Blue Mound Community:
by Mike Cochran
Blue Mound Community Blue Mound Community was the first German-speaking
colony established in Denton County. Although individual Germans had lived
here since the 1840's, this grouping at Blue Mound was the first to establish
itself as a distinct German speaking community.
The first settlers at Blue Mound were Herman Christian Barthold (1827-1914),
his wife, Mary, and their five children, who moved there in 1876. They arrived
in a covered wagon to farm on the open prairie northwest of Denton and lived
there in a tent for three years before building their house. It is said
that the community was named by Barthold for the grass and flower covered
knoll on his property that had a bluish haze on it when seen from a distance.
The next to arrive was William A. Ganzer, from the province of Saxony
in Germany. With his wife Carolina Klingenberg, Ganzer purchased their land
on December 10, 1877. Next came the Grabbe family who bought their land
on December 28 of the same year. Both Ganzer and Grabbe bought their property
from Jot Gunter, the businessman who two years later sold the land for the
German Catholic colony at Muenster.
More settlers came, attracted by the good farming conditions and the
growing German community. In 1893, the Trietschs came from the Rhine Palatinate;
in 1894, the Linenschmidts arrived; then the Borths, from the province of
Pomerania and many others, including several families from Russia.
Church life was an important aspect of these German communities, for
not only did it minister to their spiritual needs, but it helped to strengthen
the bond of brotherhood among these German- speakers in an English speaking
land. Many of these settlers were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Informal services were held as early as 1884 in the home of William Ganzer.
Then, for many years these Blue Mound residents travelled the eight miles
to Denton to attend the German Methodist Church at the corner of Oakland
and E. McKinney in Denton. There were some small Lutheran and Baptist (or
Dunkard) congregations in this period but they did not survive. In
1901 a M.E. Church, the "Zions Gemeinde" was built at Blue
Mound on a site that now faces I-35 near Ganzer Road. Within a few years
the church had 91 members. Services were conducted in German at this church
until 1938 yet still at that time there were church members "who hardly
understand the English language," according to a 1940 report.
World War I had an adverse effect on the German-American citizens of
Denton and Blue Mound. Despite the fact that many Denton County Germans
enlisted in the Army and fought in Europe, for some there was doubt about
the loyalties of these German speaking neighbors. Many of these citizens
felt ostracized and there were rumors that a secret arsenal was kept hidden
beneath the Blue Mound Methodist Church. One resident remembers being questioned
by a neighbor about hoarding flour, but Mrs. Walter (Ella) Trietsch recalls
that generally the hostility was in the form of cold stares and negative
feelings rather than any overt acts.
As a result of the war, the German language became less popular among
the young German-Americans of the community. Boasting of their national
heritage could lead to discrimination and ridicule, and thus the process
of assimilation into American culture was expedited. In 1922 the German
Methodist Church in Denton disbanded, and the City of Denton condemned the
property for an $800 paving bill. The German Baptist (Dunkard) Church at
514 Bolivar St., which had still had eighty members in 1920, disbanded in
1928.
Commenting on the history of this prosperous German community, Mr. L.G.
Linenschmidt wrote, in 1949, "We the remnant of this band look back
and thank God for the many blessings that were bestowed on us, not that
we earned them, but that they have been mercifully bestowed upon us, as
the God of love has led us till now." (Editor's Note: I am indebted
to Mrs. Olga Borth Sauls and Mrs. Walter (Ella) Trietsch for providing much
of the information used in this article. A book about the Blue Mound Methodist
Church is currently being written. Anyone interested in obtaining a copy
upon publication, may contact Mrs. Walter Trietsch at 382-4001 for more
information.)
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