St. Mary's German Catholic Church, Plantersville

[Glen_A]

While travelling to Navasota today I found a real Gem. St. Mary's German Catholic Church in Plantersville, just a stone's throw from the Ren fair grounds on FM 1774, just north of Hwy 105. The church was established in 1894 but was struck by lightening in 1917 and burned to the ground. It was rebuilt the same year. The church was restored in 2003 and 2004. It is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen, the 90 year old craftmanship and art work is beautiful. My pictures don't do it justice. I had the church to myself the whole time I was there, which was about an hour. There is a guest book to sign and place to make donations. I will be back, with a tripod next time and hopefully a quality wider angle lens than my Tamron 28-75 F2.8. Also will make sure my flash batteries are fully charged! Without further ado, here are my poor attempts to capture just a little of the beauty of this place. I encourage anyone in the Houston to College Station area, or to make the trip.

[Steelsun]

Nice find and pics.

I'll have to visit it one day.

[Glen_A]

Originally Posted by Steelsun

Nice find and pics.

I'll have to visit it one day.

Thanks! It seems like a nice quiet place to work on some photography skills. Here are a few more pictures.

[Janice_d]

Wow.. A very nice.. place..Glen.. those are great pics.. and a great find..for sure...

[Gateruner]

An amazing church in such a small town. That would make some really pretty wedding pixs. Great shots by the way.

[ZeroTX]

It's a pretty popular site for weddings. I imagine they charge a pretty penny, as people abuse them for this often. Actually, when I stopped by there for a photo-op mass was just letting out. They actually have a good size congregation, based on what I saw leaving mass. This area is growing substantially due to urban/suburban sprawl and people wanting to escape the filth of the city (no offense to you inner-loopers who somehow endure it every day). :)

-Michael

[jerrykr]

wow, what a beautiful painted church, and a pipe organ too! I would love to hear it. a couple of the statues are very familiar and were in the church that I grew up in.

very nice shots. looking forward to your next trip there.

-=- Jerry -=-
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[carlws]

Thanks for the suggestion. I stopped there a couple of days ago and got some good inside shots. I walked in with my tripod and started shooting. A man - caretaker- came in while I was there asked if I had enough light. It was overcast outside, so was a little dark inside. I said more light might help and he turned the lights on and suggest that I might want to shoot from the loft for a better view.
They are very proud of their church and are very open to photographers.
Carl

[lhdvies]

Thks for this post and the additional info from everyone. I love these older pieces of history. its a very beautiful church and Glen, don't downplay your pix, they are very good!-Thks

[Glen_A]

Originally Posted by carlws

Thanks for the suggestion. I stopped there a couple of days ago and got some good inside shots. I walked in with my tripod and started shooting. A man - caretaker- came in while I was there asked if I had enough light. It was overcast outside, so was a little dark inside. I said more light might help and he turned the lights on and suggest that I might want to shoot from the loft for a better view.
They are very proud of their church and are very open to photographers.
Carl

Wow that is really neat. The whole time I was there, I was pretty much left alone. If you have some photos you want to share, feel free to post them here or on your own thread if you prefer. I would love to see how yours turned out.

[Glen_A]

Originally Posted by lhdvies

Thks for this post and the additional info from everyone. I love these older pieces of history. its a very beautiful church and Glen, don't downplay your pix, they are very good!-Thks

Thanks for the compliment! I hope you can make it out there, it really isn't all that far from Houston. I imagine during the week, rather than weekends to be the best time to go.

[carlws]

My first attempt to attach images.

[venchka]

Where EXACTLY is this church? It isn't directly on FM 1774. I didn't see any churches north of Hwy 105. I drove FM 1774 from Anderson to Magnolia yesterday. I looked for the church or a sign pointing to the church. No Catholic church to be seen. The only church I saw was a Baptist church south of Hwy 105 on the west side of FM 1774. Help please?

[carlws]

St. Mary's church is on 1774 north of Plantersville about 4 miles. The old church cannot be seen easily from the road. There are several newer yellow buildings that you see from the road. The old church is behind those. There is a sign about their pro-life ministry by the road, but I don't recall any big sign saying it is St. Mary's.
As you go from Plantersville toward Anderson the church is on your right. I had to stop and ask directions to find it.
Carl

[venchka]

Thanks. I wasn't expecting the church to be that far north of Hwy 105. Funny thing. GOOGLE shows the church to be about a half mile south of Hwy 105 about a block east of 1774. Go figure. I have the big camera loaded and ready. Your directions will make it easy to find.