![Wendish Pioneer Log Cabin in Serbin Texas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Wendish_Pioneer_Log_Cabin_in_Serbin_Texas.JPG)
Serbin 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 southwestern
Lee County, Texas
Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,478. Its county seat is Giddings. The county is named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee and has many Confederate memorials and monument ...
, United States. Located about east of
Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, it was originally established as Low Pin Oak Settlement by
Sorbian (Wendish) immigrants to Texas in the mid-1850s. The community's name was changed to ''Serbin'', meaning "Sorbian land" in the Sorbian language, prior to 1860. (the
West Slavic Sorbians are distinct from the
South Slavic Serbians
The term Serbians in English is a polysemic word, with two distinctive meanings, derived from morphological differences:
* Morphology 1: Serb-ian- s, derived from the noun ''Serb'' and used interchangeably to refer to ethnic Serbs, thus having ...
, although the names of the two Slavic ethnic groups probably have a common origin.)
The largest single migration of
Sorbian immigrants to the United States settled in Texas, using Serbin as the "mother colony". On September 20, 1854, about 550 Sorbian
Lutherans
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
from congregations in
Lusatia
Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...
,
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
, and
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
left for Texas under the leadership and pastoral care of
John Kilian. Upon arriving in Texas, the people of present-day Serbin became the earliest members of the
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod in Texas.
St. Paul Lutheran Church, built in 1871, is a typical example of Wendish architecture and is still in full use; the pulpit is located in the front balcony of the church, as seen in the photos of the interior.
The Texas Wendish Heritage Museum is housed in Serbin on the St. Paul church grounds. Occupying three independent buildings including a former St. Paul parochial school building, the museum also has two outdoor exhibits of an intact
log cabin
A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers.
Eur ...
and part of a
dogtrot house
The dogtrot, also known as a breezeway house, dog-run, or possum-trot, is a style of house that was common throughout the Southeastern United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Some theories place its origins in the southern Appalac ...
.
Eventually, the Sorbian language in Serbin was replaced by German and English. Kilian even had the tombstone for his wife Maria carved in German in 1881, not Sorbian; the same was done for his stone in 1884.
Neither of the two
Sorbian languages
The Sorbian languages ( hsb, serbska rěč, dsb, serbska rěc) are the Upper Sorbian language and Lower Sorbian language, two closely related and partially mutually intelligible languages spoken by the Sorbs, a West Slavic ethno-cultural mino ...
is still fluently or regularly spoken in Serbin. According to the
2000 U.S. census
The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...
, only 37 people in the 78942
ZIP Code area (which also includes
Giddings Giddings may refer to:
* Giddings (surname)
*Giddings, Texas
Giddings is the county seat of Lee County, Texas, United States situated on the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 and U.S. Route 290. Its population was 4,969 at the 2020 census. The ci ...
and other nearby towns) spoke a
Slavic language
The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto ...
other than
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
or
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
at home.
File:Serbin historical stone marker.png, 1936 historical marker
File:Serbin church - outside front.png, Front of St. Paul Lutheran Church
File:Serbin church side view.png, Exterior view of the church
File:Interior of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Serbin, TX.jpg, Interior of St. Paul Lutheran, seen from balcony
File:Serbin church photographed from pulpit.jpg, Interior of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, seen from the pulpit
File:Serbin Church interior at floor level.png, Floor level view of the altar
File:Serbin-View of pulpit and altar.png, View of the altar and the pulpit
File:Serbin church facing the rear.jpg, Interior of the church, facing the rear, showing the Bible verse in German, not Wendish/Sorbian
File:Pastors of St Pauls Church at Serbin.jpg, Photos of the pastors who have served the congregation
File:Maria Kilians gravestone.png, Maria Kilian's gravestone, in German
File:J Kilians gravestone.png, John Kilian's gravestone, in German
References
Further reading
*
External links
Serbin, Texas from TexasEscapes.com*
*
St. Paul Lutheran Church, Serbin, TXTexas Wendish Heritage SocietyWorldwide Wendish Connection
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Lee County, Texas
Unincorporated communities in Texas
Sorbian-American culture in Texas