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Gillespie County
The trails of roving Indians crossed these hills settled by German pioneers in 1846. A group of Mormons settled at Zodiac in 1847. Created February 23, 1848; organized June 5, 1848. Named for Richard Addison Gillespie, a Texan from 1837, a defender of the Texas frontier, and captain in the Mexican War who fell at Monterrey, September 22, 1846. Fredericksburg, the county seat. |
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 The Texas Hill Country town of Fredericksburg is one of the earliest, and certainly the best-known, of the Germanic settlements in the state. German-speaking settlers arriving in the 19th century had a strong influence on the development of Texas and few places can better illustrate this phenomenon than Fredericksburg. Noteworthy individuals with strong ties to the Fredericksburg Historic District include founder John O. Meusebach (Otfried Hans, Freiherr von Meusebach), Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, and U. S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Fredericksburg is significant for its architecture, ranging from mid-19th century vernacular masonry houses to Depression-era public buildings, and also for the artwork in St. Mary's Church and the U.S. Post Office. _________________________________________________________ The Fredericksburg Historical District is located on a gently rolling site between Town Creek and Barons Creek, both tributaries of the Pedernales River. The boundaries roughly coincide with the original townsite of Fredericksburg as platted in the mid-19th century; outlots beyond were larger properties. The most common trees are the live oak and pecan, with cypress found along the creeks. Streets are laid in a grid pattern and are unusually wide. The principal throughfare, Main (formerly San Saba) Street, runs northwest-southeast, and originally had as its focus the Vereins-Kirche, demolished in 1896. The architecture of Fredericksburg presents interesting parallels with the cultural history of Fredericksburg. Originally intensely Teutonic and distinctive, both the architecture and people of Fredericksburg have gradually been largely absorbed into mainline American culture, although they retain a certain individuality. Pioneer Fredericksburg. The earliest structures in Fredericksburg were log buildings, which did not prove popular with German settlers. Most were replaced at the earliest opportunity with masonry construction. A majority of the extant buildings constructed in Fredericksburg from the founding of the town through the end of the 19th century are thus of masonry. Local limestone was generally used, laid up either in a rough-ashlar technique or in rubble-wall technique. Very few of the earliest log residences remain. Fachwerk construction with heavy timber and wattle-and-daub nogging was also common. The Kammlah House (begun ca. 1850; 309 West Main) now the Pioneer Memorial Museum, is a well preserved example of German Fachwerk construction in Fredericksburg. |
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Old Gillespie County Courthouse
Erected 1881-1882 in term of County Judge Wm. Wahrmund and Commissioners J. Dechert, F. Kneese, J. arson and J. P. Mosel. Architect was Alfred Giles. Native limestone structure is distinctive in fine balance and symmetry. Second courthouse built in county; used until 1939. Restoration and conversion to library-community hall is gift of Mr. and Mrs. eugene McDermott. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967 |
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This Square, originally a two-block area which included what is now called the Courthouse Square, has been at the center of Fredericksburg since the city's founding in 1846. The area was still heavily forested when the town's Vereins Kirche was built in the center of Main street in 1847. The octagonal building served as a community church, meeting place, school, and refuge from possible Indian attacks. A county jail was built on the Square in 1852. In 1856 a public schoolhouse was constructed and the school classes moved out of the Vereins Kirche. In 1911 the schoolhouse was converted to serve as headquarters for the volunteer fire department. The Vereins Kirche, demolished in 1897, was reconstructed in 1934-35 as a pioneer memorial, serving as the county's first museum (1936) and library (1939). As part of its centennial celebration, the State of texas erected a monument on Market Square in honor of Baron Ottfried Hans Freiherr Von Meusebach, whose colonization efforts led to the founding of Fredericksburg. In 1987 the city purchased the property from the school district. The Market Square has served as a gathering place for special community activities and has remained a focal point of the city. |
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Vereins Kirche
Church for all denominations, school and community hall. Built, summer 1847, after the Comanche peace treaty made by John O. Meusebach, Commissioner, German Emigration Company. Located in Main street between Courthouse and Market Square of early Fredericksburg. Razed after the celebration of fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of first settlers, 1896. Replica, first used as museum and library, constructed 1934-35. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967
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