Many of the area residents' ancestors came from Prussian and German Provinces as early as 1847-1858 and settled in the Stuebner area, later known as Hufsmith. They attended the Evangelical Salem Lutheran Church, which was about 6 miles away. As the "Hufsmith" area became more populated with immigrants who had Lutheran backgrounds in the old countries, the desire to have a church of their own within their area also grew. It was not easy to travel the 6 miles with a very large family (which most of them had) and be very regular in attendance.

On September 24, 1905 the first organized meeting of the group of was held at the Cooper Hill School in Hufsmith. The presiding minister was Rev. G. W. Fischer, who introduced a constitution with an explanation to the fledgling congregation. The constitution was accepted and officers were elected. The first Officers elected were Elders/Trustees: Wilhelm Mueller, Wilhelm Krahn, and A. H. Stuebner. Wilhelm Mueller was elected as Chairman, A. H. Stuebner as Secretary, and Wilhelm Krahn as Treasurer. It was then suggested that these officials approach the Salem congregation and ask for a peaceful release in order to form the new congregation. The release was granted, and again Christoph Froehlich was delegated to procure the services of Pastor Fischer to serve the congregation, which he agreed to do. In January of 1906 the first service was held by the Evangelical Zion Lutheran Church in the Cooper Hill School, with 18 founding families. The Founding Fathers were: F. W. Bogs, Julius Bogs, Christoph Froehlich, Johann Hirsch, G. Herman Kleppel, Wilhelm Krahn, Emil A. Metzler, Henry L. Metzler, G. Henry Mueller, Wilhelm Mueller, Rudolph Mueller, Ed Mueller, Wilhelm Saenger, Wm Schweinle, Adolph Stuebner, F. Christian Vogt, Adolph Vogt, and Julius Vogt.

In April 9, 1906 Pastor Fischer was authorized to apply for a state charter in order for the congregation to be able to conduct business and own property. On July 14, 1906 the Charter was signed and recorded, becoming official. That same day the congregation purchased 10 acres of land with a house, and made plans for the building of a church building.

By September of 1906 the list of materials needed with the estimated cost of $699.00 was submitted to the congregation and approved. Even though it was a struggle, the little congregation pulled together. Those who could donate money did so. In order to save cost, many donated lumber from their land; trees were felled by members, hauled to the saw-mill, and cut as needed free of charge. Members gave of their time and put in many hours of hard labor to erect their church. After the church was finished, $28.20 was left in the treasury. In December they decided to buy a bell, which was ordered from Montgomery Ward for $51.50. Again the money was raised to pay for the bell. The bell is still being used today. Nothing went into the church unless they had the money to pay for it, or someone donated the item. The church was officially dedicated on May 17, 1907 with several area congregations in attendance.

Some Tidbits from the Minutes: In January 1906 the members voted to buy a "Klingelbeubel" (a collection bag on a pole); In December 1906 money was collected to buy a pump organ which cost $63.30. In May of 1907 Pastor Rische was authorized to buy the necessary "abendmahe gerate" (communion ware) with an allowance of $13.00. Homemade communion wine was purchased from members for 25 cents a "gut".

In November of 1907 three acres of land were donated to the Evangelical Zion Lutheran Church by the G. Henry Mueller family that included the Stuebner Cemetery, which was renamed Zion Lutheran Cemetery. The earliest known grave is Bertha Mueller, July 20, 1873. The cemetery is in process of being approved for a Texas Historical Marker. Several of the founding fathers and their families are buried there.

On July 20, 1930, A. H. Stuebner was sent as a delegate to the Synodical Convention in Houston, and presented a petition for Zion congregation to become a member of the LCMS, which was granted. From 1931 onward all records were in English.

In 1934 Zion congregation voted to call a full-time pastor and asked permission from Salem Congregation to be relieved of the cost of paying ½ of the joint pastor’s salary. As far as we can tell, Zion was never a mission congregation, or received monetary assistance. The arrangement was to pay ½ of the salary of a neighboring pastor. Services at first were held twice a month due to the 6 miles distance. Candidate Louis E. Ulmer accepted the call to become Zion’s first full-time pastor, and the eager congregation saw rapid growth and many physical changes to the property.

After receiving a full time pastor, a school was established. This was in 1935, and that first year the classes were held in the church sanctuary with Pastor Ulmer teaching the first seven grades in addition to tending to church business. In order to accommodate the students, portable or collapsible desktops were attached to the back of the pews which would be dismantled for worship services. There was an enrollment of 36 students that first year. By the next year, a new two room school had been built, and Zion received her first Vicar, Elmer E. Klenk, who assisted the pastor in teaching the students among other duties. This school operated until 1953 when Zion and Salem combined schools in Rose Hill using Salem’s building. In 1955 Zion acquired property in Tomball for future growth and built a new 3-room school and moved their children to the Tomball location. In 1957, Salem purchased half of Zion’s school property and again joined with Zion in Tomball under a DBA of Tomball Lutheran School. By 1982 the enrollment of the school had reached 164 students. A short time later Salem built new educational facilities on their property in Rose Hill and moved her students back. At this time Zion temporally closed their school.

By 1959, while Rev. A. A. Walter was Pastor, the church had outgrown its facilities in Hufsmith, and it was felt that it was no longer wise stewardship to maintain the church in its original location. In choosing a better site for the church in a more populous area, and seeing the phenomenal growth of the combined parochial school in the Tomball location, the decision was made to move the congregation and build a new church next to the school, where it remains to this day. The name was changed to Zion Lutheran Church of Tomball, Texas. The school was enlarged, and a parish hall was built. Later, under the leadership of Pastor Gordon Waterman, the church underwent remodeling to include a choir loft and a Visor-Roland pipe organ. Zion experienced difficult days as Pastor Waterman resigned and the congregation experienced a split.

Under the current leadership of Rev. Jerome Teichmiller, the physical properties at this location have changed as well as continued steady growth in membership. The congregation installed a Moeller pipe organ and remodeled the church after lightning struck the steeple, destroying the previous organ, and damaging the inside of the church. They built a family center, gymnasium/Sunday school center with the facilities to handle community emergency situations such as Hurricane Katrina. The congregation concentrated on providing good Christian Day Care facilities, Sunday school, excellent youth and college programs, and four weekly adult Bible classes, a monthly ladies Bible class, and bible classes for high School and college students at various colleges. From 18 founding families Zion has grown to well over 700 members.