African American Catholic Community
17320 Sweed Road, Washington, TX, USA
Texas, USA
MARKER
TICKETED:
NO
PARKING:
NO
RESTROOMS:
NO
EST. 1888
EST. 1888
1840
HISTORIC PEOPLE WHO WERE HERE
0
HISTORIC PRESERVATION at African American Catholic Community.
The Texas Historical Commission Atlas records this marker as in situ at the listed location. It remains part of the state marker inventory; the placement description and coordinates in this row follow the current official Atlas record and should be field-verified before publication.
About African American Catholic Community
This community, believed the oldest African American Catholic congregation in Texas, traces to 1848, when Spann settlers arrived from South Carolina with enslaved people. In 1888 Father Martin Huhn organized a mission for the African American congregation, and a Sacred Heart chapel followed in 1936. Descendants later built additional churches, including one on land the Spanns deeded to the Sweeds.
HISTORY HAPPENED HERE at African American Catholic Community
Believed to be the oldest African American Catholic community in Texas, this settlement traces its history to the late 1840s. The Spann families migrated to Hidalgo from South Carolina in 1848, bringing several slaves to the area. A Catholic mission was established for the new settlers and the slave families worshipped with them at a log cabin called the Holy Rosary or the Old Spann Chapel. The Old Catholic Cemetery, located near the log cabin, was the Spann family cemetery. The Spanns and the Sweeds (the slave families) are buried there, and it is still in use today. In 1888 Father Martin Francis Huhn organized a mission specifically for the African American community, conducting Mass monthly in the log chapel. A separate chapel was constructed in 1936 by Father George Elmendorf and named Sacred Heart. In 1969 a church building and community hall were constructed at Post Oak on land deeded from Spann descendants to the Sweeds. The church structure was named the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel. A new church building was completed in 1995 to serve the African American community in the Brenham area, descendants of the original Sweed families. Source: https://atlas.thc.texas.gov/Details/5477008288
HISTORIC PLACES NEARBY
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