The St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Ammansville, Texas, is the third church on this location, the others having been destroyed in the hurricane of 1909 and a fire in 1918. The inscription "Deliciae Meae Esse Cum Filiis Hominum" says "It is my pleasure to be with the Son of Man."
"Ammansville was settled during the 1870s by German and Czech immigrant farmers on lands originally allotted to the Fayette County schools. The first settler in the community was Andrew Ammann, who arrived on March 12, 1870. He was a noted architect as well as a farmer. Other early family names included Kossa, Sobolik, Heller, Stefek, Fietsam, Munke, Bartos, Holster, Lidiak, Ohnheiser, and Zoesper. In 1876 the first business opened, and by 1879 the town had a post office and a public school. A Catholic church and school opened in 1890 with Father Jules Vrana as priest. The church was destroyed by a storm in 1909 and rebuilt and dedicated on November 24, 1910. Shortly thereafter it was destroyed by fire and rebuilt again. The post office was discontinued in 1906; mail was delivered from Weimar until the 1920s and subsequently from Schulenburg. The public school closed in 1909. In 1914, the population of the extended community was estimated at eight hundred, with one hundred living in town."
"Father Jules Vrana established the original church which was destroyed in 1909, then rebuilt and again destroyed by fire. The rebuilt present church is adorned with lovely statues, many of which were saved from the disastrous fire in 1918."
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