891, in his spare time from his pastoral duties, the Reverend Bohuslav C. Laciak (also written as Lacjak) painted the interior surfaces with religious symbols, geometrical and architectural forms, Laciak's intended meanings for the designs can only be conjectured, but many possibilities have been posited. Examples are the interlace pattern conveying the unbroken chain of brotherhood and the brickwork standing for the strength of the walls of Jerusalem. The richness of the primitive, yet intricate and detailed hand painting remains today as the church is virtually unchanged since its founding. The church is an outstanding example of provincial interior decor, designed by a lay artist to express a community's interpretation of grandeur and its pride in an enduring and democratic faith.

A new sanctuary was built in 1963 near the old one. As a museum and setting for special events, the original Wesley Brethren Church continues to serve the Czech community.

FIRST - Classification Variable: Place or Location Date of FIRST: 01/01/1866 More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]

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