Andrew Hanson
Sherman, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1855-1940) Owned Sherman's first bakery for 35 years. Born in Schleswigholstein, Denmark. Came to United States, 1872, and to Texas, 1878. With F. W. Boedeker (whose interest he soon bought) started the Star Bakery, 1879. Had first delivery service, first commercially made ice cream in town. Built family residences at two midtown sites. Married (1880) Anna Lundorf; had 4 children. His father, mother, and brothers came from Denmark to join him. All are buried here. Incise in base: Marker Sponsors: Mamie A. and Anna W. Weihs
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Andrew Hanson, born in Schleswig-Holstein and emigrating to America in 1872, reached Texas in 1878 and the next year opened Sherman's first bakery. Over 35 years he built the Star Bakery into a local institution, introducing the town's first delivery service and its first commercially made ice cream. His parents and brothers followed him from Denmark, and the family settled permanently in Sherman.
Why it matters
Hanson's story is a small but telling chapter of immigrant enterprise, showing how newcomers from Europe helped build the everyday commerce of Gilded Age Texas towns.
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Related people
- · Andrew Hanson
- · Anna Lundorf
- · F. W. Boedeker
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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E. M. Kohl Building
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Thomas Jefferson Shannon arrived in Texas in 1839, when it was still an independent republic, and settled in the area that became Grayson County in 1845. As the county's first state legislator he pushed to move the county seat to present-day Sherman and donated the land for the townsite, earning the nickname "Father of Sherman." A pioneering cattleman, he even imported Durham cattle said to be a gift from Queen Victoria in 1848, while his daughter Julia named the town's first streets.
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