Mentz is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in northeastern Colorado County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. It is situated northeast of

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

on the north side of

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

(I-10). The town was first established in 1846 by German immigrants from near

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The small community was still served by a Catholic church in 2016.

Geography

Mentz is located at the intersection of Mentz and Frelsburg roads, approximately northeast of Columbus, and the Saint Roch Catholic Church is nearby. The community is north of the intersection of

I-10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

, with

Farm to Market Road 949 Farm to Market Road 949 (FM 949) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas. The two-lane highway starts at FM 102 northwest of Eagle Lake in Colorado County, heads in a northerly direction across Interstate 10, swings northeast thr ...

(FM 949) and west of

Bernardo Bernardo is a given name and less frequently an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish surname. Possibly from the Germanic "Bernhard". Given name People * Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Fra ...

History

As early as the 1830s, Germans began to settle near Cat Spring to the northeast.See photo of historical marker. The next impulse of German immigrants was initiated by the

Adelsverein The ''Mainzer Adelsverein at Biebrich am Rhein'' (''Verein zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas'', "Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas"), better known as the ''Mainzer Adelsverein'' (, "Nobility Society of Mainz"), orga ...

in the 1840s. German

Catholics 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 ...

, mostly from

Büdesheim Büdesheim is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...

in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz The Diocese of Mainz, historically known in English as ''Mentz'' as well as by its French name ''Mayence'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It was founded in 304, promoted in 780 to Metrop ...

formed a settlement in 1846. It was named Neu Mainz after Mainz, Germany. When the town received a post office in 1853, it was named San Bernard. The name was changed to Neu Mainz in 1860 and the post office was discontinued in 1866. In 1858, the settlers founded the Saint Roch Catholic Church with the assistance of priests from the town of Frelsburg to the northwest. The church was named after a chapel near Büdesheim and

Bingen am Rhein Bingen am Rhein () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The settlement's original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant "hole in the rock", a description of the shoal behind the ''Mäuseturm'', k ...

. In 1872, the

Congregation of Divine Providence The Congregation of Divine Providence (or Sisters of Divine Providence) is the name of two Roman Catholic religious institutes of women which have developed from the work of the Blessed Jean-Martin Moye (1730-1793), a French Catholic priest. ...

founded a Catholic school in the community; it closed in 1916. The post office was set up again in 1889. By this date, the town's name had been corrupted to Mentz. The post office closed in 1896 and reopened between 1897 and 1913. In the latter year, postal service permanently transferred to Alleyton, a town to the southwest. By 1986, Mentz had 167 registered voters and the church with its sanctuary, parish hall, rectory, cemetery and baseball field. The area's population was 100 in 2000. File:Mentz TX St Roch Church.jpg, St. Roch Catholic Church is near the intersection of Frelsburg and Mentz Roads. File:Mentz TX Marker.jpg, State historical marker describes the history of the Bernardo and Mentz communities. File:Mentz TX Sign.jpg, Mentz sign is at FM 949 and Frelsburg Road.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Texas Unincorporated communities in Colorado County, Texas