2014-6 Remembrances Special Edition1
City of Schertz
Remembrances Special Edition 2014-6
Presented by: Schertz Historical Preservation Committee
Saint Joseph’s Chapel – A National Historic Treasure
It’s been a long time coming but news arrived in August 2014 announcing that Saint Joseph’s
Chapel, FM 482, Schertz, Texas has officially been
accepted for listing on the Department of the
Interior’s National Register of Historic Places. It’s no
small achievement to have one of our community
resources named to the Register. Many historic
structures are annually nominated for the distinction
but only a select number are accepted for listing.
The Chapel joins some of our nation’s most
cherished resources as a recognized national historic
treasure. The Chapel joins an exclusive list of Texas
landmarks previously placed on the Register such as
San Antonio’s Spanish Missions, The Alamo, Aztec
Theater, The Fairmont & Gunter Hotels, many
historic Texas court houses, inns and homes. But what qualifies this particular place of Catholic
worship as eligible for Register listing?
The age of the chapel is the first element of its worthiness for listing. It was constructed in
1905 by the Archdiocese of San Antonio at the request and through the financial support of the
Catholic families of what was then Comal, Texas. Comal was a small farming town just eight
miles south of the then newly established New Braunfels, Texas and is now an annexed portion
of Schertz, Texas.
Despite the importance of its religious and cultural impact on the primarily Catholic Comal
community, the Chapel’s eligibility for Register listing was completely judged based upon its
architectural importance in time and stature. The key figure in assuring Register selection was
the Chapel’s architect, Leo Michael Joseph Dielmann. Dielmann (1881-1969) was a German
born immigrant in San Antonio, Texas who studied architecture in Germany following his
graduation from Saint Mary’s College, San Antonio, Texas. He also served as an apprentice
craftsman and construction engineer for his father’s San Antonio construction firm. Through
business contacts with his father’s construction business, Deilmann won favor with influential
German businessmen who showed a preference for architectural styles most associated with
their German heritage which happened to be German Gothic style. Dielmann knew and
preferred the same construction design style. He soon became the architect of choice for many
of the church projects undertaken by the Catholic Archdiocese, including Saint Joseph’s Chapel.
The Chapel was to be one of Dielmann’s first church design projects. Dielmann went on to
design many churches, rectories, public schools, warehouses, factories and hotels. His
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reputation for design eventually spread throughout the Southwest and he became an architect
of note across the region. Dielmann and the earlier pioneers of Comal deserve our gratitude
and praise for placing such a beautiful and culturally significant chapel in our midst.