St. Anthony's Catholic Church
Introduction
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Located in Violet, Texas, St. Anthony's Catholic Church was built in 1912 to serve the growing community of mainly German farmers. John Hoelsher, the real estate agent hired to sell land to prospective farmers, was tasked with attracting German Catholics to the town, which is about 44 miles west of Corpus Christi. The church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
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St. Anthony's Catholic Church
Backstory and Context
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The first priest arrived in Violet in 1910 and the first mass was held on December 26 in the school that was built that year. A year later, land was acquired for the cemetery and the church itself was constructed in 1912. The church was expanded in 1919. In 1952, a new church was built and St. Anthony's was relocated to Clarkwood and renamed Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It was moved back to Violet in 1973 (two hundred feet back from the original spot) and restored.
Sources
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hlv12
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_St._Anthony%27s_Catholic_Church_(Violet,_Texas)