Church of the Visitation
Lott, Falls County, Texas
From Lott take SH 320 about 8 miles SW; take County Road NW about .25 miles
(loc. in Westphalia)
Year Erected: 1978
German natives who settled originally in Colorado County came here in 1879
looking for better land. Pleased with the soil and location, they brought their
families and immediately purchased 100 acres for a church and school. The
earliest Mass was said in 1882 in the of the first settler, Theodore Rabroker.
The original church building, completed in February 1884, was destroyed the
following May by a terrible storm. The congregation rebuilt the structure by
July. Large numbers of German-American Catholic families moved into the area.
Westphalia was named after the province from which the early settlers came.
Visiting priests served until 1893 when the Rev. Michael Heintzelmann was
assigned as the permanent pastor. He led the congregation for the next 36 years.
In 1895, with A. Fuchs of Waco as the designer and contractor, the present
church house was completed. The stones were shipped by railroad from Muldoon,
Texas, to Lott (8 mi. NE) and then hauled here by wagon. The central church area
forms a Latin cross. For safety in storms, six inches of sway was built into the
bell towers. The original-design stained glass windows are very rare and
priceless. This is one of the largest wooden church buildings in the state.