Abigale (Abigail) McLennan Fokes acquired a Mexican land grant here in 1835. Peter M. Mercer established a blacksmith shop in this area in the early 1840s. His burial in 1844 is the first recorded in this cemetery. Fokes later set aside this site . . . — — Map (db m150843) HM
Noted for its many streams and fertile soil, this area of Texas has long been inhabited. Early European institutions included three 18th-century Spanish missions, as well as a presidio. The following century brought many changes. In 1835, the . . . — — Map (db m150885) HM
Although members began meeting in January 1902, St. John Lutheran Church formally organized December 26, 1903, under the leadership of the Rev. Carl Roth. The congregation was part of a three-church parish in 1915, members built a sanctuary in the . . . — — Map (db m210584) HM
August Polnick and his family moved from Lee County to Thorndale in 1881. The family were the first recorded Germans and also the first Lutherans in this area. Their former pastor, G. Birkmann, made ministerial visits to Thorndale over the next five . . . — — Map (db m210586) HM
Settlement in this area began in the 1870s. The Wilder family operated a cotton gin, grist mill, blacksmith shop and general store. Other pioneer residents included the Allcorn, Watson, Casey, Gambrell, Gregory, and Howe families. By the 1890s the . . . — — Map (db m25217) HM
