In 1889, brothers Anton, Amil, and August Flusche signed a contract to sell 22,000 acres in western Cooke County – and establish a German-Catholic community there. They advertised their new community in German language newspapers throughout the Midwest. When the first seven families stepped off the train and onto the open prairie in November 1889, nailed to the nearest telegraph pole was a note informing them that they were “in Muenster.” In December, the families celebrated their first mass together as a community, and in 1890 the colonists began construction of a school and church – both of which still serve Muenster today.

Various church and school books, many in German, are on display at the Ben and Aggie Fette Seyler Muenster Museum, alongside a number of other artifacts from the town’s history.

Watch our German Texan Culinary Heritage video to learn more about German Texan cultural heritage in Texas. This videos was produced for inclusion in our German Texans mobile tour found in our Texas Time Travel Tours mobile app. Download the app for more videos and travel information: