D. C. Riley House
Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Four generations have lived in this house built in early 1870s by Crabapple community pioneer David Crockett Riley (1840-1900). Stone for 24" outer walls and 18" partitions came from a hill a mile north; timbers were hand-hewn from farm trees; milled lumber hauled from Austin (90 mi. SE). With a purchased lock for model, rest of door locks were made in farm shop. Workmen were paid 50 cents and a pint of Crockett Riley's whiskey (home-distilled) for a day's work. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1972
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Pioneer David Crockett Riley built this stout stone house in the early 1870s near the Crabapple community, and four generations of his family lived in it. Its 24-inch outer walls were laid up from stone quarried a mile north, its timbers hewn from trees on the farm, and its milled lumber hauled ninety miles from Austin. Lacking store-bought hardware, Riley's shop forged the door locks by hand — and his workmen earned fifty cents and a pint of his home-distilled whiskey for a day's labor.
Why it matters
The house is a vivid record of self-reliant frontier craftsmanship in the Texas Hill Country, where settlers built lasting homes from whatever the land and their own hands could provide.
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Related people
- · David Crockett Riley
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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