This article by Brenda Klein first appeared in Fayette County: Past & Present.


The first settlers of Freyburg were: F. Thulemeyer, B. Warnken, Fr. Bruns, J. Romberg. F. W. Richter, John Czichos, Aug. Hahn, and Fritz Laux. Founded around 1868, it is located in southern Fayette County about four miles off of Highway 77, just a few miles out of Schulenburg. It has no railway or main highway passing through it.

There was also a tiny community near Freyburg called Abbott's Grove, because of the Abbott's Grove School there. One of the people who went to this schoolhouse was Mrs. Hilda Hoelter; her favorite teacher was Katie Raeke.

By 1886, C. F. Thulemeyer ran the general store in Freyburg which was also the voting place. There was a blacksmith shop and a post office in Freyburg at this time also. The Sons of Hermann had a dance hall at Freyburg next to a beer joint. By 1947 Joe Gloecker owned a filling station and store there.

Most of the land around Freyburg is farm land. This area contains some of the richest farm land in Fayette County; consequently, most of the people are farmers, each owning about eighty acres, raising either cotton or corn.

According to Mrs. Hoelter, Freyburg has really changed. While it used to be covered with great oaks, now it is overgrown with brush. Today, most of Freyburg consists of an old store, an old run-down gin, several cemeteries, and two churches (the Methodist and the E. V. Lutheran). Since Freyburg began primarily as a German community, most of the inscriptions on the tombstones in the cemeteries are in German. Here is the inscription on Theresa Sauer's tombstone: "Theresa Sauer Geb. 30, Marz 1874 Gest. 25, Feb. 1910 Du warst so fromm, voll Liebe treu, beschieden, Mit Dir entflohen, unsere Leben-Freundin." "Theresa Sauer Born March 30, 1874 Died Feb. 25, 1910 You were so religious, so filled with the love of life, modesty, Gone to be with you (God), our Life-Friend." This inscription was found in the Methodist Cemetery. Most of the others are covered with moss, and are barely legible.