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FRELSBURG, TEXAS
AKA Frelsburgh


Colorado County, Central Texas S

29° 52' 16" N, 96° 32' 51" W (29.871111, -96.5475)

FM 109 and FM 1291
12 miles N of Columbus
10 miles E of Fayetteville
Population: 75 est. (2010)

Book Hotel Here › Columbus Hotels

Frelsburg Texas - W.E. Pophanken Store,  vintage photo

The W.E. Pophanken Store on the west side of McElroy Lane at the intersection of FM 109.
Photo Courtesy Nesbitt Memorial Library, Columbus, Texas (image # 01368)


History in a Pecan Shell

Captain William Frels is the town's namesake. Frels was a veteran of the revolution and after independence, donated land for the townsite, school, cemetery and Protestant church. Frels and his brother John had immigrated from Germany in 1834 and settled in the area in 1837.

By 1847 Frelsburg was granted a post office and Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church was organized to serve an influx of new German immigrants. The economy was based on the familiar small farm communities back in the old country.

Frelsburg had several stores as early as 1852 with blacksmiths, leatherworkers and essential tradesmen. The towns prosperity continued after the Civil War with cotton being the major agricultural crop. Frelsburg was chosen in 1870 to be the site of Hermann University, but after building the first structure it was sadly realized that subscriptions fell short of operational expenses. The local school district purchased the building and put it to use as a school.

Frelsburg may well have rivaled Columbus had the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway not chosen its route through the county seat. A second chance at prosperity was lost a few years later when the Katy (Missouri, Kansas and Texas) bypassed Frelsburg on the north. The 1884 estimated population was nearly 300 and the town had no fewer than five cotton gins. With three churches, a sawmill, four gristmills and the previously mentioned gins, Frelsburg remained self-sufficient despite its lack of a railroad connection.

The Frelsburg post office closed its doors in 1908. Over the years cotton production gave way to cattle raising as the leading economic engine. Discovery of a gas field and sand / gravel excavations contribute to the economy. The population of Frelsburg has been reported at seventy-five residents from 1933 to the present.

Schoellmann family in Frelsburg Texas, Vintage family photo

The Schoellmann family in Frelsburg.
Back row, left to right: Fredrick Schoellmann, Frank Schoellmann, Hugo Schoellmann, Victor Schoellmann, Willie Schoellmann, Hubert Schoellmann.
Seated, left to right: Agatha Schoellmann Poindexter, Alberta Schoellmann Valigura, Grandma Hoffmann Schoellmann, Grandpa Henry Schoellmann, Annie Schoellmann Patter, Justina Schoellmann Schramm.

Photo Courtesy Nesbitt Memorial Library, Columbus, Texas # 01475



Frelsburg Texas - Saint Joseph's School 1924 class photo,

Saint Joseph's School Class photographed January 6, 1924.
Photo Courtesy Nesbitt Memorial Library # 00064



Frelsburg TX - Church

Photo by John Troesser, December 2001

Churches in Frelsburg



St. Peter and Paul Cemetery  tombstones and windmill Frelsburg Texas
Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery tombstones and windmill
See Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church

Photo by John Troesser, August 2002


Heinsohn's General Store in Frelsburg, Texas

Heinsohn's General Store
Photo by John Troesser, December 2001



Frelsburg TX - Persimmons

Persimmon Tree
Photo by John Troesser, December 2001


Take a road trip

Central Texas South

Frelsburg, Texas Nearby Towns:
Columbus the county seat
Fayetteville
La Grange

See Colorado County | Fayette County

Book Hotel Here:
Columbus Hotels | More Hotels

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