Koerth, Texas, Lavaca County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

Irish settlers arrived three years before Texas Independence was declared. The site was first known as Yellow Bank and later Antioch. St. John the Baptist Catholic Church were built around 1865. German and Czech immigrants replanced the original settlers after the Civil War. Storekeeper C. J. Koerth opened a post office in his store from 1884 through 1910 (although it was closed from 1887-1893). Koerth built a school in 1914.

Highway 77 was constructed in the 1950s about the same time the Koerth school merged with Sweet Home. The population remained at about 20 from the 30s until after WWII when it swelled to 30.

The church remains the cornerstone of the community and the estimated population is 45.

Approaching Koerth, Texas
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, December 2006

Former Koerth Church School?
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, December 2006

Koerth farmstead
TE photo, February 2006

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