Yoakum, DeWitt County
Lutheran missionaries began serving settlers in the Yoakum area about 1888. The Rev. Cornelius Ziesmer and about ten families organized Holy Cross Lutheran Church on January 27, 1891. Early worship services were held in homes, the city hall, the old community opera house, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The first Lutheran sanctuary, completed in October 1893 at the corner of Hochheim and Schwab Streets, was destroyed by a tornado the following month. The members worked together to build a new structure on the same site, and it was completed in January 1894. The Rev. W. C. Wolfsdorf became the congregation's first resident pastor that same year. Serving a predominantly German membership, the church grew quickly. Its activities have included worship, civic, and missionary endeavors. The congregation purchased property at this site in 1948, and a new sanctuary was built in 1951-52 to serve the growing membership. An important part of local history for generations, Holy Cross Lutheran Church continues to be an integral part of the Yoakum community, still counting among its members descendants of its founding families.