Black Jack Springs, Texas
Encyclopedia
Black Jack Springs is an unincorporated community
in southwestern Fayette County
, Texas
, United States
. The community was near Farm Road 609 twelve miles southwest of La Grange in southwestern Fayette County. Named for the nearby clear springs and blackjack oak trees, Black Jack Springs was settled in the mid-1830s by Anglo pioneers.
During the early 1850s the earlier Anglo settlers were joined by German immigrants, including the Luck, Loessin, Melcher, Mueller and Oeding Families as well as noted German poet Johannes Christlieb Nathanael Romberg. In about 1857 Romberg founded the Prairieblume, a literary society which was one of the first of its kind in Texas and included German settlers from the Black Jack Springs and La Grange areas. The society members, most of whom were younger and from the better educated German families, wrote, read and discussed their stories, articles and poems in the manner of the Latin Settlements of Texas.
A post office was opened in Black Jack Springs in 1868, and in 1871 land was donated for separate white and black cemeteries. By 1884 Black Jack Springs reported a population of 400, three general stores, two steam gristmill-cotton gins, a broom factory, a school known as "Luck's School", and a Lutheran church; Trinitatis or Trinity Lutheran Church, which served a predominantly German congregation, a number of whom had previously been congregants of the Wendish
Lutheran church, St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Serbin
. In 1896 the community claimed 100 inhabitants and had an additional Baptist church, saloon, and a cotton gin.
The Black Jack Springs post office was closed in 1910, and by 1949 the school had also been closed. In 1967, the last remaining church, Trinity Lutheran, merged with the nearby Salem Lutheran Church of Freyburg, Texas
and the The Philadelphia Evangelical Lutheran Church of Swiss Alp, Texas
to form the United Evengelical Lutheran Church of Swiss Alp. Today, all that remains is the Black Jack Springs cemetery to mark the site of the community.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in southwestern Fayette County
Fayette County, Texas
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 21,804. Its county seat is La Grange. Fayette is named for the Marquis de la Fayette, a French nobleman who became an American Revolutionary War hero...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The community was near Farm Road 609 twelve miles southwest of La Grange in southwestern Fayette County. Named for the nearby clear springs and blackjack oak trees, Black Jack Springs was settled in the mid-1830s by Anglo pioneers.
During the early 1850s the earlier Anglo settlers were joined by German immigrants, including the Luck, Loessin, Melcher, Mueller and Oeding Families as well as noted German poet Johannes Christlieb Nathanael Romberg. In about 1857 Romberg founded the Prairieblume, a literary society which was one of the first of its kind in Texas and included German settlers from the Black Jack Springs and La Grange areas. The society members, most of whom were younger and from the better educated German families, wrote, read and discussed their stories, articles and poems in the manner of the Latin Settlements of Texas.
A post office was opened in Black Jack Springs in 1868, and in 1871 land was donated for separate white and black cemeteries. By 1884 Black Jack Springs reported a population of 400, three general stores, two steam gristmill-cotton gins, a broom factory, a school known as "Luck's School", and a Lutheran church; Trinitatis or Trinity Lutheran Church, which served a predominantly German congregation, a number of whom had previously been congregants of the Wendish
Wendish
Wendish may refer to:* the Sorbian languages used by the Slavs* the Wends, a Slav people of Northern Europe...
Lutheran church, St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Serbin
Serbin
Serbin Fashions, Inc. produced clothing lines under the following company names JO-RICH Originals Inc, Lincoln Manufacturing Company Inc, J.L.J. Corporation, Key Biscayne Hand Print Fabrics Inc, Kitty Fischer & Roxbury Inc.Serbin was a clothing manufacturer based in Fayetteville, Tennessee in...
. In 1896 the community claimed 100 inhabitants and had an additional Baptist church, saloon, and a cotton gin.
The Black Jack Springs post office was closed in 1910, and by 1949 the school had also been closed. In 1967, the last remaining church, Trinity Lutheran, merged with the nearby Salem Lutheran Church of Freyburg, Texas
Freyburg, Texas
Freyburg is an unincorporated community in southwestern Fayette County, Texas, United States.-External links:...
and the The Philadelphia Evangelical Lutheran Church of Swiss Alp, Texas
Swiss Alp, Texas
Swiss Alp is an unincorporated community in southern Fayette County, Texas, United States.It was settled by German Lutheran settlers-External links:* Handbook of Texas Online....
to form the United Evengelical Lutheran Church of Swiss Alp. Today, all that remains is the Black Jack Springs cemetery to mark the site of the community.