In 1897, the SPJST (Slovanska Podporujici Jednota Statu Texas) came into being and Lodge 19 in the Velehrad Community, Lavaca County, was established.
The lodge hall was built there in August 1895. The building served as a community lodge meeting place. Business and social gatherings, dances, and funerals took place in the hall as well. When there were more children in the area than there was room in the nearby school, the lodge building was also used as a school.
After WWII, many of the community residents left Velehrad, and it started deteriorating. The last meeting of the members of the SPJST Lodge 19 in Velehrad took place on 16 February 1999.
On 9 November 2017, the lodge hall was moved from Velehrad to the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center in La Grange, where you can see it/visit nowadays.
Source: leaflet issued by TCHCC
Photos from our visit to the Czech Heritage and Cultural Center - on a very hot summer day in August 2021.
The double doors were used when a funeral ceremony was held in the building. A coffin was brought in (and out) through those doors.
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