The Church of the Visitation, in

Westphalia, Texas Westphalia is a small unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Falls County, Texas, United States located south of Waco, Texas, Waco on State Highway 320 (Texas), State Highway 320. Westphalia has a strong German American, German and Roma ...

, was once the largest wooden structure west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. This

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin The Diocese of Austin ( la, Dioecesis Austiniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church comprising 25 counties of Central Texas in the United States. The diocese includes 123 parishes and missions and six ...

, completed in 1895, has twin towers which can be seen for miles. A school was constructed in 1896 and operated as a

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

until 1935. The church received official recognition with the erection of an official Texas Historical Marker on December 31, 1978. On May 15, 1996, the community was recognized as the Westphalia Rural Historic District. The district is now listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. On July 29, 2019, the building caught fire and burned to the ground.

References

Roman Catholic churches in Texas The Church of the Visitation Buildings and structures in Falls County, Texas Historic district contributing properties in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Falls County, Texas {{US-RC-church-stub