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depot, with new business, a school, and churches being established. With the ranch land in the area being divided into farms, cotton became a major cash crop eventually supporting four cotton gins.
By 1909, blacksmith and repair shops, a school building, dance hall, meat market and saloons were in operation. In 1912, E.H. Reinhard and William C. Eckel established William Eckel and Company, a dry goods and grocery store. In 1913, the first bank was chartered with Richard Voges, President and R.S. Woellert, cashier. In 1914, Arnold H. Poth constructed the first brick masonry mercantile building. This two-story building was even equipped with a freight elevator and its own electric power-generating source. The store was initially operated together with his brother E.B. Poth and sold all types of goods such as furniture, clothing, groceries, and hardware. The building is still in use today and is called Poth Mercantile.
The first movement to start a Catholic Church in Poth was made on March 5, 1910. Karl Billimek and William Eckel took up a subscription for this purpose. On April 23, of the same year, Stephen Schwertlich, Andrew Reinhard, and John Bedrarz consulted with the Rt. Reverend J.A. Forrest concerning the building of the church. Soon after this, permission was granted to acquire land for the church and the cemetery. The group experienced some difficulty in finding a location until Arnold H. Poth offered three acres of land for a church, and A. Raabe offered one acre of land for a cemetery. The offer was accepted.
A. Raabe, Stephen Schweitlich, and John Bednarz were then named to the building committee. The committee traveled to San Antonio to confer with Rt. Reverend Bishop J.W. Shaw, who encouraged the project. Plans were drawn for a wood frame church building. A.F. Zunker of New Braunfels led the contract for
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