Ernst and Antoinette Gruene House
New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Located in an area historically known as Comaltown, this home was built in 1852 by Ernst (1819-1914) and Maria Antoinette (Kloepper) (1826-1917) Gruene. They immigrated to Texas in 1845 and raised their three children, Ernst, JR., Heinrich (H.D.), and Johanna, in this home. Built in the dogtrot style, the house featured a wide hall with rooms at either side to allow a breeze for ventilation. Similar to other German homes at the time, the house was constructed with handmade sun-dried adobe brick and hand-hewn native mountain cedar timber frames. Altered over the years to accommodate later families, the house stands as a reminder of the Gruenes’ legacy in Comal county. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK – 2018
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Ernst and Maria Antoinette Gruene immigrated to Texas in 1845 and built this home in 1852 in the area near New Braunfels once known as Comaltown, raising three children here. Built in the dogtrot style with a breezy central hall, it was made of handmade sun-dried adobe brick and hand-hewn native cedar timbers in the manner of other German settler homes of the era. Later alterations adapted it for the families who followed.
Why it matters
The house stands as a tangible record of the German immigrants whose building traditions and craftsmanship gave central Texas a distinctive cultural landscape.
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Related people
- · Ernst Gruene
- · Maria Antoinette Gruene
Themes & tags
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