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History in
a Pecan Shell
Count Ludwig Joseph
von Boos-Waldeck is the community’s namesake. The count was head of
a German Immigration Society when that organization bought the site
in 1843. First known as Long Prairie, Texas, a post office
was opened under that name in 1860.
The Long Prairie German Company (Infantry) was mustered in at the
start of the Civil War. This was ironic since most German immigration
was undertaken to avoid conscription in Europe.
Long Prairie’s post office closed in 1876 but reopened under the name
Waldeck in 1881. It stayed open until its permanent closure
in 1925.
In 1900 Waldeck was peaking. Besides the post office, the community
was a voting precinct and had a saloon, store, blacksmith and cotton
gin.
Corn and cotton were principle
crops although the soil was considered poor and the area was prone
to flooding. By 1950 Waldeck had just two businesses to serve a population
of 60.
Children who had once attended the Waldeck school were sent to the
consolidated Round Top
– Carmine schools. By the 1980s, Waldeck
had an estimated population of 35 people living in dispersed households.
The same population was used for the 2000 census. |
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American Party
Band and Waldeck Hall
Courtesy Fayette Co Hist Comm; submitted by Carolyn
Heinsohn FCHC member |
Albers Saloon,
1907
Courtesy Fayette Co Hist Comm; submitted by Carolyn
Heinsohn FCHC member |
Waldeck Evangelical
Lutheran Church
Photo courtesy Gerald
Massey, July 2011 |
Historical Marker:
Intersection of FM 2145 and FM 1291
Waldeck Evangelical
Lutheran Church
Waldeck Evangelical
Lutheran Church Before 1900, the German families of Waldeck, once
called Long Prairie, were served by German-speaking Methodist missionaries;
by 1885, a congregation had organized. In December 1899, the Rev.
August Wenzel led local Lutherans in starting a new congregation,
which organized as Waldeck Evangelical Lutheran Zion. Pastor Carl
Baer became the church's first salaried minister. The congregation
met in the Waldeck schoolhouse until 1926, when it bought the Methodist
Episcopal sanctuary from the declining neighbor congregation at this
site. By that time, the Lutheran church offered Sunday school classes.
Within a few decades, it also celebrated with church picnics, programs
and community services, all of which continue today.
(2003) |
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Historical Marker:
from Fayetteville,
take FM 1291 about 14 mile NW, then take Waldeck Cemetery Rd. about
0.8 miles east.
Waldeck Cemetery
This cemetery has
served the Waldeck community of German immigrants for over 100 years.
Originally known as Long Prairie, the community met in 1866 to erect
a school/church building and to establish a cemetery. Louis Tittel
deeded six acres of land which became the cemetery. There were existing
graves in the north corner, though the earliest marked grave is dated
1871. Burials include many German immigrants, and veterans of wars
from the Civil War to the Vietnam War. This cemetery contains more
than 530 graves, and continues to serve the Waldeck community.
1994 |
Fayette
County map showing location of Long Prairie (Waldeck)
From Texas state map #10749
Modified
Texas General Land Office 1920s map |
Fayette
County 1907 postal map showing Waldeck (NE corner)
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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