Immigrants' Acculturation As Expressed in Architecture: 19Th
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IMMIGRANTS' ACCULTURATION AS EXPRESSED IN ARCHITECTURE: 19TH CENTURY CHURCHES AND COURTHOUSES IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS A Dissertation by JACOB JAMES MORRIS Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Anat Geva Committee Members, Edelmiro Escamilla Walter Kamphoefner David Woodcock Head of Department, Ward Wells December 2014 Major Subject: Architecture Copyright 2014 Jacob James Morris ABSTRACT This paper introduces a conceptual framework to analyze identity and assimilation processes in immigrants’ architecture. Specifically, the study examines European immigrants who arrived directly to Texas port cities and settled in South Central Texas during mid-to-late nineteenth century. The architectural choices made in the communities in which these immigrants settled express various aspects of their orientations to maintain identity and tradition while at the same time assimilate to the new land. The theoretical framework theorizes that the manifestation of these two distinct directions in public architecture in these communities is conditioned by community context and building type. This study posits that churches serve as the symbol of cultural heritage and reflect the collective memory of immigrants’ homeland. Courthouses have been considered as the predominant symbol of self-government and of community’s civic pride. Thus, the county courthouse served as the icon of immigrants’ negotiation of new and externally derived civic responsibilities, i.e., assimilation. Consequently the study focused on two building types, churches and courthouses, built in Texas county seats. The locations were chosen so that the sites will represent a variety of immigrant ethnic groups. To test the expectations derived from the framework, this study utilized a small sample comparative analysis. The comparisons of the targeted buildings (courthouses and churches) were conducted along specific criteria, which included site, morphology, and building technology. The findings show that across all criteria, churches exhibited a ii higher degree of European traditional architecture in correspondence to the cultural identity of each applicable ethnic group. Courthouses generally reflected architectural patterns of that era across Texas and thereby were more similar to one another, in the context that they reflected overall contemporary practice throughout the state of Texas. The courthouses demonstrated the assimilation process of immigrants to their new land. These findings lead to a better comprehension of the influence of immigrants upon public architecture in their new homeland, and to the recognition of the significance of identity, pride, and place in the interpretation of historic architecture. iii DEDICATION To my wife Melissa, and to Rever and Nina Morris. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee chair Dr. Geva, and my committee members for their guidance and support throughout the course of this research. Thanks also go to all of the helpful staff and volunteers at the churches, courthouses, repositories of local history, and the staff of the Texas Historical Commission, all of whom were generous with their time and knowledge. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION .................................................................................................................. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ viii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. x INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 Dissertation Outline........................................................................................................ 2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................................ 5 SIGNIFICANCE ................................................................................................................ 7 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 10 Architecture as Material Culture .................................................................................. 10 19th Century European Immigration to Texas .............................................................. 21 Churches and Courthouses in Texas ............................................................................ 28 CONCEPTUAL MODEL & RESEARCH HYPOTHESES ............................................ 37 Major Proposition and Research Hypotheses .............................................................. 40 PROCEDURE .................................................................................................................. 42 Building Selection Criteria ........................................................................................... 44 The Elimination Process............................................................................................... 47 The Selected County Seats and Buildings .................................................................... 47 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 63 vi Data Collection ............................................................................................................. 64 Matrix ........................................................................................................................... 64 Data Collection Descriptions ....................................................................................... 66 RESULTS ....................................................................................................................... 116 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 116 Categories of Analysis Described .............................................................................. 116 Comparisons ............................................................................................................... 124 Results Summary ....................................................................................................... 151 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ............................................................................... 154 Implications for Heritage Conservation ..................................................................... 160 OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH .......................................................... 162 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 163 vii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. A conceptual model: civic (courthouse) and religious (church) buildings as architectural expressions of immigrants’ identity ............................................. 38 Figure 2. Depiction of research procedure relationships .................................................. 43 Figure 3. Map of the south central Texas region, with counties meeting all selection criteria shown in yellow .................................................................................... 48 Figure 4. Representation of 1870 and 1890 U.S. Census data, and 1887-1888 Texas Census data for Fayette County (Foster 2001; University of Virginia 2004) ... 49 Figure 5. Representation of 1870 and 1890 U.S. Census data, and 1887-1888 Texas Census data for Comal County (Foster 2001; University of Virginia 2004) .... 52 Figure 6. Representation of 1870 and 1890 U.S. Census data, and 1887-1888 Texas Census data for Kendall County (Foster 2001; University of Virginia 2004) .. 54 Figure 7. Representation of 1870 and 1890 U.S. Census data, and 1887-1888 Texas Census data for Gillespie County (Foster 2001; University of Virginia 2004) ................................................................................................................. 57 Figure 8. Graphic representation of 1870 and 1890 U.S. Census data, and 1887-1888 Texas Census data for Medina County (Foster 2001; University of Virginia 2004) ................................................................................................................. 59 Figure 9. Representation of 1870 and 1890 U.S. Census data, and 1887-1888 Texas Census data for Bandera County (Foster 2001; University of Virginia 2004) . 61 Figure 10. St. James Episcopal Church, LaGrange .......................................................... 68 Figure 11. Fayette County Courthouse, LaGrange........................................................... 71 Figure 12. Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, New Braunfels ..................................... 76 Figure 13. First Protestant Church, New Braunfels ......................................................... 80 Figure 14. Comal County Courthouse, New Braunfels ................................................... 83 Figure 15. St. Peter the Apostle Catholic