Beginning in the 1880s, Czech settlers came to this area and contributed to the development of East Bernard. To support Texas Czechs of the Catholic faith, residents of Bluff (Hostyn) established the Katolická Jednota Texasská, or Czech Catholic Union of Texas, in 1889. Known as the K.J.T., the group provided insurance and other member benefits. In 1905, men of East Bernard's Holy Cross Catholic parish organized a local chapter, K.J.T. St. Wenceslaus Society No. 40. Charter members were August E. Morris, R.W. Brandl, Frank Toman, John J. Vacek, Frank Polak, John Skalicky, and John Slovak. By 1913, the group had constructed a large hall at this site, and it became a social center for conventions, bazaars, and other events. After the hall burned in 1939, the members purchased Riverside Hall, built in 1925 east of town on the east bank of the San Bernard River. Its large round structure had a tall central pole supporting the circular ceiling and large roof beams. Over the following decades, Riverside Hall drew crowds for performances ranging from big band and polka to country and western and rock and roll, and thousands attended klobase-kolache festivals there in the late 1970s. A fire destroyed the Riverside building in 1986, and the K.J.T. built a new hall in 1987. Open to both men and women, the group remains a social force in East Bernard with more than 500 members and offers insurance, clergy retirement benefits, youth activities, scholarships, and other services.