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Gillespie County TX
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CHERRY SPRING, TEXAS

Texas Ghost Town
Gillespie County, Texas Hill Country

On the old Pinta Trail

30° 29' 0" N, 99° 0' 33" W (30.483333, -99.009167)

Highway 87
1/2 mile S of the Mason County Line
16 miles NW of Fredericksburg the county seat
6 miles S of Loyal Valley
Area code 830
Population: 25 (2000) 75 Est. ( since 1970)

Cherry Spring Area HotelsFredericksburg Hotels

Texas -Cherry Spring cemetery stone wall,
"A cool little cemetery surrounded by a stone wall" -
Photo courtesy Justin Parson, April 2006

History in a Pecan Shell

Cherry Spring was a stop along the San Antonio-El Paso road and had a moderate success taking care of the needs of travelers. The community dates from the late 1840s / early 1850s when German settlers left the safety of Fredericksburg to strike out on their own. Dietrich Rode and William Kothe are credited with being town founders. A Lutheran church was built there in 1849.

A post office was opened by 1858, and within two years there were over 200 people - three quarters of them German immigrants who farmed and/or kept sheep. Famed German colonist and Indian negotiator John O. Meusebach was buried at Cherry Spring in 1897.

Without a railroad and far from large cities, Cherry Spring never grew past it's initial growth spurt - and by 1912 there still weren't enough people to warrant a post office. In 1933 the population was reportedly 40 - but in the 1960s it fell to less than 10. It increased to 75 about the time Fredericksburg was being "discovered" in the late 1960s and the same figure is given in 2004.

Detailed TXDoT maps of Gillespie County show no fewer than twelve cemeteries within eight miles of Cherry Springs.

Cherry Spring, Texas Landmarks


Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Cherry Spring, Texas
Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church
Photo courtesy Justin Parson, April 2006

Historical marker:

Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church

German Lutherans in the community of Cherry Spring began meeting together for worship in the 1850s. Diedrich Rode (1828-1925), a licensed lay minister, provided space in his home for worship services and Sunday School. Christ Church congregation was officially organized in 1905. John and Mary Rode Wendel gave land for a church building in December 1905, and a rock sanctuary was completed in 1906. Services were conducted in the German language until 1922, when occasional English services were added. In the 1950s English became the principal language.
1988

Cherry Spring TX - Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church Historical Marker
Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Justin Parson, April 2006



Old Cherrry Spring School, Texas
The Old Cherry Spring School
Photo courtesy Justin Parson, April 2006

Historical marker: Intersection of Cherry Spring Rd.& Wasserfall Rd.
Old Cherry Spring School
Das Alte Schulhaus
The Cherry Spring community was founded by German immigrants about 1850. Classes for schoolchildren originally were held in private homes. In 1859 German nobleman Wilhelm Marschall Von Bieberstein deeded ten acres of land to L. Schneider, H. Bradhering, W. Kothe, C. Ahrens, C. Kothe, and F. Doering for construction of a schoolhouse. Classes were held in the original part of this building from 1860 through 1878. The schoolhouse later was used for church services and was the site of the formal organization of Christ Lutheran Church in 1905.
1985

Old Cherrry Spring School, and marker, Texas
Old Cherry Spring School and marker
Photo courtesy Justin Parson, April 2006


Cherry Spring TX - Old Cherry Spring School Historical Marker
Old Cherry Spring School Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Justin Parson, April 2006



Cherry Spring TX - Marschall-Meusebach Cemetery Historical Marker
Marschall-Meusebach Cemetery Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Justin Parson, April 2006

Historical marker:
The Marschall-Meusebach Cemetery
Members of the families of two former German noblemen, related by marriage, are buried in this cemetery. John O. Meusebach (1812-97), who came to the Republic of Texas in 1845 as leader of the German Emigration Company, established (1846) the town of Fredericksburg and signed (1847) an historic peace treaty with the Comanche Indians. Wilhelm Marschall Von Bierberstein (1822-1902) settled in this community in 1848. First burial here was that of Marschall's sister-in-law, Mathilda Weiss (1824-91).
1976

Cherry Spring Texas cemetery scene
The Marschall-Meusebach Cemetery
Photo courtesy Justin Parson, April 2006


John O. Meusebach grave
John O. Meusebach tombstone
Photo courtesy Michael Barr, September 2016


German tombstone in Cherry Spring cemtery, Texas
"What looked like the oldest stone was carved in German."
Photo courtesy Justin Parson, April 2006

German Gravestone

The German grave stone on this page is easily translated to:

Louise von Marschall
GEB short for "gebuertig" or "born as"
Weiss GEB short for "geboren" or "born on" November 18, 1827
GEST short for "gestorben" or "died on" January 23, 1901

Enjoy and hope it helps someone,

- CODY WAITS
Camp Speicher
Tikrit, Iraq,
October 30, 2006

Marschall Cemetery sign, Cherry Spring, Texas
Marschall Cemetery sign
Photo courtesy Justin Parson, April 2006



TX - Cherry Spring Dance Hall
March 2016 photo © Michael Barr
Cherry Spring Dance Hall



TX - Cherry Spring, Gillespie County 1909 postmark info
TX - Cherry Spring, Gillespie County 1909 postmark
Postcard cancelled with 1909 Cherry Spring, TX postmark
Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection


Gillespie  County TX 1920s Map
Gillespie County 1920s map showing Cherry Spring
near Mason County / Llano County line
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Take a Road Trip

Texas Hill Country

Cherry Spring, Texas Area Destinations:
Fredericksburg the county seat
Loyal Valley
See Gillespie County | Mason County | Llano County

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