Church of the Visitation (Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0)
Church construction (Church of the Visitation)
One of the church’s many stained glass windows, installed 1914 (Church of the Visitation)
Westphalia Little School, established 1896 (Church of the Visitation)
Westphalia School, 1937 (Church of the Visitation)
St. Mary’s Cemetery, dedicated 1895 (Church of the Visitation)
In 1879, a handful of German-Texans moved from Frelsburg to western Falls County in search of land. The settlers, many of whom were Catholic, named their new town Westphalia – after the region in Germany. Their legacy remains in the Church of the Visitation, the Little School, and the cemetery. Visitors can also see several historic frame commercial buildings, a cotton gin complex, and historic farmsteads.
But if you’ve heard of Westphalia, chances are it’s for another reason. Fiddler Cotton Collins first heard the catchy waltz in Germany during World War II, bringing it back to play in the halls across Texas with his band, the Lone Star Playboys. It was after a show at Westphalia Hall in 1946 that hall manager B.J. Lignau suggested calling it the “Westphalia Waltz” – a tune that became a hit on Dallas’s Blue Bonnet Records in 1947.
Westphalia National Historic District
- 35 miles south of Waco on State Highway 320, Westphalia, TX
- National Register of Historic Places
